Democratic Sen. Peter Welch, a close friend of Sen. John Fetterman’s, said Monday that he is “concerned about John.”
Welch’s comments come after New York Magazine published an in-depth report detailing Fetterman’s erratic behavior and health challenges he has faced since he was elected to the Senate in 2022, when he had a stroke in the closing weeks of his campaign. In the story, former and current staffers for the Pennsylvania senator laid out their concerns about Fetterman’s ability to do the job — and for his personal health.
“I want to check in with him this week,” Welch said on Monday evening. “I can’t comment on his medical condition. He’s a close friend, and I think he adds something special to the Democratic caucus. I mean, he’s been through a lot, and what he has to do to maintain his recovery, that’s between him and his doctors. But I’m a friend, and I want to be fully supportive.”
Fetterman’s office didn’t answer questions from NOTUS on outreach from other senators since the story was published last week.
But he told New York Magazine that any suggestion that he is not taking his medication is “not accurate” and coming from “disgruntled employees.”
In his short time in the Senate, Fetterman has largely isolated himself from the Senate Democratic caucus and has often clashed with the party’s stances on issues like the Israel-Hamas war. He is seen as a reliable vote for Democrats but has often made a point of voting with Republicans, including on some of President Donald Trump’s highest-profile nominees. Since his stroke, he has come to rely on using his phone in the hallways to transcribe reporters’ questions, and he has been hospitalized at least twice since starting his tenure.
The magazine’s reporting includes an account from Fetterman’s former chief of staff, Adam Jentleson, who stepped down in 2024. Jentleson shared a letter with the magazine that he had written to Fetterman’s doctor stating that the senator “engages in risky behavior,” adding that “he drives recklessly: he FaceTimes, texts and reads entire news articles while driving — and I don’t mean while stopped at a light.”
Other aides expressed concern that Fetterman wasn’t taking his medication in March 2024, adding that they regularly heard him comment that “he didn’t ‘need’” the medication and that “he ‘didn’t like the way’ his medication ‘made’ him feel.’”
Since the publication of the story, Welch said that he has texted with Fetterman. He added that he hopes to “get together with him and be supportive.”
“He’s been a really good senator,” Welch said. “He’s had incredible health issues to deal with. I’m confident he will [overcome them].”
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Torrence Banks is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.