Sen. John Fetterman remains hospitalized as doctors monitor him for signs of seizures, rule out new stroke

Sen. John Fetterman remains hospitalized in Washington, DC, and is being monitored for signs of seizures after feeling lightheaded during a Democratic Party retreat Wednesday night. 

“According to John’s doctors at The George Washington University Hospital, the results of the MRI, along with the results of all of the other tests the doctors ran, rule out a new stroke,” Fetterman’s communications director Joe Calvello said in a statement Thursday. 

The Pennsylvania Democrat, 53, suffered a stroke in May 2022.

“John is being monitored with an EEG for signs of seizure – so far there are no signs of seizure, but he is still being monitored,” Calvello added. 

An electroencephalogram, or EEG, is a test that measures electrical activity in the brain using electrodes attached to the scalp.

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On the campaign trail, Republican opponent Dr. Mehmet Oz pressed Fetterman to release his medical records after his health scare, which kept the former mayor of Braddock, Pa., out of the public eye for months in the run-up to the November election. 

The stroke left Fetterman with lingering auditory processing issues and speech difficulties, which requires him to use special closed-captioning technology in the Senate to perform his duties.

If the senator’s latest health issue leaves him unfit to serve, Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro would need to appoint a replacement, and then a special election would be held in 2024 to select a candidate to finish out Fetterman’s term.