BURSTRepublican Sen. Markwayne Mullin (Okla.) says Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) seems to be “cognitively better” today than when he first came to the Senate in 2023 after suffering a debilitating stroke, pushing back on reports that Fetterman is going through a mental health crisis.
“I came in with John, right, and I travel with John. I think he seems to be cognitively better today than he was when he first came in as a freshman,” Mullin told video journalist Nicholas Ballasy.
Mullin was elected in 2022 and came to the Senate in 2023 in the same class as Fetterman.
Fetterman was admitted to Walter Reed hospital in early 2023 for clinical depression and his then-chief of staff sent a 1,600-word email to Fetterman’s doctor in May 2024 warning that his boss was on a “bad trajectory” and expressing concern that Fetterman “won’t be with us for much longer.”
The email was revealed in a New York magazine piece published this month that raised questions about Fetterman’s mental health, citing former aides.
Mullin said he thinks Democrats are trying to smear Fetterman because he’s broken with the party by staunchly supporting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war in Gaza.
“It is kind of funny because the way the Democrats act is, if you don’t agree with them on all their points, they wanna wipe you off the face of the earth,” Mullin said.
He accused Democrats of doing an about-face on Fetterman after he declared “I’m not a progressive,” backed Israel’s military incursion into Gaza, and visited President Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
“It was just, you know, a few short years ago that Fetterman was like this godsend in Pennsylvania, and he came here and they realized that Fetterman is his own man, he’s going to speak his mind,” he added. “And the Democrats are all about controlling the party. And so, if you’re speaking away from them, it’s doomsday for you.”
Fetterman slammed the New York magazine piece about his alleged mental health struggles as a “hit piece” and says he’s moved on.
He accused his former staff of holding a “bizarre grudge” against him.
“It was just a dumb hit piece, and we’ve all moved on,” he said.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) earlier this month defended Fetterman as a “good legislator.”
“He’s doing a good job, and he’s a good legislator,” Schumer told reporters.