Source: Politics<\/p>\n
John Fetterman has long been on a political island \u2014 and now his tendency to rebuff professional relationships is coming back to bite him.<\/p>\n
Few fellow Democrats have rushed to Fetterman\u2019s defense after an explosive article in New York magazine<\/a> reported that current and former staffers are seriously concerned about his mental and physical health. The Pennsylvania senator, who has strongly denied claims that he is unfit to serve, is not doing traditional damage control, and most top Democrats aren\u2019t going out of their way to do it for him.<\/p>\n Instead, private chatter about primary challenges to Fetterman has ramped up. And in recent days, some Pennsylvania Democrats have begun to quietly review the rules about what would happen if he stepped down and whispered about potential replacements. Fetterman has vowed to serve his full term, which ends in 2029.<\/p>\n Even some top Democrats in his state, who would normally be expected to be in contact with their legislative counterpart, aren\u2019t speaking out in support of their party\u2019s only senator.<\/p>\n \u201cI have had no contact or conversation with him, so I have no way of weighing in on that,\u201d said Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), when asked to comment on the report. She added that \u201cI couldn\u2019t tell you\u201d when she\u2019d last talked to Fetterman.<\/p>\n Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.) said she hadn\u2019t spoken to Fetterman \u201crecently\u201d and didn\u2019t know the \u201cunderlying facts\u201d about Fetterman\u2019s situation, but that the article \u201cobviously raises questions.\u201d<\/p>\n Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.), a progressive whose district includes the town where Fetterman lives, said she hadn\u2018t talked to him recently. Asked about the story, she responded pointedly that Pennsylvanians\u2019 thoughts matter more than her own: \u201cI hope they read it.\u201d<\/p>\n The episode has illustrated Fetterman\u2019s standing \u2014 or lack thereof \u2014 in a party where many who once embraced him as a potential model for the future have now ostracized him over his shifting political persona. The public defense of Fetterman has largely come from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the few Democrats with whom Fetterman has existing relationships.<\/p>\n In a sign of evolving political allegiances, the home-state elected official offering the strongest defense of Fetterman is actually a Republican.<\/p>\n Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) told POLITICO that Fetterman \u201cis authentic and a fighter, and these disgraceful attacks against him are not the John that I know and respect.\u201d McCormick said he and Fetterman have a \u201cgreat relationship, both professionally and personally.\u201d<\/p>\n Fetterman declined to comment for this story. But in a Tuesday interview with CNN<\/a>, he said the New York article is \u201ca one-source hit piece, and it involved maybe two or three and anonymous disgruntled staffers saying just absolute false things.\u201d He denied missing medical check-ups or doses of medication. <\/p>\n Fetterman has always had a go-it-alone attitude<\/a>, and while progressives once adored him, he has never been a favorite of the Democratic establishment<\/a>. In his 2022 Senate primary, only a handful of elected Democrats endorsed Fetterman<\/a>. Going as far back as when he was mayor of Braddock, he ruffled feathers among Democrats<\/a>.<\/p>\n So it\u2019s no surprise to Fetterman\u2019s current and former aides, at least, that he finds himself relatively alone at a perilous moment in his career.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s never been somebody that has all these long-standing relationships with other elected officials,\u201d said a Fetterman adviser who was granted anonymity to speak frankly. \u201cThat’s been his whole career. So I don’t think it’s abnormal when it comes to him to not see an outpouring of defense or support for him.\u201d<\/p>\n The adviser argued voters like \u201cthat he isn\u2019t seen as his fellow colleagues\u2019 best friend\u201d and \u201che partly got elected for that reason.\u201d<\/p>\n Recent Morning Consult polls<\/a> have found Fetterman\u2019s popularity on the rise<\/a> in Pennsylvania, as Republican voters have increasingly given him a thumbs-up while Democratic voters have stood by him despite criticism from some on the left. Fifty percent of state voters approved of his job performance, while 35 percent disapproved. But a survey of adults across the nation<\/a> painted a different picture, showing his approval rating underwater among Democrats and independents, but positive among Republicans.<\/p>\n Schumer told reporters that Fetterman is an \u201call-star\u201d who is \u201cdoing a good job.\u201d<\/a> Peter Welch (D-Vt.), who joined the Senate in the same class as Fetterman, \u201crecently had dinner with Senator Fetterman,\u201d a spokesperson said. \u201cHe\u2019s a friend and he\u2019ll continue to support him.\u201d Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.), a fellow western Pennsylvania Democrat, said Fetterman has been \u201cup front in the past about his mental health treatment,\u201d and \u201cshould get a chance to weigh in and address the reports here.\u201d<\/p>\n Rep. Dwight Evans (D-Pa.), who has suffered his own health setbacks since having a stroke in 2024, said that he had \u201cno\u201d concerns about Fetterman\u2019s fitness. But he also acknowledged that he has not talked with him recently, something he didn’t read too much into and said was \u201cpar for the course.\u201d<\/p>\n When Fetterman faced medical crises in the past, Democrats united around him in a tight battleground election while Republicans expressed concern.<\/p>\n After Fetterman suffered a stroke in his 2022 campaign, top Democrats, especially then-Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), strongly vouched for him. Democrats also came to his defense when he checked himself into the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for clinical depression in 2023. They hailed him as courageous for speaking out about his mental health struggles \u2014 a marked departure from past elected officials.<\/p>\n