Fetterman Loses Another Top Staffer Amid Escalating Health Concerns
Sen. John Fetterman is losing another one of his staff members amid growing, reported concerns over his well-being.
The Pennsylvania Democrat's chief of staff, Krysta Sinclair Juris, will be leaving his office soon and will be replaced by Cabelle St. John, who previously worked as his deputy chief of staff, senior adviser, and scheduling director. Axios was the first to report the news on Tuesday.
'Cabelle St. John has been a trusted advisor since day 1 in the office. I'm lucky to have her taking over as my Chief of Staff and I'm confident she'll do a great job,' Fetterman told Axios in a statement. 'I'm grateful for Krysta's work. She's been an invaluable member of the team for over two years and I wish her all the best.'
Over the past year and a half, a pool of Fetterman's staff, including top communication aides and his legislative director, have left his office with two aides even departing as recently as May.
Fetterman's former chief of staff Adam Jentleson, whom Juris succeeded, also left his post and notably expressed his concern over the senator's health in an explosive report for New York Magazine last month, where he argued that Fetterman was 'struggling in a way that shouldn't be hidden from the public.'
The senator subsequently brushed off New York Magazine's report as a 'hit piece,' and told NBC News in a statement: 'It's a one-source story, with a couple of anonymous sources, hit piece from a very left publication. There's really nothing more to say about that.'
He again scrutinized the growing, reported concerns over his health as a 'weird smear' campaign against him during a debate in Boston on Monday.
'For me, it's very clear. It's just part of this weird, this weird smear,' the senator said. 'I'm here. I'm doing that job. I'm defending all those things, and all of those important votes, I've always been there.'
According to tracking by GovTrack.us, Fetterman missed 174 out of 961 roll call votes, or 18.1 percent of votes from February 2023 to May 2025, and more than 21 percent of the votes in the last Congress. The median of votes senators have missed is 2.9 percent.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Axios
3 hours ago
- Axios
MAGA unites around Trump over Iran strikes — for now
President Trump 's MAGA movement appeared to largely coalesce late Saturday in supporting his decision to strike Iranian nuclear sites, despite its bitter infighting recently over the prospect of the U.S. intervening in the Israel-Iran war. Why it matters: Skepticism of foreign entanglements is a foundational pillar of Trump's "America First" credo — but so is support for the president. In the immediate aftermath of Trump's announcement of the strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities, loyalty to him won out — but there were warnings that MAGA's support could wane, especially if the U.S. gets drawn further into war. What they're saying: "Iran gave President Trump no choice," Charlie Kirk, a voice for non-interventionism, posted on X. "Iran decided to forego diplomacy in pursuit of a bomb. This is a surgical strike, operated perfectly. President Trump acted with prudence and decisiveness." "For the next few hours spare us the arm-chair quarterbacking and instead trust our Commander in Chief," Kirk added. "Donald Trump is going down in history as the most influential President in US history," wrote Laura Loomer, the right-wing activist who had advocated for a U.S. strike. "Shame on those of you who called him a warmonger. He just saved us all from a nuclear holocaust." Other leading MAGA figures said Trump would still need to convince many followers that the strikes were necessary. "He's got to talk to MAGA. There's a lot of MAGA that's not happy about this," former Trump adviser Steve Bannon said on his "War Room" podcast Saturday. "I believe he will get MAGA on board, all of it, but he's got to explain exactly and go through this." The intrigue: It remained unclear how much Iran's nuclear program had been set back by the strikes, despite Trump saying the U.S. had "totally obliterated" the nuclear development sites. The attacks focused particularly on Iran's underground facility at Fordow, which was vulnerable only to American "bunker busting" weaponry. Iran is also widely expected to hit back, potentially at U.S. forces in the Middle East, raising the possibility that U.S. forces could have to respond to counterattacks and more fully engage in the conflict. Still, support for Trump was the common theme among several of MAGA's most vocal voices in the hours after news broke. Many of them viewed the U.S. attack on Iran as a one-off focused on eliminating its nuclear capabilities, rather than the opening salvo of a regime change campaign in that nation. There were, however, some warnings for Trump. "We'll support the president's judgment," one MAGA media figure who had advocated for restraint texted Axios. "Decisive and then it's over. But if it gets messier than this, it will play out longer. But we trust the president wants peace." MAGA podcaster Jack Posobiec texted Axios "absolutely" when asked whether support for Trump's decision might heal, at least temporarily, the deep divisions within MAGA over U.S. foreign policy. Those divisions were underscored by a viral interview Tucker Carlson did this week with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) that devolved into name-calling, as Carlson argued against U.S. involvement in Iran and Cruz argued for it. "This is a huge divide" in the movement, one White House ally told Axios. "Some people just trust Trump and will go with it. For others it's a betrayal of a major plank of Trump's re-elect. Even if this is one and done, there will be concern he's inviting a major terror response that will suck us into a future conflict."
Axios
3 hours ago
- Axios
Top Democrats left in dark on Iran strike plans
Top Democrats on Capitol Hill say they weren't briefed in advance of the U.S. attack on Iran on Saturday, multiple sources familiar with the discussions told Axios. Why it matters: Democrats left Capitol Hill for the Juneteenth holiday recess without answers to what they said were basic questions about a potential strike against Iran. "Cost, duration, risk to our troops, strategy — the basics before we make a decision of this consequence," Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told Axios last week. Zoom in: Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the top Democrats on the Senate and House Intelligence panels, weren't briefed before the attack, sources familiar told Axios on Saturday. Their Republican counterparts were given advance notice. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) was given what was described by a source as a perfunctory notice shortly before President Trump's announcement on Saturday night. Himes' committee staff received official notification about the strike from the Pentagon only after Trump made the announcement on social media, another source familiar with the events told Axios. Between the lines: Senators are scheduled to receive a classified briefing on the situation on Tuesday.
Axios
3 hours ago
- Axios
AOC floats Trump impeachment over Iran strikes
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Saturday floated the prospect of impeaching President Trump for striking Iran without explicit authorization from Congress. Why it matters: It's a shocking declaration by one of House Democrats' most high-profile progressives at a time when most in the party are instinctively rejecting the mere mention of impeachment. Considerable intra-party scorn has been heaped on Reps. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.) and Al Green (D-Texas) for floating votes on impeaching Trump. A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Driving the news: " The President's disastrous decision to bomb Iran without authorization is a grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers," Ocasio-Cortez posted on X. "He has impulsively risked launching a war that may ensnare us for generations," she wrote. "It is absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment." "More soon," Ocasio-Cortez's reelection campaign wrote in a fundraising email obtained by Axios. Zoom out: The call for impeachment puts Ocasio-Cortez on the far end of Democrats' spectrum of responses, but it reflects the broad anger with which the party has reacted to Trump's unilateral actions.
