Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) remained hospitalized Thursday night following a medical episode that he experienced at a Democrat Senate retreat this week.
Fetterman’s communications director, Joe Calvello, said in a statement Thursday that the freshman senator received from results of an MRI at the George Washington University Hospital that allegedly ruled out “a new stroke.”
“He is being monitored with an EEG for signs of seizure – so far there are no signs of seizure, but he is still being monitored,” the statement continued. “We will continue to provide information as it comes in, and we will have more updates as we get them.”
Fetterman’s team revealed earlier this week that he had been admitted to the hospital after “feeling lightheaded.”
“Initial tests did not show evidence of a new stroke, but doctors are running more tests and John is remaining overnight for observation,” the statement continued. “He is in good spirits and talking with his staff and family. We will provide more information when we have it.”
The development comes after Fetterman suffered a serious stroke while on the campaign trail last year. The stroke happened just before the primary, where he and Republican Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz won their parties’ nominations.
The Washington Post Editorial Board slammed Fetterman in an op-ed back in September over his campaign’s lack of transparency surrounding his health issues following the stroke.
“Since returning to the campaign trail, Mr. Fetterman has been halting in his performances,” the Editorial Board wrote. “He stammers, appears confused and keeps his remarks short. He’s held no news conferences. Mr. Fetterman acknowledges his difficulties with auditory processing, which make it hard for him to respond quickly to what he’s hearing. He receives speech therapy — and we wish him a speedy, full recovery — but the lingering, unanswered questions about his health, underscored by his hesitation to debate, are unsettling.”
The newspaper also said that Fetterman’s team was not credible when discussing the senator’s health because they were not forthcoming with how serious the situation was after he suffered the stroke.
“The Fetterman campaign squandered credibility by concealing from the public for two days after his stroke that he had been hospitalized,” the op-ed continued. “It waited weeks longer to reveal a more complete picture of his medical history, including that he had been diagnosed in 2017 with cardiomyopathy. Mr. Fetterman had a pacemaker with a defibrillator implanted after the stroke. The campaign’s response to questions about Mr. Fetterman’s health is to point to a doctor’s note, released more than 14 weeks ago, which said ‘he should be able to campaign and serve in the U.S. Senate without a problem’ if he takes his medications and exercises.”
The Editorial Board said that Fetterman pointing to a 4-month-old doctor’s note was “not good enough” and that he “should release his medical records for independent review.”