PA GOP lawmakers weigh in on Trump accusing veteran pols of ‘seditious behavior’

A day after President Donald Trump took the unprecedented step of floating the idea that death was an appropriate punishment for what he termed “seditious behavior” by members of Congress who served in the military urging U.S. troops to disobey illegal orders, it was the GOP’s turn to weigh in.

U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a former FBI special agent and federal prosecutor who was embedded with U.S. Special Forces as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, spoke out forcefully against the president’s incendiary remarks, while other GOP elected officials from Pennsylvania defended the primacy of executive orders.

In the video, released Tuesday, six congressional Democrats – all military veterans – reminded U.S. troops of their obligation to decline to carry out orders that violate U.S. law. “You must refuse illegal orders,” said U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, a Navy veteran who represents Western Pennsylvania, echoing his colleagues. On Thursday, President Trump fired back on his Truth Social network, suggesting the Democrats’ video was “punishable by death” and that the legislators deserved to be hanged for “seditious behavior.”

In response, Fitzpatrick, who represents Bucks County, told The Philadelphia Inquirer that “when our military is dragged into partisan conflicts, it is not only irresponsible – it is deeply disrespectful to those who serve,” adding: “Having served in the FBI, I’ve seen how inflamed rhetoric can stoke tensions and lead to unintended violence.”

“This exchange is part of a deeper issue of corrosive divisiveness that helps no one and puts our entire nation at risk,” he added. “Such unnecessary incidents and incendiary rhetoric heighten volatility, erode public trust, and have no place in a constitutional republic, least of all in our great nation.”

But some of his fellow elected officials took a different view. U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick said in a statement: "Not a single unlawful order is cited in this video - because there aren't any. The video is inappropriate and unwarranted, and I didn't hear any of these calls to defy orders when Democrats were using lawfare against President Trump, giving outlandish pardons, or intimidating tech companies to stop free speech."

“As a veteran in the U.S. Army, I would expect my soldiers to follow my lawful orders,” state Sen. Tracy Pennycuick, a former U.S. Army helicopter pilot who serves as vice chair of the Committee on Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness, told City & State. “Any suggestion to the contrary is unacceptable and frankly, destabilizing to the security of our nation. Despite our disagreements, we should never condone political violence of any kind.”

U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, a U.S. Navy veteran who represents Southwestern Pennsylvania, affirmed that President Trump’s military orders were critical to the nation’s security. “As a former Navy JAG (Judge Advocate General) who prosecuted terrorists in Iraq, I know President Trump’s actions are both lawful and necessary,” he told City & State in an emailed statement. “My Democrat (sic) colleagues are dangerously sowing division to distract from the President’s successes.”

These include having “secured our southern border, dismantled terrorist networks, decimated Iran’s nuclear capabilities, and achieved a historic peace deal in the Middle East,” Reschenthaler added. “Now, President Trump is rightfully taking the fight to foreign drug cartels that funnel illicit drugs into our towns and kill our friends, families, and neighbors.”

City & State has also reached out to veterans U.S. Rep. Scott Perry and state Sen. Doug Mastriano for comment; they have yet to respond.