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Fetterman returns to Senate after two months, rolls up in shorts and a hoodie, doesn’t answer questions

April 18, 2023 | | Print Article

The long-awaited return of Senator John Fetterman (D-Pa.) finally arrived after a two-month break when he underwent treatment for clinical depression and the absentee lawmaker rolled up in the nation’s capital clad in his signature outfit of a grungy hoodie, shorts, and tennis shoes as he triumphantly reported to a job that he barely spent a month in before he was hospitalized in mid-February.

The former Pennsylvania lieutenant governor, who won his seat by defeating celebrity physician Dr. Mehmet Oz in November’s midterm elections, was already facing serious questions about his health after suffering a major stroke before last year’s Democrat primary that left him cognitively impaired. And his abrupt checking into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center raised renewed questions as to whether he could survive the rigors of the stressful job in the pressure cooker of the U.S. Senate, but on Monday, he looked fit as a fiddle.

“It’s great to be back,” the hulking, tattooed, everyman told reporters as he disembarked from a vehicle, waved at fans, and strode toward the U.S. Capitol without taking any questions about his ordeal.

(Video: The Daily Mail)

In a statement posted to his website, Fetterman is revved up and ready to face down Republicans over the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) which Democrats have been fearmongering about deep cuts as negotiations over the debt ceiling drag on.

“Cut SNAP for families and kids while pushing tax cuts for billionaires? Not on my watch,” declared Fetterman, or whoever writes his press releases.

“Sen. Fetterman on Wednesday will chair his first subcommittee hearing in the Subcommittee on Food and Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Organics, and Research for a hearing will focus specifically on SNAP and the critical assistance it provides to working families through the upcoming Farm Bill,” the statement reads.

Twitter users reacted to Fetterman’s return to action with many suggesting that his slobbish attire was beneath the dignity of the Senate.

Also returning to duty in the upper chamber of Congress was Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell who has been sidelined since early March when he took a nasty spill at a private dinner at a Washington, D.C. hotel.

“It’s good to be back,” McConnell said in a Senate floor speech on Monday. “Suffice it to say, this wasn’t the first time that being hardheaded has served me very well.”

“We’re truly lucky and blessed that we get to serve in this remarkable institution, represent our home states, and serve our country, and needless to say I’m very happy to be back,” McConnell said in his return speech.

Not making it back to work on Monday was ailing 89-year-old Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) whose absence since she was hospitalized for shingles has dragged on, leading to some party members including Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) to break ranks by calling for her to retire.

 

Chris Donaldson
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