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Former and current staffers are expressing concerns about Sen. John
Fetterman’s well-being, with his former chief of staff painting the mental
health of the senator, who previously underwent treatment for clinical
depression, as more dire than previously reported.

Adam Jentleson, Fetterman’s former chief of staff, penned an email to the
medical director of the traumatic brain injury and neuropsychiatry unit at
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center last year, worried about the
trajectory of Fetterman’s behavior, according to a profile published
Friday in New York Magazine. Among other things, Jentleson flagged to the
doctor that the senator was missing his regular checkups, was driving
recklessly, and bought a gun (though Fetterman says he takes all the
necessary firearm precautions).

The revelations have raised questions about Fetterman’s fitness for
office.

In February 2023, a month after he was sworn in, the Pennsylvania Democrat
was admitted to Walter Reed for his mental health and discharged a month
later with a recovery plan — blood work, staying on his medication,
exercise — that appeared to be working. But his erratic behavior, New York
Magazine reported, has appeared to create tense dynamics with his wife,
Gisele, and his colleagues on Capitol Hill.

https://www.inquirer.com/politics/pennsylvania/john-fetterman-seatbelts-
adam-jentleson-ny-magazine-article-20250505.html

» READ MORE: A viral video shows John Fetterman getting into an argument
with airplane crew on flight to Pittsburgh

Fetterman, who was interviewed by New York Magazine last month, insisted
that nothing was wrong. He said any former staffers would not know
information about his personal health and those who commented on it are
“disgruntled employees.” He didn’t have any comment when asked if there
was truth to staffers’ concerns about a potential relapse and whether he
was taking necessary medication. Representatives for Fetterman did not
immediately respond to The Inquirer’s request for comment.

The senator, who assumed office in January 2023, experienced other health
struggles during the 2022 election when he suffered a stroke in the
homestretch of his campaign against Republican Mehmet Oz.

Fetterman is often willing to cross party lines, which often draws the ire
of his own constituents. At one point, he had to fend off rumors that he
was switching to the Republican Party. According to the New York Magazine
interview, staffers were unsure as to whether some of his divisive
decisions, like visiting Trump at Mar-a-Lago, were the result of his
mental health.

Fetterman’s support for Israel and a regression in his recovery
The May 2024 email from Jentleson to David Williamson, the Walter Reed
physician who oversaw Fetterman’s care while the senator was seeking
treatment for depression in 2023, detailed several concerns about the
Democrat’s well-being.

The 1,600-word email, according to the magazine, showed Jentleson
outlining to Williamson “the kind of warning signs we discussed,”
including “Conspiratorial thinking; megalomania (for example, he claims to
be the most knowledgeable source on Israel and Gaza around but his sources
are just what he reads in the news — he declines most briefings and never
reads memos).”

After the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7, 2023, Fetterman’s support for
Israel became one of his top issues. He has exchanged gifts with Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and last year received the “Defender of
Israel” award from the Zionist Organization of America.

The senator’s defense of Israel, however, coincided with an apparent
retrogression in his recovery, New York Magazine reported. At that time,
he had been behind on blood work — a key part of his recovery plan.

Another part of that recovery plan was the suggestion for Fetterman to
avoid social media, but the war with Gaza beckoned the senator back to X.
At one point, according to the magazine article, a meme posted to the
senator’s social media account forced a push-and-pull between Fetterman
and his staffers, who begged to take it down.

But reportedly, a staffer said, Fetterman didn’t want to concede to the
“woke mob.”

One of the most stunning statements Fetterman made about the war and his
opposition to a ceasefire was: “Let’s get back to killing,” according to
the magazine article.

He denied this recollection of events and said to New York Magazine: “Any
reference to killing was solely about Hamas, and I do support the
destruction of that organization, down to its last member.”

New claims about Gisele Fetterman’s injuries in car accident, clashes with
husband’s politics
Fetterman’s support for Israel — and other issues — was also reportedly a
point of contention between him and his wife, Gisele, a philanthropist and
nonprofit leader who is a former undocumented immigrant from Brazil.

According to the New York Magazine article, Gisele arrived at Fetterman’s
Senate office and, according to a staffer, got into an argument regarding
Israel’s attacks on Gaza.

“They are bombing refugee camps. How can you support this?” the staffer
recalled her saying, the magazine reported.

He assured her it was all propaganda. And eventually, according to the
magazine, Gisele, who is a key part of his political brand, asked for
assistance in separating herself from her husband’s position on Israel.

There have been other moments of frustration and tension in their
relationship, the magazine reported, including Fetterman pushing her to
travel with him to Mar-a-Lago (which she eventually did), taking a
seemingly random trip that made him miss one of his children’s birthdays,
and Gisele refusing to speak with Fetterman until his blood was tested.

Gisele told New York Magazine: “I would talk to John’s doctors about what
Adam [Jentleson] was telling me and they would be confused. Those doctors
would tell me that their concerns were not with John, but with Adam. Any
alleged ‘concerns’ heard from me came straight from those lies, not from
John’s doctors or my own eyes.”

She was also with Fetterman during a particularly scary moment in June
2024 when he was driving at 70 mph — a “high rate of speed, well over the
posted speed limit,” according to a police report — on Interstate 70 in
Hancock, Md., and his Chevrolet Traverse struck a Chevrolet Impala being
driven by a 62-year-old woman from Pennsylvania.

» READ MORE: Sen. John Fetterman got two speeding tickets before Sunday’s
crash, Pa. records show

As previously reported by The Inquirer at the time, Gisele and her husband
were taken to the hospital out of an abundance of caution. But more
details were revealed when New York Magazine reported that Gisele suffered
pulmonary contusion and spinal fractures and that Fetterman, who has a
history of reckless driving behaviors and was found “at fault” for the
accident, called a staffer and said he fell asleep at the wheel.

Grappling with the duties of the Senate, including the Hegseth nomination
Fetterman’s openness to the GOP has taken various forms. For example, he’s
created an account on Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social, and
expressed a willingness to support several of the president’s cabinet
picks during Senate confirmations earlier this year.

But one impending confirmation in particular, seemed to bother Fetterman
immensely, New York Magazine reported, as he was torn on whether to vote
for then-Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth, who faced allegations of
sexual assault and alcohol abuse.

According to the article, Fetterman suggested he should flee Washington
for his parents’ house in York, Pa. The pressure Fetterman felt about
Hegseth’s confirmation, as well as rumors about him leaving the Democratic
Party, reportedly resulted in the senator locking himself in his office,
fighting with his wife, and crying as he FaceTimed with staff.

Ultimately, Fetterman voted no on Hegseth.

Fetterman is largely isolated, New York Magazine reported. He removed
himself from the Democratic-caucus group chat, rarely attends hearings,
has missed more votes the first quarter of 2025 than any other senator,
and has had verbal altercations with fellow senators. There were days
where staff had to shield him from anyone outside the office in case he
acted impolitely toward constituents.

Shortly before Fetterman was admitted to Walter Reed in 2023, Sen. Sherrod
Brown (D., Ohio) went to visit Fetterman in his new Capitol Hill office
and, despite Brown’s best efforts, Fetterman was “catatonic.”

But it does appear that he has a few friends, namely Sen. Peter Welch (D.,
Vt.) and Sen. Katie Britt (R., Ala.), who have occasionally dined together
and shared stories about their families.

Welch said when he visited Fetterman at Walter Reed it was like “seeing a
friend who was in really rough shape suddenly being his old self.”

https://www.inquirer.com/politics/nation/senator-john-fetterman-mental-
health-nymag-20250502.html