Fetterman defends mental health, desire to stay Congress
At a debate with Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) Monday morning, Fetterman claimed that the media is trying to 'smear' him over his lack of public appearances, including for congressional votes.
'I'm here. I'm doing that job,' Fetterman (D-Pa.) said. 'For me, if I miss some of those quotes — I mean some of those votes — I've made 90 percent of them and, and we all know those votes that I've missed were on Monday; those are travel days, and I have three young kids, and I — those are throwaway procedural votes. … That's a choice that I made, and if you want to attack me for that, go ahead.'
Fetterman's office did not immediately respond to POLITICO's request for comment.
The first-term senator has come under fire from progressives and others both in Congress and his home state over his voting record and alleged outbursts toward staffers.
Fetterman suffered a stroke shortly before winning the 2022 Senate primary and was admitted to the hospital, where doctors removed a clot. In February 2023, Fetterman announced he was seeking treatment for severe depression.
Many applauded Fetterman for being candid about his mental health struggles.
But a bombshell New York magazine report this month alleged that current and former staffers are concerned about Fetterman's mental and physical health. Top Democrats have yet to come to Fetterman's defense, and at least one Pennsylvanian progressive organization called on Fetterman to resign, citing the senator's voting record and 'disdainful attitude' toward constituents.
'You have failed to fulfill the most basic duties of the office by avoiding contact with your constituents who can't even leave voicemails after business hours, refusing to hold town halls, yelling at visitors in your office and inexcusably missing more votes than any other member of the current Senate,' the letter from Indivisible Pennsylvania read.
On Monday, Fetterman alleged that Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) missed more votes than he has. Sanders and Murray did not immediately respond to requests for comment
'Why aren't the left media yelling and demanding them and claiming they're not doing their job?' Fetterman said.
Since taking office in 1991, Sanders has missed 836 of 6,226 roll call votes, or about 13.4 percent, according to GovTrack.us, a government transparency site. Between 1993 and May 2025, Murray missed 290 of 11,106 roll call votes, or about 2.6 percent.
In his first term, Fetterman has missed 174 of 961 of roll call votes, or about 18.1 percent, according to GovTrack.us. The median among lifetime records of current sitting senators is 2.9 percent.
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