I recently sat down with Democratic Congressman Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania’s 17th District, a U.S. Navy veteran and one of the most forthright voices in Congress. I think our conversation cut through the noise surrounding the Trump-engineered government shutdown. Let me know what you think in the comments. One thing I know for sure is that the people suffering most right now are ordinary Americans, while MAGA Republicans spiral deeper into chaos and cruelty.
The backdrop right now is absurd. House Republicans, led by Speaker Mike Johnson, continue to refuse even basic negotiations with Democrats, while millions of Americans face losing their health care. As I said on the show, “The MAGA Republicans’ talking points about this shutdown are not exactly going as planned. Americans understand the stakes. They’re blaming, rightfully so, Trump and the MAGA Republicans.”
Instead of governing, MAGA figures have turned to vitriol. I played a clip of Rep. Scott Perry, also from Pennsylvania, who claimed Democrats “hate the military” and only join “to get a credential to run for office.” Deluzio didn’t mince words. “It’s an unbelievable load of bullshit,” he said flatly. “I would dare Scott Perry to go say that in front of the Democrats in his district — to our veterans. There are thousands of them.”
Deluzio, a veteran himself, took Perry’s remarks personally. “I’m not interested in any lecture from anybody like him who was part of the effort to overthrow our government after the 2020 election,” he said. “He continues to peddle those lies. He’s smearing Democrats who are veterans — not just in Congress but in his own district.”
This, Deluzio noted, is the defining feature of today’s Republican Party: a politics of bad faith and grievance that puts spectacle before service. “If this guy had a spine,” Deluzio said, “he’d do a town hall. He’d say it to the faces of these veterans and brace for the blowback.”
We talked about how different things felt when we were younger — when politics, though rough, still meant governing. “We grew up in a time when people would have political disagreements, but they would negotiate and talk and work through issues,” I said. “Now you’ve got a Republican Party refusing to even speak to Democrats.”
Deluzio agreed, adding that his own constituents, across party lines, are fed up. “I sent a survey out in my district,” he told me. “Ninety-three percent said they want Mike Johnson to get us back in session to hammer out a deal to reopen the government and deal with health care costs. Regular people want that. I don’t know what the hell Republican leaders are doing.”
Meanwhile, the stakes for families couldn’t be higher. “I talked to a couple in their 60s,” Deluzio said. “They’re looking at $1,200 extra a month in premiums if Republicans let this continue. They can’t afford that. People are going to face bankruptcy or go without health insurance. That’s crazy.”
He spoke, too, about Trump’s betrayal of working-class Americans. “You have the head of the White House giving a bailout to Argentina’s competition to our farmers,” Deluzio said. “It’s cuckoo stuff. It really hurts small business owners — multi-generational family farmers.”
Across the country, voters are starting to notice. In Pennsylvania, a perennial swing state, voters have already flipped deep-red districts like Lancaster. Deluzio said he’s sensing a similar shift in his own community. “People see what’s happened under full Republican control,” he told me. “They want limits on that. I think we’re going to flip the House.”
As we wrapped, I couldn’t help but think how telling it was that the loudest voices who pretend they are defending “patriotism” are the ones tearing the country apart. Congressman Deluzio represents a different model, one rooted in service, decency, and respect for democracy.
Check out my interview above and let me know what you think. Also, make sure to tune in to the MeidasTouch Podcast for my latest reports. It’s available anywhere you find podcasts like Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
