John Fetterman

Senator John Fetterman’s chief of staff reportedly resigned on Wednesday, becoming the third top aide in as many years to quit.

Cabelle St. John, who assumed her role last summer, will officially exit Fetterman’s office in the coming weeks, according to Axios. She took over for Krysta Sinclair Juris, who replaced the senator’s first chief of staff.

The National News Desk requested comment from Fetterman’s office but hasn’t received a response.

It’s unclear exactly why St. John would leave, but some of her colleagues have previously expressed concern and frustration about the senator. A group of them told New York magazine last year his behavior had become erratic and that his shift to the right was hard to understand. Fetterman, who was elected as a progressive in 2022, has criticized his party and aligned himself with some Republican policy stances.

“Part of the tragedy here is that this is a man who could be leading Democrats out of the wilderness,” Adam Jentleson, the senator’s first chief of staff, told the magazine. “But I also think he’s struggling in a way that shouldn’t be hidden from the public.”

Fetterman reportedly lost the trust of some of his aides, who were concerned with his mental health and shocked by his policy shifts. Jentleson, according to the report, said in a 2024 email to the Walter Reed hospital, which was treating Fetterman for clinical depression, that the senator was showing symptoms of delusion, had “conspiratorial thinking” and “high highs and low lows.”

“I think John is on a bad trajectory and I’m really worried about him,” Jentleson wrote.

Fetterman dismissed the report as a “hit piece” driven by “disgruntled” associates.

“If you’re really concerned about someone, you could say, ‘Hey, let’s sit down. Can we talk?’” the senator argued last year. “It’s not like going to the media.”

Fetterman has also insisted that his policy beliefs have remained consistent, even though national Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have encouraged him to switch parties. The senator's firm support for Israel, his endorsement of Trump’s ballroom and frequent criticism of his Democratic colleagues have led onlookers to speculate Fetterman’s place in the party.

“I would just say I’d be very surprised if he ran in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate,” Representative Brendan Boyle, a Pennsylvania Democrat, told Punchbowl News earlier this spring about Fetterman’s potential reelection campaign.

The senator would likely face a challenging primary environment in 2028. Quinnipiac University found in a poll conducted in February that less than a quarter of Democratic voters approved of his job performance.