A dark money group is pumping money into ads aimed to keep Republican Brian Fitzpatrick in Congress, according to a press release by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC.)
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on August 15 “a conservative money group, the Center for Individual Freedom is running ads on Meta and Instagram” supporting Republican Brian Fitzpatrick, who represents the First Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“They know what we know, when billionaires, Republican party bosses and Donald Trump need Fitzpatrick, he does what he’s told. Fitzpatrick cast the deciding vote for The Trump Budget Bill, which gutted Medicaid and SNAP to give tax cuts to billionaires. While dark money groups thank him, working class Americans are left paying the price with higher healthcare costs, higher grocery bills, and fewer resources for working families,” said Bob Harvie, Fitzpatrick’s Democratic challenger in November’s midterm elections. Harvie is a Bucks County Commissioner and the current president of its board.
The ads reportedly praise Fitzpatrick for his vote to advance the Trump Administration’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” in May.
Fitzpatrick ultimately voted no on the final version of the Senate bill, which was adopted into law on July 4, the Pennsylvania Capital-Star website said.
After the vote, Fitzpatrick made headlines along with Kentucky Republican Representative Tom Massie for being the only two Republicans to vote no in the House of Representatives.
Fitzpatrick did not respond to a request for comment.
The “big bill” legislation is a massive tax cuts and spending behemoth expected to add more than $3 trillion to the nation’s debt. It gutted Medicaid and food insecurity programs like SNAP and provided tax breaks for corporations and the nation’s wealthiest citizens.
“It’s no surprise that billionaires and corporate special interests who are funding a dark money group are thanking Brian Fitzpatrick,” Harvie said.
Dark money is defined as spending by political groups that do not disclose their donors, according to Brennan Center for Justice.org.
In May, the Brennan Center reported a record $1.9 billion spent on federal races in the 2024 election cycle.
DCCC Spokesperson Eli Cousin said Fitzpatrick is “trying to have it both ways. He wants to be applauded by MAGA for giving tax cuts to billionaires but dodge scrutiny for green lighting the largest cuts to Medicaid in history. The fact that Fitzpatrick is getting praise from GOP dark money groups for his vote to advance Republicans’ Big Ugly Bill tells you all you need to know about his true record and who he stands for – and it clearly isn’t Pennsylvanians.”
