U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) has found himself facing significant criticism in recent months, including from his own party. 

This criticism only seems to be intensifying as, now, the Washington Examiner reports that Fetterman is being criticized for having missed a significant number of Senate votes.

Other reports, such as this one, reveal that Fetterman is losing the support of his fellow Democrats.

It would seem that Republicans are looking at this as an opportunity to, perhaps, persuade Fetterman to leave the Democratic Party behind.

The latest

The Examiner reports that "Fetterman's frequent Senate absences add to piling controversies."

Per the outlet:

The first-term Pennsylvania Democrat has missed 30 floor votes this year and had the third-worst attendance in 2024. It's a record that's under the spotlight due to concerns from current and former staffers laid out in media reports of Fetterman's struggles with depression stemming from health complications after a 2022 stroke.

The Examiner adds that Fetterman "rarely" attends committee hearings, in addition to missing votes. And, it describes him as becoming "increasingly isolated from his colleagues."

The big question is, why has this happened?

Recent reports, using sources close to Fetterman, have suggested that the Senator is battling mental health problems. Some, however, have pushed back on these reports, arguing that there may be more going on here than meets the eye. They claim that many of these sources just don't like Fetterman's politics.

Fetterman's support is "tanking"

The Daily Caller reveals how a recent poll found that Fetterman's support is "tanking" among his fellow Democrats.

It writes:

Just under half — 49% — of likely Democratic voters in Pittsburgh, near where Fetterman lives, said they have an unfavorable impression of the senator, while 46% said their impression of him was favorable, according to the poll. By contrast, the state’s Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro was seen as favorable by 82% of the same set of voters and unfavorable by just 13%.

This could be bad news for Fetterman.

In a somewhat surprising twist, it is some Republicans who are actually coming to Fetterman's defense.

Fox News reports:

Fellow Pennsylvania Sen. Dave McCormick, a Republican, called the reports "vicious, personal attacks." "He is authentic, decent, principled and a fighter," McCormick said. "These disgraceful smears against him are not the John that I know and respect." Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas wrote, "The radical left is smearing him with dishonest, vicious attacks because he's pro-Israel, and they only want reliable anti-Israel politicians." Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa posted to X, "The media ought to lay off Senator Fetterman."