Brian Fitzpatrick’s survival mechanism as a battlefield home outside Philadelphia involves occasionally distanced himself from his own Magazine controlled party.
On Thursday, he took it to the next level by opposing President Donald Trump’s megaville amid a relentless pressure campaign from the White House.
The head touring move has made Fitzpatrick one of the Fitzpatricks to defeat the party in the President’s signature domestic policy law, which has exacerbated political outlook ahead of the mid-term 2026. In the past few days, two Congressional Republicans on the swing seat announced they have not run for reelection. Fitzpatrick is part of the GOP trio representing the district captured by former vice president Kamala Harris, and Democrats are looking at him as their best target again next year when they try to get home back.
Fitzpatrick’s break with Trump on his important legislation also poses a great risk of backlash within the party. On Thursday, some MAGA influencers were already threatening major challenges.
“He now says, ‘I’m not a rubber stamp for Trump. When I think that’s the right thing to do, I’ll vote against his agenda,” said Mike Konaren, former Chief of Staff at Fitzpatrick. “But given the tendency of the president and his supporters to chase those who are basically not supporting them, you’re now the lighting rod for all MAGA individuals and the president himself.”
Fitzpatrick deepened the cuts included in the first bill language he supported, as his vote was attributed to changes by the Senate.
“I voted for greater protections for Medicaid, permanently expanding middle class tax cuts, strengthening small business tax credits, and for historic investments in border security and military,” he said in a statement. “However, what changed the analysis was the Senate amendment to Medicaid, in addition to several other Senate regulations.”
It was a shocking move for Fitzpatrick.
He was first elected in 2016 and has I grew the brand as a medium Republican Those who supported former President Joe Biden’s infrastructure package won Approval of major gun control groupsand regularly visited mosques in his district. He sometimes downplays his affiliation with the Republican Party and calls himself a “fierce, independent voice.” His X-header reads, “Preserving democracy. Vote bipartisan.”
Still, many Republicans were shocked Wednesday night when they lost their party in a procedural vote to move the law to the final vote, especially as he supported the previous version a few weeks ago. They said that even if other resistant Republicans expressed their concerns, he had not explained his opposition to them.
“I was surprised,” said Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-Pa.). “And I don’t know what his objection is.”
Some people speculated that his stance could be related to a A letter he wrote to Trump this week They oppose the suspension of several arms regimes on Ukraine in the war with Russia.
Fitzpatrick’s Curveball temporarily set off the scramble to find him along with the lawmakers Reportedly, bolting From the room and the House Speaker, it appears that Mike Johnson will be reporting Fox News He was looking for him. Even some fellow Fitzpatrick members of the Pennsylvania Legislature delegation were surprised by his decision.
“You have to ask him,” said Rep. Dan Maeser (R-Pa.), who is paying attention to the governor’s run, in response to questions about the voting.
The Democrats have not held Fitzpatrick’s precious Bucks County-based seat since his late brother Mike Fitzpatrick. I’ve got it back From then on. Patrick Murphy in 2010. In the past, Democrats have either protected candidates who lack election experience or have defended candidates who are incomplete to take on this durable incumbent. But they believe they have finally recruited a top candidate to face Fitzpatrick with a county commissioner named Bob Harvey, who has demonstrated the ability to beat the battlefield counties that make up most of the district.
“They’re scary. They know this bill isn’t popular,” Harvey said of the Republicans. Fitzpatrick’s vote was “too little, too late,” claiming that “the only reason he reached the Senate is because he voted.”
Profitzpatrick’s Super PAC, defending the US PAC, cast the vote on Thursday as evidence of his bipartisan tendencies and immediately released a statement touting the record that “Kamala Harris, Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton won the Republican seat carried.”
But for Fitzpatrick, his vote was particularly lonely.
Only Trump’s longtime Gadfly and Thomas Massey (r-ky.) voted against Megaville on Thursday. And Fitzpatrick is the only Republican and did not support the liquidation of the procedural hurdles on Wednesday night, so he moved the bill forward and didn’t settle under pressure. A handful of other Republicans initially voted for it, but at the last moment they switched them.
Fitzpatrick’s allies said he has proven proficient at navigating complex political transverse currents in his swing district. And sometimes they said, that means upsetting his party.
“Working with Brian over the years, he knows his district very well,” Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) said. “And he knows very well where he should be when he represents them.”
Kelly said Thursday that he never spoke with Fitzpatrick about his vote, but that he said “no problem.”
Some mag activists were not tolerant.
The conservative influencer nick sort was posted on social media platform X on Wednesday.
Similarly, pro-Trump activist Scott Pressler similarly wrote to X:
Democrats will be pleased if Fitzpatrick faces a messy and expensive primary.
Fitzpatrick easily thwarted the challenges from Republicans running to his right. But they lack institutional support, namely Trump’s support. Trump and his operations support a major opponent will present new challenges to Fitzpatrick.
For weeks, Trump attacked Massie and promised to banish him, and his team launched a Super PAC to free him.
Criticism from the White House was relatively tamed a few hours after Fitzpatrick’s opponents. Trump told reporters that he was “disappointed” by the politician’s vote, but he quickly refused to seek a major challenge. A White House spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
And it appears that Republican House leaders are sticking to Fitzpatrick. After finally finding him, Johnson He told reporters He spoke with him “at length” and said, “He’s just certain about certain provisions of the bill. He’s entitled to it.”
However, Fitzpatrick’s opposition goes beyond his usual maneuvering, which presents a test of modern GOP. Can a party demand full loyalty to drive people who sometimes deny the president to the stomach to maintain the majority of Congress?
In many cases, in recent years the answer to that question has been no.
Rep. Don Bacon, a frequent Trump critic who represents another Harris district in Nebraska, announced this week that he will not run for reelection. North Carolina Sen. Tom Tillis also said he would resign after Trump vowed to support a major challenger against him because of his opposition to the Megaville.
