Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) is off to a rough start to his term in the U.S. Senate. He was hospitalized last week after feeling lightheaded. Wednesday night he was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for treatment for clinical depression.

His chief of staff released a statement Thursday afternoon.

“While John has experienced depression off and on throughout his life, it only became severe in recent weeks,” Adam Jentleson, his chief of staff, said in a statement. He said that after undergoing an evaluation on Monday by Dr. Brian P. Monahan, the attending physician in Congress, Mr. Fetterman followed the recommendation for inpatient care at Walter Reed.

“John agreed, and he is receiving treatment on a voluntary basis,” Mr. Jentleson said.

Last week Fetterman, 53, was admitted to George Washington University Hospital after experiencing lightheadedness during a daylong Senate Democrat retreat. He stayed two days in the stroke unit where he received an M.R.I. and other tests. Another stroke was ruled out. He didn’t suffer any seizures. A stroke was a normal health scare to check out with Fetterman, given the life-threatening stroke that he suffered in May 2022 as he ran for the Senate. He almost died, though the true severity of his illness was not told to voters at the time. His wife took charge and refused to talk about his health.

Fetterman voluntarily checked himself in for help at Walter Reed Hospital. He has had trouble with his physical and emotional recovery since his stroke. His transition to becoming a member of the Senate has been more difficult than expected, from all indications. He was not fully recovered when he was sworn into office. He does not appear to have gotten any better in his short time in D.C.

He must realize that he isn’t up to the job. I hope he isn’t sticking with it because his wife is insisting on it. She seems to be the ambitious one in their relationship and at this point, she should have his best interests at heart. For the sake of his health, both physical and mental, he should step down and allow himself time to heal. His stroke was a severe one and he didn’t take enough time because of the election.

Fetterman is being accommodated as well as can be expected in the Senate. He carries a closed captioning tablet to talk to his staff and colleagues. His auditory processing disability is addressed with wired screens in the Senate chamber. Closed-captioning is typed out by professional broadcast captioners so he can participate in Senate business. Last week he admitted he has severe hearing processing issues causing him to hear the voice of the teacher from the “Peanuts” cartoon when listening to people speak.

Until recent hospitalizations, updates on Fetterman’s recovery from his stroke have been sketchy at best. There were calls for his medical records to be released during the campaign. Dr. Clifford Chen, a contributor to the Fetterman campaign, wrote a medical report that said he was “recovering well from his stroke and his health has continued to improve.” That was meant to reassure Democrats and others who were planning to vote for him instead of the Republican candidate endorsed by Trump, Dr. Oz. Fetterman was struggling on the campaign trail yet he easily won the election.

Senator Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) suffered a stroke in January. He said he is now 90% recovered. He is 49 years old.

In purely political terms, it was important for Lujan to return to the Senate, as it was evenly split between Democrats and Republicans. Now it is as important to keep Fetterman in his seat as he flipped the seat to the Democrat side. He succeeds retiring second-term Republican Sen. Pat Toomey. Nonetheless, politics aside, it’s a shame Fetterman doesn’t have someone close to him who can convince him to step aside, especially now that mental health issues have come to the surface.