Topline
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., is showing growing apathy for the duties of his job outside of the public spotlight, often cancelling or refusing meetings with fellow lawmakers and constituents, while prioritizing interviews with Fox News and meetings with Israel advocates, according to a new Wall Street Journal report.
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) listens as Former director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Anthony Fauci testifies to Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on July 29, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
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Key Facts
Fetterman often neglects the concerns of his constituents, going nearly a year without a public event in Pennsylvania until earlier this summer, has become dismissive about meetings he doesn’t want to attend and grown angry towards party leaders, according to the report based on interviews with more than a dozen former staffers and lawmakers, text messages and other internal records.
In June, Fetterman said he was too sick to attend a meeting at his office with three paralyzed veterans in wheelchairs, but came in less than an hour later because he had an interview with Fox News to discuss the war in Iran and Israel that he said he didn’t want to miss.
In March last year, he texted a Schumer staffer “I truly don’t care,” when they contacted him to arrange a call with other Senate Democrats, according to The Journal.
In April 2025, Fetterman allegedly refused to meet with constituents from a poor, flood-prone area who came to Washington to express concerns to their congressional representatives about Trump administration cuts, and he was reportedly “dismissive” about a meeting request last September from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to discuss Medicaid cuts.
In another incident in April last year, Fetterman refused to meet with state lawmaker Liz Hanbridge when she drove to Washington to discuss programs to help homeless people and low-income workers, according to The Journal, but took a meeting later that day with former NCAA basketball coach and Israel advocate Bruce Pearl.
Neither Fetterman nor his office responded to questions from The Journal for the story.
Chief Critics
“John Fetterman is a disgrace. Our state deserves better than a lazy trust fund baby who is too lazy to do the job,” Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., wrote on X in response to The Journal report. Rep. Chriz Deluzio, D-Pa., called Fetterman’s behavior “pathetic,” writing, “Between the laziness, disrespect, and willingness to carry water for a foreign government, it shows us something we already know: this man has no sense of duty,” adding, “He is not up for the high office he was elected to—and we in Pennsylvania will do something about it in 2028.”
Contra
Schumer told The Journal Fetterman is “an important member of our caucus” and said he was proud of the diverse viewpoints among Senate Democrats. The two had dinner together last month, according to The Journal, citing an anonymous source. Fetterman was reportedly incensed when Schumer and party leadership didn’t grant his request to sit on the Foreign Relations Committee, an assignment typically reserved for senior lawmakers, and was instead appointed to the Homeland Security Committee.
Key Background
The report comes as Fetterman has increasingly and fiercely defended Israel amid its war in Gaza and the U.S. war in Iran and fostered close relationships with Israel advocates and officials. Meanwhile, he has reportedly isolated himself from his party and sometimes defects to vote with Republicans, including on Israel issues, generating speculation he could switch parties. He has said he would only leave the Democratic Party if it turned against Israel. In an interview with The New York Times in July, he noted he votes with Democrats more than 90% of the time, while also parroting a Republican talking point that some in the Democratic Party are veering toward “communism.” Fetterman had a near-fatal stroke in 2022, just days before his primary, and has spoken openly about his experience with depression, which he said flared up after his stroke. In 2023, he spent over a month in the hospital being treated for clinical depression. Fetterman’s former chief of staff, Adam Jentleson, wrote a letter in 2024 to Fetterman’s doctors alerting them that he was exhibiting concerning behavior, including conspiratorial thinking and high highs and low lows, and was off his recovery plan. Fetterman denied Jentleson’s claims. Fetterman has lost a string of staffers throughout his tenure, including another chief of staff, Cabelle St. John, earlier this summer.
Big Number
73%. That’s Fetterman’s favorability rating among Republicans in Pennsylvania, compared to 22% among Democrats, according to an August New York Times poll.
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