CNN
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Sen. John Fetterman roundly dismissed allegations that he’s unfit to serve in the Senate, attacking a recent report detailing claims of erratic behavior as a “hit piece” and vowing to serve out his term.
In an exclusive sit-down interview with CNN in his Senate office, the Pennsylvania Democrat discussed his treatment for depression and insisted that he is following a strict protocol laid out by his doctors. He pushed back on assertions from former and current staffers recently published in New York Magazine that he had been exhibiting reckless and volatile behavior.
“It’s a one-source hit piece, and it involved maybe two or three and anonymous disgruntled staffers saying just absolute false things,” he said.
Fetterman has before been open about receiving treatment for clinical depression and how his tough Senate race in 2022 worsened his mental health. According to New York Magazine, former Fetterman chief of staff Adam Jentleson and former staffers described Fetterman as a senator “who has become almost impossible to work for” and who had a mental health situation more complicated than previously disclosed.
There is already intense interest in primarying Fetterman, and questions over his fitness to serve could amplify that effort. The allegations Fetterman faces also come as some in the Democratic Party have shown increased interest in medical transparency after former President Joe Biden left the last campaign cycle amid questions over his mental acuity and fitness for office.
Fetterman denied he had other mental health issues beyond what he has publicly disclosed, calling it “outrageous” to suggest otherwise.
“My doctors have confirmed that that is not the case,” he said.
“I’ve been very front and center about my … depression, absolutely none of these other things, and it’s like so someone that was trying to accumulate my medical records and leak those things that’s part of this weird grudge for this hit piece,” he said.
In 2023, Fetterman voluntarily checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to receive treatment for clinical depression. In 2022, Fetterman had a stroke while running for the Pennsylvania Senate seat he now holds.
The New York Magazine report detailed on the record allegations from a former staffer and anonymous allegations from current staffers that Fetterman might be off his medication.
The senator denied any suggestion that he may not be taking his medication, saying his doctors think he is “great,” and that he has been attending regular check ups and following his wellness regimen.
“It’s incredibly invasive. And why are people talking about anyone’s personal medical things? It’s that, you know, I think most people would agree that’s really, really invasive,” he said.
In the New York Magazine piece, Jentleson said he was going public with his concerns out of fear for the senator’s health and staff around him.
But Fetterman on Tuesday accused Jentleson of holding a “weird grudge.”
“If you’re really concerned about someone, you could say, hey, let’s sit down. Can we talk? It’s not … like going to the media,” he said.
Jentleson is standing by his allegations, telling CNN: “I stand by what I said, and I hope he gets the help he needs.”
Fetterman is eager to put the story behind him.
“Of course” he plans on serving out the remaining four years of his Senate term, he said, adding, “Obviously, everybody understands I was treated for depression.”
Pressed on whether he plans on running for reelection for his competitive seat in 2028, he said, “We’re not talking about ‘28,” and, “Who knows what’s going to happen in ‘28.”
The senator is known to have had notable staff turnover since taking office and some members of his staff have been personally targeted because of his pro-Israel stance. The senator, himself, has faced pushback from the left wing of the party over his position on Israel.
Fetterman on Tuesday alluded to reported concerns about his positions on Israel, as well as how he broke from many of his fellow Democrats over a vote to avert a government shutdown.
“There’s been conflict here. And I’m like, hey, ‘I believe X, Y and Z,’ and I’m not sure why, why people have chose to create these circumstances, but that’s where we’re at, and it’s just a hit piece,” he said.
On his driving habits, a source of concern detailed in the article, Fetterman did not deny that he got in a car crash last year. But he said the details shared in the story, including that he told a staffer he had been asleep at the wheel, were “absolutely not true, or half…half truths,” and insisted he is a safe driver.
Fetterman thanked his Senate colleagues for their “support,” but would not say whether he talked to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer since the story was published.
“I think if anyone’s concerned with leader Schumer, I don’t think…the article isn’t one of them, you know, 99 problems, I don’t think that really is,” he said.
