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Fact check: No, Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman has not announced his resignation

Chris Mueller   | Paste BN

The claim: Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman announced his resignation

A March 3 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows a photo of Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman and a headline about his supposed resignation.

"BREAKING: John Fetterman RESIGNATION Announcement," reads the headline.

A similar Instagram post was liked more than 1,000 times in three days before it was deleted.

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Our rating: False

There is no evidence that Fetterman, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, has announced his resignation. He was recently hospitalized with depression, but his staff has kept him updated on Senate business.

No evidence Fetterman announced his resignation

There were, as of March 6, no credible reports of Fetterman's resignation, or any such announcement on his Senate website or his verified social media accounts. 

The headline first appeared on a website called "The Times of America." While the headline claims to reveal a "resignation announcement," the story only calls for his resignation, offering no evidence or even a reference to that already happening.

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In mid-February, Fetterman checked himself into Walter Reed hospital to "receive treatment for clinical depression," according to a statement on Twitter from Adam Jentleson, his chief of staff.

Fetterman is recovering from a stroke he suffered in May that required him to use closed captioning to help him communicate, as Paste BN previously reported.

A Feb. 28 statement from Joe Calvello, Fetterman's communications director, says Fetterman is "doing well, working with the wonderful doctors and remains on a path to recovery."

A March 6 post on Twitter by Jentleson shows Fetterman in a meeting "discussing the rail safety legislation, Farm Bill and other Senate business."

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro recently told NBC News he expects Fetterman to come back to the Senate and “serve for a good long while.”

Shapiro made a similar comment to The Philadelphia Inquirer, saying Fetterman is "going to get the help that he needs … and do a great job for the people of Pennsylvania as their senator for a long time."

It would be up to Shapiro to appoint a temporary replacement if Fetterman were to resign, but Shapiro told the Inquirer he hasn't received any pressure from other Democrats to ask Fetterman to step down.

“And if I did, I would dismiss it immediately,” Shapiro said.

Paste BN reached out to the social media user who shared the post for comment.

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