Staffers for Sen. Fetterman (D-PA) allege serious mental health concerns

Staffers for Sen. Fetterman (D-PA) allege serious mental health concerns.

US declares ceasefire with Yemen’s Houthis after weeks of bombing.

India carries out airstrikes on Pakistan, Kashmir.

Democrat John Fetterman defeated Republican Dr. Mehmet Oz in a midterm race for a Pennsylvania Senate seat in 2022 by campaigning as a progressive fire brand. He won despite having severed a severe stroke just months before the election, which has continued to affect his speech. However, current and former staffers say that the knock-on effects have been much deeper than that, and that Fetterman has continued to exhibit serious and concerning behavioral effects.

According to New York Magazine, Fetterman’s former chief of staff Adam Jentleson wrote to Fetterman’s physician in 2024 about his concerns about Fetterman’s behavior and well-being. Jentleson wrote that “John is on a bad trajectory” and that he was worried that Fetterman “won’t be with us for much longer”. He also wrote, “we do not know if he is taking his meds and his behavior frequently suggests he is not”.

Jentleson pointed to “warning signs” such as, “Conspiratorial thinking; megalomania (for example, he claims to be the most knowledgeable source on Israel and Gaza around but his sources are just what he reads in the news – he declines most briefings and never reads memos)”.

Jentleson also wrote that he had observed in Fetterman, “High highs and low lows; rambling, repetitive and self-centered monologues; lying in ways that are painfully, awkwardly obvious to everyone in the room”.

Erratic behavior

Even more disturbing, Jentleson and other current and former staffers have observed dangerous and, at times, self-destructive behaviors in Fetterman. NYM reports that Fetterman’s driving is so reckless that staffers refuse to ride with him. In June 2024, police said Fetterman was at fault for an accident in which he drove at a high rate of speed before rear ending another car. Fetterman’s wife Giselle, who was in the backseat of his car, suffered a pulmonary contusion and spinal fractures. In another incident, Fetterman reportedly walked out into traffic and was nearly struck by a car.

His erratic behavior has also led to rapid staff turnover, with many finding him impossible to work for. He has also at times struggled to communicate or exhibited strange behavior in meetings with fellow senators and constituents, according to his staffers. Fetterman has also been filmed having bizarre confrontations with members of the public, including one instance in which he got into an altercation with an airline pilot for refusing to wear his seatbelt properly.

Fetterman’s behavior has also distressed his wife Giselle, according to staffers. Giselle has also reportedly been taken aback by Fetterman’s unapologetic support for Israel’s brutal military actions in the Gaza Strip. Staffers say when Giselle confronted her husband for supporting Israel’s actions, despite them “bombing refugee camps”, Fetterman dismissed her concerns as “propaganda”. In a meeting with a progressive pro-Israel group, Fetterman expressed his opposition to a ceasefire saying “let’s get back to killing” and “kill them all”.

Concealment and disclosure

After the very public showdown within the Democratic Party last year over President Joe Biden’s mental decline, there is a lot of sensitivity over what level of disclosure is in the public interest when it comes to politicians’ mental health status. Fellow Democratic Senators who work with Fetterman largely have presented a united front. While they acknowledge concerns, they insist that Fetterman is still a valued colleague.

The staffers who spoke to NYM paint a very different picture. While Fetterman is generally lucid, his staffers allege that there are times when they prevent any constituents from visiting his office because he is not up to meeting with them. They are worried about what he will say to them or how he will behave. As of March, Fetterman had also missed 18% of Senate votes this year, the most of any US Senator.

Fetterman himself has dismissed reports of his bizarre and sometimes dangerous behavior as being untrue, blaming “disgruntled” staff. He also described the New York Magazine story as a “hit piece from a very left publication”.

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US declares ceasefire with Yemen’s Houthis after weeks of bombing

Earlier today, President Trump announced that the US had agreed to stop bombing Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. The US has been bombing Yemen almost daily since March 15. Hundreds, possibly thousands, of civilians have been killed. In return for this ceasefire, the Houthis agreed not to attack American shipping in the Red Sea.

Before the US began bombing Yemen on March 15, the Houthis had not been attacked American ships in the Red Sea for several months. During the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the Houthis had ceased their naval blockade of the Red Sea, which they began in November 2023 in solidarity with Palestine. They had resumed targeting Israeli shipping after Israel unilaterally pulled out of its ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza at the beginning of March. No mention was made today about whether the Houthis had committed to cease attacking Israeli shipping.

In addition to their blockade of the Red Sea, the Houthis have carried out several missile strikes on Israel. One hit an Israeli military base a few weeks ago, and just this weekend another struck very close to Ben Gurion airport, Israel’s main civilian airport near Tel Aviv. In response, Israel carried out several airstrikes against Yemen yesterday.

Reporters asked Trump this afternoon about the continuing hostilities between Israel and Yemen, and the Houthi’s announced intention to continue firing missiles at Israel. Trump answered, “I don’t know about that, frankly. I know one thing: they want nothing to do with us”. When reporters pressed further on how the US would respond to Houthi attacks on Israel, Trump said, “I’ll discuss that if something happens with Israel and the Houthis.”

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India carries all airstrikes on Pakistan, Kashmir

Late last month, 26 mostly Indian tourists were gunned down at a vacation spot in the Indian-controlled region of Kashmir, which is also partly governed by neighboring Pakistan.

The gunmen and their motives were never identified, but the Indian government claimed that the militants were supported by Pakistan. Just a few hours ago, India carried out a series of pre-dawn airstrikes on Pakistan and the Pakistan-controlled region of Kashmir in retaliation.

According to Indian officials, no Pakistani military bases were hit but India claims they hit “terrorist infrastructure” where they claimed “terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed”.

Pakistan’s defense minister Khwaja Asif says that India’s missile struck at least two locations in Pakistani Kashmir and five in Pakistan’s Punjab region. According to Asif, all of India’s targets were civilian sites. One of the targets hit was a mosque in Punjab. There, a child was killed and others were injured, according to Pakistani authorities. Other civilian deaths and injuries have been reported from other strikes, including in Muzafarrabad, the capital of Pakistani Kashmir. Muzafarrabad also suffered a power outage after explosions were heard. Purposefully and indiscriminately striking civilian targets is a war crime.

Pakistan has vowed to retaliate and already claims to have shot down two Indian Jets.

India and Pakistan have had several military confrontations in recent years. However, in most cases, these have consisted of border skirmishes between uniformed combatants and strikes on military targets. This round of fighting is already off to a bitter start and is more brutal in character than previously. This is particularly worrisome as both India and Pakistan possess arsenals of nuclear weapons.

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