Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., likely will remain hospitalized "a few weeks" to receive treatment for clinical depression, NBC News reported.
Fetterman, still recovering from a stroke, checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Wednesday night to seek treatment for clinical depression, his office said Thursday.
A close senior aide told NBC News' Dasha Burns that Fetterman likely will remain in inpatient care for clinical depression for "a few weeks," adding that doctors are trying different medications, but they require time to identify the correct dosage.
Burns said that an extended absence from the Senate would not be unprecedented.
"For context, it's not unprecedented: Just last year Sen Ben Ray Lujan was out for a few months following a stroke, Sen Chris Van Hollen out for a few weeks," Burns tweeted Friday. "Before that — Sen Tim Johnson in 2007 was out for 8 months. Sen Mark Kirk in 2012 was out for a year following a stroke."
Fetterman suffered a stroke in May, less than six months before he defeated Republican Mehmet Oz to win a U.S. Senate seat. The senator's office said this month that he was hospitalized after he felt lightheaded but that tests ruled out another stroke.
"A senior aide says it's been difficult to distinguish the stroke from the depression — saying it's hard to tell at times if Fetterman is 'not hearing you, or is he sort of crippled by his depression and social anxiety,'" Burns tweeted Friday.
Burns also tweeted that a senior aide told her that Fetterman and staff members "were taken by surprise by the severe onset of depression."
"The aide also says this hasn't compromised his ability to do the job going forward, and he will be back to work once he has taken care of his mental health," Burns said.
CNN reported Friday that Fetterman's symptoms included weight loss and lack of appetite, which led to his lightheadedness last week.
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