What happened to John Fetterman? United States Senator reportedly faces mental health crisis

United States Senator John Fetterman is reportedly facing a mental health crisis.

Democrat party Senator John Fetterman is reportedly not in good shape. According to an exposé done by New York magazine, the senator, who suffered from a stroke in 2022, is now unrecognizable to his staff, present and past.

The senator's behavior had become so concerning that his former chief of staff, Adam Jentleson, wrote to Dr. David Williamson in May 2024. Dr. Williamson, who is the medical director of the traumatic brain injury and neuropsychiatry unit at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, informed in a 1,600-word email that John is prone to “conspiratorial thinking” and “megalomania.”

“I think John is on a bad trajectory and I’m really worried about him,” he wrote and further stated that if things did not change further the senator “won‘t be with us for much longer.”

He further noted,“We do not know if he is taking his meds and his behavior frequently suggests he is not,” he said in the email, which described “conspiratorial thinking; megalomania… high highs and low lows; long, rambling, repetitive and self centered monologues; lying in ways that are painfully, awkwardly obvious to everyone in the room.”

The issue also raised even more concerns when Jentleson mentioned that he had damaged personal relationships and even bought a gun, which John claimed was for his protection.

John Fetterman had suffered from a stroke a month before he took on his office position and was left with auditory processing issues for which he uses technology to transcribe what people are saying. In 2023, he spent six weeks at Walter Reed and was treated for depression.

According to his office aides, this increase in his deteriorating health has left the aides in a worrying state, to which Fetterman labeled them as disgruntled employees. However, these testimonies describe the senator as someone unfit to hold this position anymore.

A few aides stated they avoided dealing directly with their boss as he exhibited mood swings and moments of paranoia. While others stated that he was a risk to the Democratic Party, but also to himself.

Ever since John Fetterman was elected, he has lost his chief of staff, top communications officers, and legislative director. Not only that, there have also been public disagreements with staff and fellow Democrats over policy. Soon after he got into office, there was an incident where there was a report that Fetterman had walked into the road and narrowly avoided being hit by a car. Later, he was found wandering Capitol Hill. There have also been various verbal altercations, as per witnesses, with his wife, Gisele Barreto Fetterman.

These issues that have arisen are leading to questions such as whether John Fetterman is fit to lead anymore.

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