#brian fitzpatrick

Steve "Halfwit" Witkoff gave instruction to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin on how to get a favorable response out of Trump regarding the Witkoff-Putin appeasement plan.

Witkoff is working for Russia – not the United States.

A few days after Trump said that members of Congress should be "executed" for telling members of the armed forces to follow the law, we discover that Halfwit Witkoff is acting like a traitor. Members of both chambers of Congress from both parties are calling for Witkoff's removal.

A handful of US representatives have reacted furiously to a leaked recording in which the special envoy to Ukraine reportedly coached Moscow on how to handle Donald Trump, but most have so far remained mute on the revelation that American officials were advising a US adversary. Don Bacon, a Republican representative, called for Steve Witkoff’s immediate dismissal. “For those who oppose the Russian invasion and want to see Ukraine prevail as a sovereign & democratic country, it is clear that Witkoff fully favors the Russians,” the Nebraska lawmaker wrote on X. “He cannot be trusted to lead these negotiations. Would a Russian paid agent do less than he? He should be fired.” Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican wrote that the leak represented “a major problem” and “one of the many reasons why these ridiculous side shows and secret meetings need to stop”. He urged that the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, be allowed to “do his job in a fair and objective manner”. Democratic representative Ted Lieu went further, calling Witkoff an “actual traitor,” and adding: “Steve Witkoff is supposed to work for the United States, not Russia.” In a recording obtained by Bloomberg of a 14 October phone call between Witkoff and Yuri Ushakov, Vladimir Putin’s top foreign policy aide, Witkoff said peace would require Moscow gaining control of Donetsk and potentially additional Ukrainian territory.

Rep. Suozzi calls on Republicans to 'stand up' to stop 'anti-weaponization fund'

The co-chairs of the House Problem Solvers Caucus introduced bill to block it.

Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick and Tom Suozzi, the bipartisan co-chairs of the House Problem Solvers Caucus, called on Sunday for Congress to block the implementation of the Justice Department’s $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization fund."

“The issue here, Jonathan, is a statute that basically bypasses Congress,” Fitzpatrick told ABC News’ “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl. “Congress appropriates money. The executive branch does not have a dime of money in its own level. Every dollar that goes to the executive branch emanates from Article I, emanates from Congress through the appropriations process we are in now.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

May 21, 2026

Heather Cox Richardson

May 22, 2026

Congress left for the holiday weekend a day early today after a number of Republican members of Congress appear to have mutinied against President Donald J. Trump and his loyalists.

Trump’s $1.776 billion slush fund and his agreement with acting attorney general Todd Blanche that the government would not prosecute him or any of his associates for crimes related to tax laws apparently were a bridge too far for a number of Republicans, especially as his job approval rating has fallen to a grim 34%.

Republican senators met for nearly two hours today with acting attorney general Todd Blanche in a meeting that Andrew Desiderio of Punchbowl News reported was “incredibly hostile.”

Republicans were angry they had no advance warning about the plan, questioned the legal basis for the fund, were unhappy with Blanche’s descriptions of how payments would work, and said they wanted no part of it. As former Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) put it: “So the nation’s top law enforcement official is asking for a slush fund to pay people who assault cops? Utterly stupid, morally wrong—Take your pick.”

As many as 25 Republican senators spoke out against the slush fund and pitched ideas about how to draw some limits around it. Scott MacFarlane of Meidas News reported that senators want to know “what is Trump trying to mask by offering up this controversial fund? I mean, the optics of this are terrible. This looks bad, so is it a diversion technique? Is it some way of masking a different issue altogether?”

Dan Alexander of Forbes reported today that the tax immunity Todd Blanche is extending to Trump could save him more than $600 million on the estimated $1.4 billion he made in 2025 from crypto and licensing ventures and on the $100 million hanging over him from a previous tax bill.

Michael Gold and Carl Hulse of the New York Times reported that Republican frustration with the White House has been exacerbated by anger that Trump has intervened in Republican primaries to sink Republican incumbents he thinks have been insufficiently loyal to him.

One Republican senator texted Desiderio to say: “Our majority is melting down before our eyes.”

In the end, Republicans were so angry about the slush fund and immunity agreement that Senate leadership decided not to try to pass $72 billion of funding for immigration agencies, left out of an earlier funding package, out of fear Democrats would force Republicans to vote on the slush fund.

Even before they decided to avoid the vote, Republicans had dropped from the measure the $1 billion Trump wants for security for his ballroom.

House Republicans had their own meltdown. House Republican leaders pulled a vote to stop Trump’s war on Iran based on the War Powers Act, recognizing that they did not have the votes to defeat it. Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), who voted with Democrats to pass such a measure last week, told Megan Mineiro, Robert Jimison, and Michael Gold of the New York Times that the next time the measure comes to a vote, it will pass.

As members head home to observe Memorial Day, the solemn remembrance of those Americans who gave their lives to defend the nation, they will likely hear an earful from their constituents about the $1.7 billion slush fund, the promise of immunity over Trump’s tax crimes, the $1 billion Trump is demanding for his ballroom, Trump’s unpopular war on Iran, and now the administration’s increasing threats against Cuba and Greenland, Trump’s unpopular war on Iran, and now the administration’s increasing threats against Cuba and Greenland, and about dramatically increasing prices.

On Tuesday, four Republicans joined Democrats to advance a resolution against the Iran war in the Senate. “Vote by vote, Democrats are breaking through Republicans’ wall of silence on Trump’s illegal war,” Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said. “Today proved our pressure is working: Republicans are starting to crack, and momentum is building to check him. We are not letting up.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

Urgent: Call your Republican Senator now about saving ACA Subsidies.

If you can’t safely contact them in person, here are some other options for contacting your Congress Critters:

Five Calls to your critters: https://5calls.org/

Here is one that will send your reps a fax: https://resist.bot/

And another: https://faxzero.com/fax_senate.php

This is a discharge Petition to force a vote on ACA subsidies. Mike Johnson won't hold the vote now, but it is an excellent time to thank for siding with the Democrats on saving affordable healthcare for workers:

Brian Fitzpatrick (Pennsylvania)

Robert Bresnahan (Pennsylvania)

Ryan Mackenzie (Pennsylvania)

Mike Lawler (New York)

And to tell the rest of them what you think of their votes.