Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, one in every of a handful of Home Republicans who gained in a district that then-Vice President Kamala Harris carried final fall, has a stark message for his social gathering because the deadline to increase expiring well being care subsidies and the midterm elections strategy.
“If you happen to don’t have a greater plan, then get on board with ours,” Fitzpatrick mentioned. “However doing nothing is just not an possibility.”
In a wide-ranging interview with CNN’s Manu Raju for “Inside Politics Sunday,” Fitzpatrick leaned into areas the place he broke sharply along with his social gathering’s leaders, together with his need to discover a well being care compromise, staunch dedication to defending Ukraine and previous votes in opposition to advancing main items of President Donald Trump’s agenda.
The Pennsylvania lawmaker is among the many few Home Republicans placing ahead laws to increase the improved Inexpensive Care Act subsidies as a result of expire on the finish of the yr.
Although he doesn’t agree with each a part of former President Barack Obama’s signature well being care regulation, Fitzpatrick made clear {that a} short-term plan to defend Individuals from skyrocketing insurance coverage premiums is best than something he’s seen from his social gathering.
Fitzpatrick voted in opposition to the GOP push to repeal Obamacare in 2017 as a result of he discovered the substitute “inadequate.”
Now, eight years later, he says Republicans “nonetheless haven’t been capable of put collectively an articulable plan that’s going to work for on a regular basis Individuals.”
Fitzpatrick suspects Home Speaker Mike Johnson believes he’s representing the vast majority of his convention by vowing to advance a brand new GOP well being care bundle as an alternative of holding a vote to increase ACA tax credit.
However the swing-district Republican mentioned even a few of his extra conservative colleagues have expressed an curiosity in his effort to succeed in a compromise on the ACA subsidies.
“Affordability is such a disaster on this nation proper now,” he mentioned, explaining that for low- and middle-income constituents, “a big enhance of their premiums is just not an possibility.”
Combating rising prices will probably be “the problem” of the 2026 elections, Fitzpatrick predicts. He highlighted Trump’s election to a second time period and Democrat Zohran Mamdani’s latest victory within the New York Metropolis mayoral race as examples of what occurs when voters are motivated by cost-of-living considerations.
Although the president known as affordability a “hoax” final week, as Democrats start to zero in on the message, Fitzpatrick disagrees: “Imagine me. I hear it daily again house. It’s actual.”
Pressed on whether or not the GOP has been focusing sufficient on this difficulty, Fitzpatrick responded, “I don’t assume they’ve.”
“Each invoice we deliver to the ground needs to be centered on reducing the price of dwelling for individuals who want it most,” he mentioned, criticizing latest legislative efforts associated to condemning socialism and regulating compensation for school athletes.
“Why are we specializing in that? That’s not what our constituents care about,” Fitzpatrick continued.
Frustration amongst Republicans has more and more been directed at Johnson, as he fights to carry collectively his razor-thin majority and retain the help of the president.
Requested whether or not he thinks Johnson can win the gavel once more subsequent time period if Republicans maintain on to manage of the Home, Fitzpatrick answered, “I’m not certain Mike needs the job subsequent Congress, however that’s a query for him.”
Fitzpatrick and Johnson entered Congress as classmates in 2017, when Fitzpatrick recollects his colleague “led the bipartisan cost for civility.”
“I personally like him. Do I agree with each resolution he makes? Completely not. I by no means agree with each resolution each speaker’s made,” he mentioned, elaborating that his “private frustration” with management comes from his need to empower rank-and-file members to higher serve their constituents.
“I believe the easiest way to run the ground is permit each member to establish one district precedence that’s paramount of their district, and provides them a full flooring vote on it,” he defined.
One invoice Fitzpatrick needs to see on the Home flooring expeditiously is a measure imposing steep sanctions on Russia.
Fitzpatrick, who’s the co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, has launched laws mirroring Sens. Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal’s broadly well-liked bipartisan invoice to enact crippling tariffs on nations that purchase oil and fuel from Russia.
Whereas Fitzpatrick acknowledges there are boundaries to forcing a vote on his invoice within the Home, together with considerations from in any other case empathetic Democrats about Congress granting the president additional tariff authorities, Fitzpatrick warns, “I don’t need to let the right be the enemy of the nice.”
“What I believe we have to do is to ensure that we ship a sign to Russia, to Ukraine, and to the world, that Congress cares about Ukraine,” he mentioned, pointing to an outpouring of help in each events for earlier payments supporting the war-torn nation.
Fitzpatrick aligns himself with different Russia hawks within the convention who need “much more ethical readability out of the administration,” coaching a vital eye on Trump’s relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I don’t care how good of a businessperson you’re, the Russians are masters of propaganda,” he mentioned. Pressed on if Trump is being performed by Putin, Fitzpatrick responded, “he’s been too deferential to him,” including, “to say somebody’s ‘performed’ is kind of insulting their negotiating ways.”
Because the Trump administration continues on the rocky street to a peace deal in Ukraine, Fitzpatrick urges an aggressive strategy to Putin, whom Trump final met with in a high-stakes summit in Alaska in August.
“We simply have to take a a lot stronger tact to him, as a result of dictators perceive one factor and one factor solely,” he mentioned. “Have a look at what introduced him to the desk. It was the specter of sanctions, and it was the specter of Tomahawk missiles.”
Fitzpatrick mentioned unequivocally that he’ll run for reelection, regardless of the steep uphill climb Republicans will undertake to retain management of all levers of energy in Washington.
He’s simply one in every of solely three Home Republicans who gained in a district the place Trump misplaced the 2024 election. One other a kind of lawmakers, Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, has already introduced he gained’t search reelection subsequent yr.
“I’ve been by means of these environments earlier than, however I’m very shut with my district,” Fitzpatrick mentioned.
The fifth-term congressman recalled 2018, when he was elected to a second time period by lower than 3 proportion factors amid backlash to Trump’s first two years within the White Home and after a blow to Pennsylvania Republicans’ makes an attempt to attract extra favorable maps.
“It’s pure that the pendulum all the time swings backwards and forwards in politics,” he contended. “Offended folks vote; joyful folks don’t.”
Nonetheless, Fitzpatrick dismissed the potential drag that Trump may need on his race.
“I’m a reasonably independent-minded particular person,” he mentioned, underscoring his willingness to interrupt along with his social gathering on main votes, like Republican management’s push to go Trump’s sweeping home coverage agenda forward of the president’s self-imposed July 4 deadline.
“I obtained a number of warmth for it, each again house and from the White Home and from a few of my colleagues right here, however I politely reminded them that I don’t reply to any particular person or any social gathering in Washington, DC. My bosses are again house,” he mentioned.
Fitzpatrick believes Trump’s megabill, which the Home handed earlier this yr with all however two Republican votes, is out of step with what Individuals need “on a number of fronts,” together with cuts to Medicaid.
As for whether or not these cuts could price Republicans the bulk, Fitzpatrick mentioned, “everybody’s going to reply for his or her votes,” noting the extra well-liked tax cuts that got here alongside the tightening of entry to Medicaid and different authorities packages.
“You’ve obtained to have a tricky backbone and thick pores and skin, and the simplest option to navigate occasions like that’s to by no means lose give attention to who your bosses are,” he mentioned.
Leave a Reply