The office of Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) said Thursday he’s expected to return to Capitol Hill soon but gave no timeline, five weeks after he checked into the hospital for clinical depression.
“He’ll be back soon, at least over a week, but soon,” Fetterman spokesperson Joe Calvello said Thursday.
The 53-year-old freshman Senator checked into Walter Reed Medical Center on February 15. He suffered a stroke in May amid the midterm campaign season.
On March 7 Fetterman’s chief of staff Adam Jentleson tweeted several photos of the Senator and said he is “well on his way to recovery” and he “will be back soon.” His wife, Giselle, tweeted more pictures of him with his family three days later as he continues his treatment at Walter Reed.
“We want to give him the space to recuperate,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told reporters during a news conference on Wednesday. “He needs it, it’s fair, it’s right. There are other people in the Senate who have taken their time to recuperate but I’m confident he’s going to come back and be an outstanding and fine Senator.”
Fetterman is one of several U.S. Senators who’s absent on medical leave. On Sunday 78-year-old Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) said he would quarantine after testing positive for Covid. Meanwhile 89-year-old Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) is recovering at home after having been discharged from the hospital for shingles earlier this month. And 81-year-old Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is in rehabilitation after being discharged from the hospital last week. He’d suffered a concussion when he tripped and fell during dinner at a DC restaurant.
With three Democrats and one Republican absent, there’s a 48-48 split in the upper chamber when all remaining Senators are present, forcing Vice President Harris to have to break any ties—as she’s already had to do numerous times in the past several weeks.
