John Fetterman’s chief of staff resigns before new report on the senator’s relationship with Israel ally

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s chief of staff resigned Wednesday, the latest departure in the office of a controversial Pennsylvania Democrat who has struggled at times to retain staff.

The resignation of Cabelle St. John, who held the top position in Fetterman’s office since June, came before a report that detailed the senator’s relationship with David “Dovi” Safier, a fundraiser for Orthodox Jewish causes who’s become a close and unofficial adviser.

New York magazine reported Safier had developed an “unusually large influence” over Fetterman as he’s continued to isolate himself from colleagues or other advisers. According to several current and former staffers, New York reported, Safier has attended sensitive meetings, including calls with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Fetterman’s staunch defense of Israel during its war in Gaza has strained his relationships with progressive Democrats who are increasingly critical of Netanyahu.

The issue has cost Fetterman wide support among his base and from staffers who have previously quit his office, he’s said in the past.

St. John, who started as Fetterman’s scheduler when Fetterman entered the Senate in 2023, was the last original staffer in his office. She rose to the top position after a previous chief of staff resigned following reports in which staffers raised concerns about Fetterman’s mental and physical health.

A source familiar with St. John’s decision said she told Fetterman on Wednesday that her last day would be in the coming weeks. The move was due to longtime frustrations, including those outlined in the New York story about Safier’s role in the office. Axios was the first to report St. John’s resignation.

It’s unclear who will be taking St. John’s place. Fetterman’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

St. John is the latest in a string of staff departures as Fetterman has more frequently broken with his party on major issues — from the war in Iran to President Donald Trump’s handling of immigration enforcement. Last week, Fetterman cast the deciding vote that killed a bipartisan Senate effort to reign in Trump’s war powers, and he told Semafor he was “pretty much locked and loaded on my views” about the conflict.

The staff changes have also come in the wake of Fetterman’s recovery from a 2022 stroke and his hospitalization for depression after he entered office in 2023.

In the New York Magazine story last year, Fetterman’s first chief of staff, Adam Jentleson, publicly questioned Fetterman’s mental health and lamented his shift to the right.

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

Fetterman called the New York Magazine story a “hit piece.”

“It involved maybe two or three and anonymous disgruntled staffers saying just absolute false things,” Fetterman said in a 2025 interview on CNN.

Fetterman’s popularity among Democrats has waned as he’s increasingly aligned himself with Trump, though he has continued to vote overwhelmingly with Democrats.

But a few high-profile votes, including his crucial support to confirm former Sen. Markwayne Mullin as Department of Homeland Security secretary, have led to him becoming significantly more popular in Pennsylvania among Republicans than Democrats, according to recent polls.

As a result, several Pennsylvania Democrats have been floated as potential primary challengers when the seat is up in 2028, including former U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, who lost the 2022 primary to Fetterman, and current U.S. Reps. Chris Deluzio and Brendan Boyle.

“I don’t rule anything out,” Boyle, a Philadelphia Democrat, told Semafor in March.