Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) returned to Capitol Hill on Monday after a two-month absence to seek treatment for clinical depression.
The Pennsylvania senator checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in February, where he began receiving treatment on a voluntary basis after being examined by doctors, as Breitbart News reported.
It was the second time the senator had attended the hospital within seven days. The week before, Fetterman was hospitalized for “clinical depression,” he made a hospital visit after he “began feeling lightheaded.”
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., gestures to the gathered cameras outside the Capitol as he returns to the Senate on Monday, April 17, 2023, following treatment for clinical depression. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Senator John Fetterman arrives at the U..S Capitol following a stay at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, April 17, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty)
At the time Fetterman’s communications director, Joe Cavello, said “initial tests did not show evidence of a new stroke” but that more tests would be run.
Fetterman exited his car in his trademark black hooded sweatshirt, gym shorts, and sneakers Monday as he returned and placed his hand over his heart before making for the chamber ahead of votes later in the afternoon.
The newly elected senator from Pennsylvania suffered a stroke last year shortly before the Democratic primary in May.
He defied that setback to still beat Republican television star and physician Mehmet Oz in the subsequent election despite early struggles with his communication and public profile.
WATCH: ‘You Don’t Think Your Vote Doesn’t Matter’ — John Fetterman Word Salad Days Before Midterms
Fetterman’s return comes as the Democratic caucus grapples with the continued absence of Senator Dianne Feinstein, 89, who has been out of the Senate for a similar time with shingles.
Meanwhile Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has completed his intensive home rehabilitation program and also returned to work in the U.S. Capitol on Monday, a full six weeks after a fall at a Washington hotel and extended treatment for a concussion.