Fetterman wearing ‘hoodies and gym shorts’ in Senate shows ‘robust recovery,’ AP report claims

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Sources "close" to Sen. John Fetterman, D.-Penn., are claiming that his trademark "hoodies and gym shorts" look is a "sign that the senator is making a robust recovery," according to a recent AP story. 

The story also praised Fetterman for "turning heads" and "redefining fashion in the stuffy Senate." 

The Pennsylvania senator has drawn national attention after it was revealed that he required special closed-caption technology to help him understand speeches on the Senate floor. Fetterman used that same system during his campaign debate last year with Republican opponent Dr. Mehmet Oz as well as during multiple interviews since suffering a stroke last May which has hampered his ability to speak clearly and process questions. 

More recently, Fetterman returned from a six-week stay at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he was treated for "clinical depression" and "fitted for hearing aids for hearing loss that had made it harder for him to communicate." 

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Sources "close" to Sen. John Fetterman are claiming that his trademark "hoodies and gym shorts" look is a "sign that the senator is making a robust recovery," according to a recent AP story. (Photographer: Michelle Gustafson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

However, Fetterman is back and stronger than ever, AP is reporting, because of his "relaxed, comfortable style." 

The senator has even found a "workaround" to the legislative body's dress code rules. 

"He votes from the doorway of the Democratic cloakroom or the side entrance, making sure his ‘yay’ or ‘nay’ is recorded before ducking back out."

"He’s setting a new dress code," Vermont Sen. Peter Welch joked to AP. "He was struggling. And now he’s a joyful person to be around."

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Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) arrives at the U.S. Capitol on April 17, 2023 in Washington, D.C. Fetterman is returning to the Senate following six weeks of treatment for clinical depression. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Fetterman faced some backlash against his casual dress code, even from his own staff, according to AP, who "had originally asked him to always wear suits, which he famously hates." 

However, upon his return from Walter Reed Hospital, Fetterman is getting more attention for his speech difficulties, which are "still halting and sometimes hard to understand, due to his stroke." 

Fox News Digital found that Fetterman’s staff have doctored several of his quotes on the floor to make him sound more coherent than he actually is. 

"The Republicans want to give a work requirement for SNAP," Fetterman said. "You know, for a uh, uh, uh, a hungry family has to have these, this kind of penalties, or these some kinds of word — working uh, require — Shouldn’t you have a working requirement, after we sail your bank, billions of your bank? Because you seem we were preoccupied, uh when, then SNAP requirements for works, for hungry people, but not about protecting the tax, the tax papers, you know, that will bail them out of whatever does about a bank to crash it."

The corrected quote, which a Washington Post reporter said was provided to him by Fetterman's office, was considerably shorter. "Shouldn't you have a working requirement after we bail out your bank? Republicans seem to be more preoccupied with SNAP requirements for hungry people than protecting taxpayers that have to bail out these banks."

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), middle, speaks as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), left, Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT) and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), right, listen during a news conference on debt limit at the U.S. Capitol on May 18, 2023 in Washington, D.C. A group of Senate Democrats have sent a letter to President Biden urging him to invoke the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to avoid a debt default if he can’t reach to a deal with Republicans. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The Pennsylvania senator’s public appearances appear to be carefully controlled as he "rarely speaks with reporters in the hallways," and "often appears to be reading closely off a sheet of paper." 

Sen. Fetterman’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

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Fox News’ Patrick Hauf contributed to this report.