John Fetterman is going off

Raw and uncut!

(Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman)

John Fetterman doesn’t look like your typical U.S. Senator. Gigantic (he’s 6’8”) and mustachioed, he stands out in a crowd.

And John Fetterman doesn’t dress like your average U.S. Senator either — choosing mesh shorts and hoodies over the usual suits and ties. (More on that in a minute.)

But, for his first year or so in the Senate, Fetterman acted like a typical freshman member. He stayed out of the spotlight. He followed the rules. He blended in.

In recent weeks, however, Fetterman has emerged as both a high profile critic of his own party and a lightning rod for Senate decorum. And, far from shrinking from the attention, he seems to be embracing it.

Fetterman was the first — and most vocal — voice in the Senate to call for New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez’s resignation following an indictment on bribery charges.

Fetterman said Saturday — less than 24 hours after the Menendez charges dropped —that the senator is “entitled to the presumption of innocence under our system, but he is not entitled to continue to wield influence over national policy, especially given the serious and specific nature of the allegations.”

But, he went further — much further. His spokesman — Joe Calvelli — said that Fetterman’s campaign would return Menendez’s $5,000 donation “in envelopes stuffed with $100 bills.”

And then he went even further. “The last time there was a guy in New Jersey with this much cash in his house was Tony Soprano,” Fetterman told reporters on Capitol Hill Tuesday.

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Fetterman’s outspokenness on Menendez comes hard on the heels of an ongoing debate about the way he dresses in the Senate.

Recently it was revealed that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer relaxed the Senate dress code — presumably to accommodate Fetterman who made his name, politically speaking, with his casual outfits.

“There has been an informal dress code that was enforced,” Schumer said in announcing the change. “Senators are able to choose what they wear on the Senate floor. I will continue to wear a suit.”

A firestorm erupted — even within Fetterman’s own party.

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin called Fetterman a “friend” but added: “I think we need to have standards when it comes to what we’re wearing on the floor of the Senate.” West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin was even more up in arms — promising to file a bipartisan measure that would reinstitute the Senate’s dress code.

In the past, maybe, Fetterman might not have responded. But the new Fetterman sure as heck did.

“This week, I hope to see my colleagues fully address the alleged systemic corruption of Senator Menendez with the same vigor and velocity they brought to concerns about our dress code,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.

(As of this writing more than half of the Democratic caucus has called on Menendez to resign although, notably, not Schumer.)

What has occasioned Fetterman’s renaissance? It’s hard to know. He may be settling into the Senate — finally — and feeling more like himself. He may have just decided to stop caring what his colleagues think of him.

Regardless of the reason(s), what’s clear is that Fetterman’s first year in office has not been typical. He spent two months away from the Senate this spring as he received treatment for depression — including time as a patient at Walter Reed.

“I want everyone to know that depression is treatable, and treatment works,” Fetterman said in a statement after his release. “This isn’t about politics — right now there are people who are suffering with depression in red counties and blue counties. If you need help, please get help.”

(Side note: PLEASE read this beautiful piece by Ruby Cramer in the Washington Post on Fetterman’s struggles with depression.)

And that came after a major medical scare during his 2022 campaign. Fetterman had a stroke just before the Democratic primary — and its aftereffects left him struggling with his speech and auditory issues.

His struggles became fodder for right wing media, who suggested he was not all there mentally and should resign. (Conservative media has also had a field day with Fettreman’s clothing choices.)

In short, it’s been a decidedly bumpy road for the freshman senator. But, Fetterman — in recent weeks — seems to have found his voice. And that voice seems sure to shake up the staid Washington establishment — including plenty of members of his own party. Which makes him one of the more interesting politicians operating in the nation’s capitol right now.