Anonymous Account Claims to Share Negative Stories About Senator John Fetterman

U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) spoke at a U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on July 29, 2026. Anthony Fauci, the former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, attended the meeting but declined to answer questions, invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. An anonymous account claiming to be former staffers for Senator Fetterman gained attention by promising to publish their own stories and screenshots. The account, named Former Fetterman Staffers, introduced itself on X on Friday, stating that its members had worked on Fetterman's campaign and in his Senate office. The first message directed readers to a Wall Street Journal report published Thursday regarding Fetterman's work habits in the Senate. The account stated, "We're a group of former campaign & Senate staffers for John Fetterman who are disgusted with what he's become. If you were troubled by yesterday's Wall Street Journal story... trust us, that's just the tip of the iceberg. It's even worse than you thought." In a second post, the account announced plans to share stories and screenshots on September 14, the day the Senate is scheduled to return to session. The Senate has been out of session since early August and will resume at 3 p.m. on September 14, with one vote scheduled for 5:30 that evening. The account does not identify its members, and its posts do not provide a way to verify their claims of having worked for the senator. Journalists covering Congress reacted quickly to the account's emergence. Sam Stein, managing editor of The Bulwark, remarked, "[I] have never seen anything like this before." Igor Bobic, who covers the Senate for NOTUS, stated, "This has gotta be a first." Commentators outside the press corps also engaged with the account's posts. George Conway, a conservative attorney, noted, "Welcome to Twitter. Time to make some popcorn." Democratic strategist Mike Nellis expressed enthusiasm for the account. Conversely, some Republicans and conservative writers criticized the anonymity of the account's members. Justice Department attorney Harmeet Dhillon stated, "I'm disgusted by anonymous leakers, actually," while conservative writer Stephen L. Miller described the situation as "gross, disgusting, and cowardly ableism." Fetterman has publicly discussed his struggles with severe depression and a stroke he suffered during the 2022 campaign, which has impacted his speech. The Wall Street Journal's report detailed instances of Fetterman not meeting with constituents and potentially skipping committee hearings. In one instance, he canceled a meeting with three paralyzed military veterans, citing feeling unwell, but later appeared on Fox News. Prior to the anonymous account's emergence, some Democratic officeholders had already criticized Fetterman. Representative Brendan Boyle (D-PA) called him a "disgrace," while Representative Chris Deluzio (D-PA) expressed concerns about Fetterman's behavior and commitment to his role. Fetterman was elected in 2022 with support from Pennsylvania's progressive left and has become a strong supporter of Israel in the Senate. He met with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in January 2025 before Trump's second term began. Fetterman's office did not respond to Politico's request for comment. In May 2025, he pushed back against earlier accounts from former staffers, stating, "It's a one-source hit piece, and it involved maybe two or three anonymous disgruntled staffers saying just absolute false things."