Over the past few months, many Senators have been thrown out of the office to hospital beds. It’s left the balance of power uncertain.
And this U.S. Senator dropped a startling update from the hospital.
Americans have been shocked by the recent hospitalizations of major U.S. politicians.
Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) was MIA thanks to a bout of shingles that left her bed-ridden.
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) was rushed to the hospital after suffering a fall that left him with a concussion and damage to his ribs.
Both of these were unforeseen circumstances – but there’s one Senator everyone knew would end up with medical problems.
Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) suffered a stroke while campaigning last May and checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Feb. 15 when he began feeling depressed, a common after-effect felt by stroke survivors.
It doesn’t take a doctor to know that a recovering stroke victim should probably focus on his health rather than grasp at the reins of power.
But that didn’t stop Fetterman from taking the nomination.
Fetterman won his primary race while in the hospital following his major stroke. He underwent surgery in which doctors implanted a pacemaker with a defibrillator to manage his heart.
He then beat Republican TV star Dr. Mehmet Oz in one of the country’s most closely watched and expensive Senate races.
Now that he’s been in the hospital for weeks, he’s finally giving Americans an idea as to when he plans to get out.
A spokesman for Fetterman did not specify when he will return to work.
“He’ll be back soon, at least over a week, but soon,” spokesperson Joe Calvello said Thursday.
Members of his party did not provide any other information about his return.
“We want to give him the space to recuperate,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said at a Wednesday news conference. “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.”
Senator Robert Casey, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, said he has heard from Fetterman’s staff that his colleague has made “good progress,” but he hasn’t spoken to him because he doesn’t want to bother him further.
He is unsure when Fetterman will return, but he is grateful for the time he needs to recover.
“I’m just happy he’s getting the time that he needs and most people understand that these things don’t occur over two or three weeks, it takes a little longer,” Casey said.
It was reported last week that physicians were attempting to get his medication “exactly right” before releasing him, which may take up to two weeks.
When Fetterman was taken to Walter Reed, he had been in office for just over a month. His employees claimed he wasn’t acting like himself. Instead of engaging in his usual banter with aides, he became aloof and disinterested in conversing and eating.
Dr. Brain Monahan, the Capitol physician, evaluated the freshman senator and advised him to seek treatment at Walter Reed.
Fetterman has been briefed in person by his chief of staff every day while at the military hospital, according to Calvello. While getting treatment, he continued to sponsor legislation and publish statements through his office.
Stay tuned to The Federalist Wire.
