On Saturday, Sen. Ruben Gallego hosted a “People’s Town Hall” in Bucks County, PA to ramp up pressure against vulnerable Republican House member Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01) and urge the congressman to stand against Trump and Republicans’ dangerous budget proposals. The town hall kicked off a new round of “People’s Town Hall” events as part of Democrats’ “Fight to Save Medicaid” month of action campaign targeting four vulnerable House Republicans, including Fitzpatrick, who could break from their party’s plot to cut Medicaid and gut critical food assistance programs — all to gift billionaires with tax breaks. 

Take a look at some of the coverage below: 

WHYY: Arizona senator visits Bucks County, calls out Pa. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick for not holding town halls

[Carmen Russell-Sluchansky, 5/10/25]

“Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., toured Bucks County and spoke to an audience of a few hundred residents at Ben Franklin Middle School in Levittown on Saturday.

“The Arizona Democrat attacked Republicans for their economic policies, looming cuts to Medicaid and ‘tax breaks for the rich.’

“‘This president has put us in a position, again —the richest country in the world, most modern economy in the world — with the most sophisticated trade in the world where now we have to go hunting to garage sales to find products because this president decided to arbitrarily start a trade war without any concept how to get F out of this,’ he said. …

“Gallego said that Fitzpatrick is ‘afraid’ to hear from his constituents.

“‘He’s afraid that if he comes and meets with you, you’re going to tell him, “I don’t want you to cut Medicaid, I actually don’t want you to cut SNAP for poor people and I sure as hell don’t want to keep paying all these high tariffs because you can’t take power back from the President,”’ Gallego said. ‘He’d rather just run away off together and hope somehow this problem goes away or you forget that he was the key to this.’”

Bucks County Beacon: Senator Ruben Gallego Headlines Town Hall in Bucks County to Talk About How Republicans Like Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick Will Cut Medicaid

[Naomi Weiss, 5/11/25]

“Hosted by the DNC and DCCC as part of their ‘Fight to Save Medicaid’ month of action, Gallego and local Democrats hosted a town hall and talked about health care, the Trump administration, and state and local politics, with much of the discussion focused on the local incumbent Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick – who has notably refused to hold public in-person town halls for years. …

“Gallego spoke about Fitzpatrick’s powerful influence on the future of Medicaid nationally. To pass the bill in the House and Senate, Republicans could only afford to lose four votes in each. These slim margins could determine the fate of healthcare in the country.

“‘It is his decision whether he’s going to cut millions of people off of health care, and millions and millions of Pennsylvanians,’ Gallego said. …

“‘What we’ve seen is the hesitancy by the Republicans more and more, closer they get to that deciding day, that they are trying to find any wiggly way out of it,’ Gallego said. ‘We just need to keep the pressure on them all the way, so either they have to make a really hard decision that makes voters understand that these representatives, Republicans, are not on my side, or they’re going to stick with us and protect and save Medicaid.’ …

“In an interview with the Beacon, DNC Vice Chair Malcolm Kenyatta, who also gave a speech at Saturday’s event, said he often hears from Republicans and independents at town halls who say they are frustrated by the Trump administration’s actions and about high costs and bills. 

“‘This is an administration that is out of control, and we are in a district with a guy who used to work in law enforcement, who took an oath multiple times to uphold the Constitution. I’ve heard him say nothing about this,’ Kenyatta said. ‘So he doesn’t care about rising costs, he doesn’t care about the rule of law. He doesn’t care about standing up to Donald Trump. What the hell is Brian Fitzpatrick here for?’”

Philadelphia Inquirer: ‘Be mad’: Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego rallies Bucks County voters as Democrats target Fitzpatrick

[Katie Bernard, 5/10/25]

“Speaking to a crowd that filled about half the theater in a Levittown middle school, Gallego, alongside Democratic leaders in Bucks County and Pennsylvania, highlighted the consequences of President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office while arguing the area’s Republican congressman, U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, was too scared to listen to the voices of his constituents.

“Often, Gallego said, he is asked what to do about the Trump administration, its cuts to the federal workforce, immigration enforcement, and tariffs.

“‘Here’s my recommendations,’ he said. ‘Be mad. Stay mad. And we fight.’ …

“Gallego said he came to Bucks County on Saturday to hear how Trump’s policies and proposed cuts to social services would affect Fitzpatrick’s constituents. He came, he said, because Fitzpatrick had not held his own in-person town hall.

“‘He’d rather just run away altogether and hope that this problem goes away or that you forget that he was the key to this,’ Gallego said, noting that Republicans have a four-vote majority in the House, meaning Fitzpatrick’s votes could prove decisive.

“‘He could make that difference to save lives, to actually take care of their constituents, to actually do his job.’”

Washington Post: Ruben Gallego’s tough talk in Pennsylvania visit adds to 2028 chatter

[Sabrina Rodriguez, 5/10/25]

“The town hall, hosted by the state Democratic Party, Democratic National Committee and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, took place in GOP Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick’s district. It’s part of a series of events — branded as ‘People’s Town Halls’ — that Democrats are hosting in battleground districts throughout the country to draw attention to vulnerable Republicans who have avoided public forums in the areas they represent.

“Gallego and local Democratic leaders called out Fitzpatrick repeatedly as they pointed out that, with the GOP’s narrow House majority, he has the power to push for the party to move away from potential Medicaid cuts and try to rein in Trump on tariffs.

“‘He could make that difference to save lives, to actually take care of his constituents, actually do his job,’ Gallego said. ‘So, he’s not here. He’s not willing to have a town hall. But I sure as hell am.’”