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Sen. John Fetterman is discharged from the hospital and will return to work Monday

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., arrives for President Biden's State of the Union address earlier this week. Fetterman was hospitalized on Wednesday and discharged on Friday.
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Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., arrives for President Biden's State of the Union address earlier this week. Fetterman was hospitalized on Wednesday and discharged on Friday.

Updated February 10, 2023 at 7:59 PM ET

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., was discharged from the George Washington University Hospital Friday afternoon. He spent Wednesday night in the hospital after feeling lightheaded.

Tests ruled out a stroke and found no evidence of a seizure, Fetterman's communications director, Joe Calvello, wrote in a news release.

"John is looking forward to spending some time with his family and returning to the Senate on Monday," Calvello said.

Fetterman started feeling unwell at a Senate Democratic retreat at the Library of Congress, Calvello said in an earlier statement. His staff took him to the hospital from there.

Fetterman suffered a minor stroke last year just before winning his primary race, prompting doctors to place a pacemaker and a defibrillator. In 2017, he had received a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rhythm that can lead to blood-flow issues.

His health issues led some to question his fitness for office during the race. He was back on the campaign trail after two months, appearing in debates and interviews. Despite issues with auditory processing and speech, his cognitive abilities remain intact. Some voters said it made them feel closer to him.

The day before his hospitalization, Fetterman attended President Biden's State of the Union address. Days before that, he had attended the Democratic National Committee's winter meeting in Philadelphia.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Kaitlyn Radde
Kaitlyn Radde is an intern for the Graphics and Digital News desks, where she has covered everything from the midterm elections to child labor. Before coming to NPR, she covered education data at Chalkbeat and contributed data analysis to USA TODAY coverage of Black political representation and NCAA finances. She is a graduate of Indiana University.
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