Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) blamed his recent hospitalization on the “brutality” of his 2022 Senate campaign.

In an interview with Pittsburgh CBS affiliate KDKA, Fetterman said he is doing better, after he checked himself into Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C., in February. Fetterman was diagnosed with depression and spent six weeks in treatment at Walter Reed. In the interview, the freshman senator blamed his depression on his May 2022 stroke, but also on Republicans during the campaign.

“It was after the brutality of the campaign, the other side,” Fetterman said. “Some people believe it was one of the most vicious political campaigns.” However, Fetterman did not put any of the blame on his opponent, celebrity heart surgeon and television presenter Dr. Mehmet Oz.

Fetterman’s health was a major concern of the campaign. He suffered a massive stroke in May that sidelined him from campaigning for months. The stroke was thrust into the spotlight in particular after an NBC News report in October revealed that Fetterman needed a giant computer screen with closed captions in order to understand what the reporter was saying. Fetterman also reportedly struggled to find the right words in the interview. The impact was also apparent during Fetterman’s lone debate with Dr. Oz; Fetterman struggled to find words and gave several incoherent and incomplete answers to questions.

Fetterman said that his mental health was preventing him from being an effective Senator, husband, and father. “I wasn’t being the kind of senator Pennsylvania deserved,” he said. “I wasn’t being the kind of husband Gisele deserved, I wasn’t being the kind of father my children deserved.”

But Fetterman said this week that he is in better shape. “I feel fantastic, honestly,” he said. “A lot of people have been asking, ‘Hey, how are you feeling, how’s your depression?’ It’s in remission, and I am just so grateful to [be] just feeling great.”

KDKA’s Jon Delano then presented the burning question directly. “Is John Fetterman really fit, mentally and physically, to be a United States senator?” he asked.

“That certainly is very blunt, but my answer will be blunt, too,” Fetterman replied. “Hell yes, and that’s why I’m doing it. Just the way any Pennsylvanians are working, you take it a day and a day and work hard, and that’s exactly what I am doing here.”

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Fetterman was released from Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C., on March 31. After being discharged, he returned home to Pennsylvania to continue his recovery, and returned to work on April 17, when the Senate returned from recess.

According to a statement from Dr. David Williamson, chief of neuropsychiatry and medical director of Walter Reed, Fetterman was admitted on February 15 with severe symptoms of depression, including low energy and motivation, minimal speech, poor sleep, slowed thinking, slowed movement, and feelings of guilt and worthlessness. Fortunately, Fetterman did not show signs of suicidal ideation. But his symptoms had progressively worsened over a period of eight weeks; Fetterman stopped eating and drinking, causing low blood pressure and possibly hurting blood flow to his brain.

Fetterman’s low blood pressure was attributed to poor hydration and weight loss. The Cardiology team adjusted his medications while his depression was handled with medication therapy. Fetterman’s mood steadily improved over the following weeks, the statement continued. He slept better, ate well, and hydrated, and he seemed happier and more motivated, and his attitude and engagement with others also improved. The report concluded that his depression went into remission because of the treatment. Fetterman committed to long-term treatment for depression, the report said.

Politics, they say, makes strange bedfellows.

But to think that Democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and uber-conservative Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) would join forces over … well, anything … is something few who follow Capitol Hill could have ever predicted.

Gaetz and AOC, along with a couple other lawmakers, have introduced the bipartisan Restoring Faith in Government Act, which would prohibit financial investments by members of Congress, their spouses and any dependents.

“The ability to individually trade stock erodes the public’s trust in government,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “When Members have access to classified information, we should not be trading in the stock market on it. It’s really that simple.”

“Members of Congress,” Gaetz said, “are spending their time trading futures instead of securing the future of our fellow Americans. We cannot allow the Swamp to prioritize investing in stocks over investing in our country.”

“As long as concerns about insider trading hang over the legislative process, Congress will never regain the trust of the American people. Our responsibility in Congress is to serve the people, not hedge bets on the stock market,” the Florida lawmaker said.

The bipartisan bill comes as numerous lawmakers reportedly sold their shares in First Republic Bank in just weeks before the firm collapsed and was sold to JPMorgan Chase by financial regulators.

First Republic Bank imploded on Monday, weeks after Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank similarly collapsed, as account holders with balances above the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation threshold rushed to withdraw their funds.

Periodic transaction disclosure forms reveal that multiple lawmakers jettisoned their shares in First Republic Bank or acquired shares in JPMorgan Chase over the past two months, a phenomenon which follows accusations that some lawmakers routinely buy stocks at opportune times and cut losses by selling shares, the Daily Wire reported on Wednesday.

The lawmakers, both Democrats and Republicans, who sold shares of First Republic Bank avoided heavy losses: the firm’s stock fell from $121.54 at the beginning of the year to $3.51 at the time of the collapse.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) as speaker of the House vehemently fought against banning lawmakers from trading stocks — for good reason. Pelosi and her husband have made millions since she took office.

This past January, the couple sold more than $1.5 million in Alphabet stock. Then guess what happened? The Department of Justice announced an antitrust lawsuit against the tech giant earlier this month.

Coincidence?

The Pelosis sold 30,000 shares of Alphabet, the parent company for Google and other firms, on Dec. 20, 21, and 28. The pair received between $1.5 million and $3 million for the total sale, according to a financial disclosure form Mrs. Pelosi filed on Jan. 12. The DOJ announced its lawsuit against Alphabet on Jan. 23.

And between 2007 and 2020, Mrs. Pelosi and her husband saw their stock portfolio’s worth soar by as much as $30 million. Paul Pelosi’s net worth is said to be more than $120 million, mostly due to his holdings in technology stocks.

“When Members of Congress trade individual stocks, people are right to question whether their decisions are for the public good or their own personal benefit,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “During the height of COVID, we saw senators leave briefings and trade stocks — even investing in body bags.”

“Members of Congress often get detailed briefings the public may not have access to for days, weeks, or even months. This information can be about investigations, hearings, policy changes, supply chain issues, new technologies — or even as we’ve seen these past few years — global pandemics and looming bank failures,” she said.

“But all too often, we’ve seen that instead of using this information to help American families, Members of Congress have used their positions to make lucrative stock trading decisions that benefit themselves,” AOC said.

The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.