US Senator John Fetterman discharged after treatment for depression

Pennsylvania politician will return to tightly divided Senate in mid-April

Senator John Fetterman at the Capitol in Washington, on February 14, before he sought inpatient treatment for clinical depression. AP

Democratic US Senator John Fetterman has been discharged from the hospital where he was treated for weeks for depression, his office said on Friday, adding he will return to the Senate in mid-April.

In a statement, Mr Fetterman's office said he is back home in Braddock, in western Pennsylvania, with a doctor ruling that his depression is "in remission" after voluntarily checking himself into Walter Reed National Medical Centre to seek treatment in mid-February.

Mr Fetterman was barely a month into his service in Washington and still recovering from the aftereffects of the stroke he suffered last May during his campaign.

Post-stroke depression is common and treatable through medical and talk therapy, doctors say.

He posted a tweet with a photo of him flashing a thumbs-up sign outside a car, "I am so happy to be home."

"I’m excited to be the father and husband I want to be, and the senator Pennsylvania deserves."

The statement gave details on his treatment including that his depression was treated with medication and that he is wearing hearing aids for hearing loss.

The return of Mr Fetterman, who flipped a Republican-held seat in last November's midterm elections, will be good news for Democrats, who hold a narrow 51-49 majority in the Senate.

Agencies contributed to this report