Reports: John Fetterman to return to Senate in mid-April

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, who has been hospitalized since February with clinical depression, is expected to return to work in the Senate in mid-April, according to published reports.

>> Read more trending news

Sources that requested anonymity told The Washington Post, The Associated Press and other outlets that Fetterman, 53, will return the week of April 17. Fetterman spokesperson Joe Calvello confirmed the date to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Calvello told the newspaper he did not know when Fetterman would be released from the hospital.

Fetterman’s return was first reported by Politico.

Fetterman, the freshman Democrat from Pennsylvania, checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in February after he was evaluated by the attending physician of Congress, the Post reported. The physician, Brian Monahan, suggested inpatient care for depression that had become “severe,” the newspaper reported, citing a statement from the senator’s chief of staff, Adam Jentleson, at the time.

The absence of Fetterman, along with fellow Democratic senator Dianne Feinstein of California, who was suffering from shingles, has hampered the party’s efforts to advance some of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees, according to the Post.

Fetterman has not participated in a Senate vote since Feb. 15, the Inquirer reported.

“I visited John yesterday and it’s remarkable how good he looked,” Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa, said in a statement Wednesday. “He’s in really good shape. I look forward to welcoming him back to the Senate next month.”

U.S. Rep Dwight Evans, a Democrat from Philadelphia tweeted “Look forward to seeing you back in the halls of Congress.”

On the Republican side of the aisle, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has missed time after suffering a concussion and a minor rib fracture after falling at a Washington motel earlier this month, the newspaper reported.

The Senate begins a two-week recess on Monday.