Fitzpatrick on Washington, Shapiro, and Fetterman
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-01) sat down for an interview with Punchbowl News last week and discussed a number of topics, including being a moderate in today’s GOP, government shutdowns, and his relationships with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Sen. John Fetterman.
The five-term Bucks County congressman has been a target for Democrats since being sworn into office in 2017. But all Fitzpatrick seems to do is win, earning reelection in 2024 by 12 percentage points.
What has led to his success with the swing-district electorate?
“My brother, Mike, represented the district before me,” he told Punchbowl’s Anna Palmer and Jake Sherman. “The greatest advice my brother ever gave me is “Be your districts. Be the people you represent. As soon as votes are done, get on the train and get back home to your bosses. Reflect their voice on the floor, not your personal voice, but their voice on the floor.”
Amidst the current political turmoil in Washington, some say that Fitzpatrick is trying to “run away” from President Donald Trump and his unpopular policies and, while “he talks like an independent, he still helps empower the same Republican leadership and agenda.”
Fitzpatrick disagrees, saying look at his votes.
“I voted against the motion to proceed” with reconciliation,” he said to Palmer and Sherman. “We communicated that to the White House. We communicated that to the Speaker. So there were no surprises despite the public reporting after the fact.
“It got to the point in the Senate where it was no longer a net positive for the district.
“What I try to do with every piece of legislation is look at it in its totality and (ask) is it a net positive or net negative for the district? That is it. I don’t care what party, what president, what party leader supports it or opposes it. We try to take that out of the equation.”
Fitzpatrick shared the story of how he registered first as a Republican due to his admiration for former President Ronald Reagan. But since then, he said he is rejecting the two-party system.
“I really don’t believe in it,” he said. “George Washington in his farewell address of 1796 forecasted this. This two-party system is going to be inherently divisive and the whole pretext of the Constitution and the drafting of it was consensus. And here we are 250 years later and people can’t even have Thanksgiving dinner without arguing red versus blue, which is insane.”
He spoke of forming coalitions around ideas, such as the stock trading ban in Congress, along with Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Chip Roy (R-Texas), Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.).
“It was the most refreshing experience I’ve had in this institution.
Fitzpatrick called government shutdowns, “the dumbest thing in the world.”
“It costs money. It puts people at risk. It puts our economy at risk. Every government funding bill that ever comes to the floor to fund the government, I will support,” he said.
“I would have voted for the Senate bill had it come over. I voted for the House version. The one thing all of them have in common, not a single ICE reform in any of them. And that is what got us here, right?”
Fitzpatrick talked about his thoughts on both Shapiro and Fetterman.
“Josh is a good man and he’s a friend,” he said about the governor. “I do think he should run for president. Josh is very smart and I have a really good relationship with him. I invited him to my wedding. I hope he comes.
“I think he’s done a really good job for Pennsylvania. Every party’s got their unique politics and I hope that doesn’t stop him from doing what he wants to do.”
Fitzpatrick believes that Shapiro will win reelection in the fall. And called Fetterman “a good, effective senator.”
But when asked if Fetterman should “run as a Republican” and if the Senator “could win the nomination,” the congressman said he did not know.
Fitzpatrick shifted gears and criticized his home state and its closed primary system.
“It’s the biggest atrocity,” he said. “You want a direct linear correlation to the dysfunction that occurs in state capitals and the U.S. capitol? Trace it back to closed primaries.
“You could be a 98-year-old World War II veteran who stormed the beaches of Normandy, save civilization, and you register independent, and in half of the states in this country, you’re told you cannot vote in one out of every two elections. That is insane.”
He continued to be critical of those who just fall in line with party idiom.
“I have real disdain for ideologues and partisans,” he said. It’s so ignorant to subscribe to a party. Look at the most famous presidents in our generation. John F. Kennedy couldn’t survive a Democratic primary today. Ronald Reagan couldn’t survive a Republican primary today. What does that say? The parties don’t mean anything.”
When asked if he would become an independent, Fitzpatrick said “100%”, if he didn’t live in a closed primary state.
“I want everybody to be an independent.”
Steve Ulrich is the managing editor of PoliticsPA where this article originally appeared.
