The office of Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., is trying to calm fears that the hospitalized senator is being controlled or is otherwise incapacitated.

Some social media users claimed the photos were staged. Fetterman’s chief of staff laughed off the questions on Tuesday.

Fetterman has been hospitalized twice since taking office just 100 days ago. He’s struggling to recover from a near-fatal stroke he suffered during his campaign.

There are fears the brain damage Fetterman suffered could be permanent, his office admitted in early February. One of the stroke’s main aftereffects is auditory processing disorder, which can render someone unable to speak coherently and leaves them unable to process spoken words into meaning.

Fetterman reportedly hears voices as muffled, like Charlie Brown’s teacher in “Peanuts.”

Fetterman admitted himself to the hospital over clinical depression linked to the struggles over his recovery. His wife briefly fled to Canada with their children after Fetterman admitted himself to the hospital last month. It was the second recent hospitalization for Fetterman, who suffered a serious dizzy spell during a meeting with Democratic senators a week prior.

Fetterman’s office raised eyebrows around Washington, D.C. when it added the Pennsylvania lawmaker’s name as a co-sponsor of a railroad safety bill while he remains in the hospital.

Fetterman’s chief of staff released photos of the senator reviewing documents to quiet whispers that the lawmaker wasn’t actually involved with the bill.

“Productive morning with Senator Fetterman at Walter Reed discussing the rail safety legislation, Farm Bill and other Senate business,” Adam Jentleson wrote on Twitter.

“John is well on his way to recovery and wanted me to say how grateful he is for all the well wishes. He’s laser focused on PA & will be back soon,” Jentleson said.

Take a look —

Productive morning with Senator Fetterman at Walter Reed discussing the rail safety legislation, Farm Bill and other Senate business. John is well on his way to recovery and wanted me to say how grateful he is for all the well wishes. He’s laser focused on PA & will be back soon. pic.twitter.com/143uAhoQRx

— Adam Jentleson (@AJentleson) March 6, 2023

Not everyone was convinced Fetterman’s photo op was genuine —

Where are the screens he needs to understand conversation?

— Just Mindy 🐊 (@just_mindy) March 7, 2023

Fetterman’s chief of staff laughed off many of the doubts —

The jig is up! You got us. https://t.co/2PT9UWSv93

— Adam Jentleson (@AJentleson) March 7, 2023

There is no timeline for Fetterman’s expected recovery, his office said in a statement last week, but only that he is “on a path to recovery.”

“We understand the intense interest in John’s status and especially appreciate the flood of well-wishes,” Fetterman’s communications director, Joe Calvello, said in a statement. “However, as we have said this will be a weeks-long process and while we will be sure to keep folks updated as it progresses, this is all there is to give by way of an update.”

 

READ MORE: Sen. John Fetterman’s wife flees the country

 

The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article.