After former President Donald Trump called newly-elected Speaker of the U.S. House Mike Johnson (R-La.) “MAGA Mike” last fall, Bucks County Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick argued Johnson’s politics were akin to a different U.S. president.
“He’s a Reagan Republican, not a Trump Republican,” Fitzpatrick told the centrist group No Labels.
Seven months later, Johnson returned the favor by appearing at a fundraiser Monday for Fitzpatrick in Philadelphia.
“The road to growing the House majority runs through Pennsylvania and depends on reelecting strong leaders like Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick,” Johnson told DVJournal. “A common sense voice in Washington, Rep. Fitzpatrick works across the aisle to continually deliver results for his constituents and our nation.”
Fitzpatrick’s ability to work across the aisle has helped gather support in the swing district of Bucks County, whose electorate is almost split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans.
He’s one of a few Republicans to win election reelection in a district carried by Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020, the latter beating incumbent Trump by 13 points.
Fitzpatrick co-chairs the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus and consistently ranks at or near the top of the Lugar Center’s Bipartisan Index.
“Rep. Fitzpatrick will continue delivering results as the most independent member of Congress,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Mike Marinella told DVJournal.
And, Republican strategists say, the fact Fitzpatrick’s district is willing to back him for Congress could show a path forward for Trump in Bucks County this November as well.
“I think they’re on two separate trajectories to get them to their own 50 percent-plus-one,” veteran Pennsylvania GOP strategist Christopher Nicholas told DVJournal. “They have different coalitions — though of course there is a lot of overlap, too.”
Fitzpatrick’s Democrat opponent in the November election attempted to use Trump’s own words to attack Fitzpatrick for hosting Johnson.
“MAGA Mike Johnson is coming to town to raise some money for fake moderate [Fitzpatrick],” Democrat Ashley Ehasz posted on social media. She lost to Fitzpatrick by almost 10 points in 2022. “Johnson supports a national abortion ban and tried to overturn votes here in PA – looks like Fitzpatrick is showing his true colors!”
Fitzpatrick voted for the Ensuring Access to Abortion Act and the Right to Contraception Act in 2022.
He’s also long defended Johnson as more moderate than how he’s been portrayed by Trump and Ehasz.
After Johnson was elected speaker, Fitzpatrick praised Johnson for not being part of the hardline House Freedom Caucus which helped oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) last year.
Instead, Fitzpatrick noted, Johnson ran the more mainstream Republican Study Committee before becoming House Republican Conference vice chair. As for Johnson’s vote to not certify the 2020 election, Fitzpatrick said he wasn’t sure that Johnson would “do the same thing” this fall should Trump lose again to Biden.
Johnson said it was a no-brainer to appear with Fitzpatrick. “It was an honor to join Congressman Fitzpatrick and support his efforts as I look forward to continuing working with him in Congress.”
