Sen. John Fetterman was hospitalized Thursday after he became lightheaded and fell during a morning walk near his home in Braddock, his spokesperson said.
Fetterman, 56, was taken to a Pittsburgh hospital "out of an abundance of caution" to be evaluated and treated for minor injuries to his face, the spokesperson said in a social media post. The Democrat had a flare up of ventricular fibrillation, a condition that causes an irregular heart rhythm and led to his symptoms before the fall.
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Fetterman remained at the hospital Thursday afternoon for further observation and to adjust his medication.
"If you thought my face looked bad before, wait until you see it now!" Fetterman said via his spokesperson.
The fall is the latest in a series of health issues for Fetterman, who has periodically faced questions about his fitness for office since suffering a stroke during his Senate campaign in 2022. Shortly after he took office, Fetterman was hospitalized for lightheadedness during a Senate Democratic retreat. He then checked into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for six weeks to be treated for clinical depression.
In his new memoir, "Unfettered," Fetterman delves into his health issues and his evolving political outlook in Washington. He has sometimes broken with Senate Democrats and aligned with Republicans on key issues, including contentious confirmation votes for Donald Trump's cabinet and repeated votes more recently to end the federal government shutdown.
Fetterman was one of eight Senate Democrats to back the Republican bill that passed Wednesday without the extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies that had been a critical priority for the Democratic caucus. Republican leaders in the Senate agreed to revisit the issue in a future vote as millions of Americans brace for rising insurance costs. The credits are set to expire at the end of the year.
In an interview Wednesday on "The View," Fetterman defended his voting record on the shutdown.
"When you're confronting mass, mass chaos, I don't think you should be responding with more chaos," Fetterman said. "… We need to be the party of order and logic."
Fetterman also said he voted to protect air traffic safety for American travelers and to ensure that 42 million people in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program continue to receive their benefits.
In an interview with CBS News, Fetterman said Democrats will continue to push for the ACA extensions.
"What I'm hopeful (for) is that we are going to create those kinds of extensions, but we have to negotiate with the Republicans, because America decided to put us in the minority," Fetterman said. "Obviously, Trump is in the White House and they also have the majority in the House. That's the essence of democracy, to find a way forward because our parties have different priorities."
Earlier this year, Fetterman faced scrutiny after a New York Magazine story quoted several staffers, some anonymously, who said he often was absent from his office and had emotional outbursts. At the time, some Republicans jumped to his defense. Fetterman also has faced criticism from Democrats for his support of Israel in its conflict with Palestine.
In his memoir, Fetterman complains that he's been hurt most deeply by left-wing criticism. He told CNN he asked his digital staff to brief him on the hostility he receives on social media.
"The difference is, the right would say really rough things and names — some names I won't repeat on TV," Fetterman said on CBS News. "But on the left, it was like they want me to die or that, 'We're cheering for your next stroke.'"