(The Center Square) – As the partisan rift continues to deepen in Congress, so too are tensions mounting between representatives from Pennsylvania.
Democratic Congressman Chris Deluzio headed to Cumberland County from his Pittsburgh-area district to join local veterans demanding an apology from Republican Rep. Scott Perry for his insults slung at service members on a conservative podcast.
During an interview with Chris Stigall, Perry said that Democrats “hate the military” and “don’t support America,” which he said can be inferred from their votes in Congress.
A veteran himself, Deluzio took issue with Perry’s barbs. A senior in high school during 9/11, Deluzio attended the Naval Academy and served as an officer in three deployments, including one on the ground in Iraq. He is among 28 elected Democrats in the 119th Congress who are military veterans.
Perry is a retired Army National Guard brigadier general who was a commander during his 2009-2010 Iraq deployment. There are 70 Republican veterans in the 119th Congress following the departure of Vice President JD Vance and United Nations Ambassador Mike Waltz for higher office.
Of elected Democrats, Perry said, “That’s only a credential that they get when they want to run for office. They join the military, they serve a little bit, they get the credential, and then they run for office and wear the uniform and say, ‘Look at me, I support America.’”
Deluzio pointed to Perry’s own voting record to question whether the congressman himself has always shown support for the military. In particular, he noted that Perry was among 174 Republicans who voted against the 2022 PACT Act, legislation which expanded health care benefits for veterans who were exposed to burn pits and other toxic substances during their service.
Veteran Bob Holmes, chief petty officer in the U.S. Navy’s submarine service, is among 40,000 veterans in Perry’s district. Holmes said he was a lifelong Republican and the fourth in an unbroken line of five generations of military service dating back to the Spanish-American War.
“I appreciate Congressman Perry’s service,” said Holmes. “Anyone who answers the call to protect the country deserves our gratitude, so that makes it even more shameful that he can’t say the same about veterans who simply don’t share his same radical political views.
Fellow Navy veteran Ralph Pruitt, who said he has voted as both a Democrat and Republican outside of his time in military service, shared Deluzio and Holmes’s impression of Perry.
“I don’t think things are going the right way. I think Congressman Perry is extreme. We’ve got a lot of people that are extreme out there today,” said Pruitt. “In central Pennsylvania, we do deserve better than Scott Perry, and I’m sick of what’s going on.”
Another point of offense to veterans was Perry’s statement that Democrats “don’t care about the Constitution or the nation’s defense.”
Perry himself has been the subject of intense scrutiny in light of his efforts to overturn the 2020 election in favor of President Donald Trump. For this act, Deluzio and others have referred to Perry as an “oathbreaker” and some Democrats have levied accusations of treason and sedition.
Perry’s 10th District is highly competitive with an intense race expected in 2026 against Democratic contender Janelle Stelson, who joined Deluzio for the press conference. The journalist managed 49.2% of the vote to Perry’s 50.8%, a margin many Democrats believe can be made up in the midterms as Republicans grapple with the fallout from lowpoints in Trump’s second term.
“I know that we can flip this district and do it in a way that attracts Democrats, Republicans, and Independents who say no to Scott Perry,” said Deluzio. “This is a priority for us in Pennsylvania.”
When asked, Deluzio acknowledged that it’s unusual for a representative to visit the district of another sitting congressman on the attack. He said that was an indication of “how out of bounds” Perry is.
Deluzio’s 17th District is another competitive one. He won his 2024 race by 7.4% over Republican Rob Mercuri.
The Center Square asked Deluzio if he saw a way forward that didn’t limit the idea of patriotism to one side or the other.
“We don’t think any one party has a monopoly on the flag and loving this country, but Scott Perry seems to think so, and that’s outrageous, and we say no to that.” said Deluzio. “I am trying to lift up the idea that we are all in this thing together whether you come from farm country, the big city, the suburbs, small town — this American experiment of ours is going to succeed when we stand together.”
