Latest news with #ChrisDeluzio
CBS News
15-05-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Pittsburgh-area health workers reinstated after layoffs
U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio is one of a group of local lawmakers who continue to fight layoffs of federal employees by the Trump administration. This week, they won one of those rounds when 70 people who were previously laid off were reinstated, specifically respirator certification workers from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health facility in Pleasant Hills. Deluzio, a Democrat who represents Pennsylvania's 17th District, said those employees do important work around respirators that he's been told are not only safe for first responders but also people who work in building trades. "They could live anywhere in our region," Deluzio said. "But their work is public safety work that matters to painters, construction workers, firefighters, on and on. It's important that the administration change course here, that these public safety folks are getting back to work. But we still have mine safety workers there at that facility who are on the chopping block." Those mine safety workers were among the greater sum of about 200 workers who were laid off from the Pleasant Hills facility. Those layoffs were announced on April 1, amid claims from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that his department was filled with "duplicative and wasteful offices." Deluzio said he wants the federal government to focus on areas where he believes there is more wasteful spending, citing the Pentagon for markups on equipment and weapon systems, for instance. "To me, it goes to the recklessness and the chaos of this DOGE effort and the administration," he said. "It's not focused on whether a service is needed or not. It just seems to be a pretty aggressive sledgehammer to government programs that are about keeping us safe." Deluzio said he will continue to work with his colleagues in the delegation, like Rep. Summer Lee, who represents the district where the NIOSH facility is located, to get the Trump administration to change its mind on more federal layoffs to eliminate what he says is important, bipartisan public safety work. "I'll keep pushing and making sure folks understand that their work is important, and that it's foolish to cut them," he said. "Public service is honorable, and I think the importance of the work that comes out of so many of these programs is something we need to think about and be clear about, whether we expect these services to be delivered or whether you're willing to cut them. "I think the story hear about what happened with these NIOSH workers is a cautionary one. We've got to be clear about pushing back where cuts are going to hurt things that we expect and demand of our government."
CBS News
09-05-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Clinical trials have stalled at Pittsburgh VA, reports say
According to media reports, several clinical trials, including ones to treat cancer, have stalled at the Pittsburgh VA. Congressman Chris Deluzio, a veteran, is now calling on lawmakers in Washington, D.C., to address the concerns of veterans. With thousands of veterans in the Pittsburgh region, Pennsylvania's 17th Congressional District Democratic congressman says reports of stalling clinical cancer trials are unacceptable. "You're going to hurt veterans," he said at a Friday press conference. The Trump administration has stood firm in wanting to cut down on what it views as bureaucratic bloat and waste. According to Deluzio, this is going to trickle down and harm veterans. Naval veteran Curtis Lloyd said he moved to the region for the care provided by the Pittsburgh VA system. "I'm terrified that we don't even know how many hundreds of veterans right now could not be receiving lifesaving care," Lloyd said. VA Secretary Doug Collins has called out reports of VA cuts stalling clinical trials as hit pieces. He said the VA is looking at eliminating inefficiencies to better serve veterans. Congressman Deluzio is pleading for Republicans to join him in support of not allowing the VA to slash positions and services. "I think the American people, across the political spectrum, expect our government to pay the cost of war, and caring for veterans is the cost of war," Deluzio said. KDKA reached out to the Pittsburgh VA on Friday. In the past, it told KDKA that job cuts were to positions that wouldn't impact mission-critical services.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Fighters vs wimps: Swing-state Democrat sees a new divide in the party
At one time not so long ago, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., was maybe seen as too progressive for most swing-district Democrats to appear with. Not anymore. When Sanders went through Pennsylvania over the weekend, one such Democrat, Rep. Chris Deluzio, was by his side on his 'Fighting Oligarchy' tour. Follow live politics coverage here In an interview Monday with NBC News, Deluzio argued that the old intraparty divide of moderate vs. progressive is over. Deluzio has himself straddled that split at times. But he's also sought to grab the left's mantle of economic populism as he's won two terms in a district just outside of Pittsburgh. Now, amid President Donald Trump's second term, he sees the real battle not between the center and left but between fighters and wimps. Deluzio argued that more populist positioning, citing his own push for an anti-corruption, anti-corporate and anti-monopoly platform, 'is uniting more Democrats across the old ideological labels who understand that one, now is not the time to be a wimp, and that two, we've got to put the economic fight front and center.' That Deluzio, who represents a D+3 district, according to the Cook Political Report, would appear with Sanders would've raised eyebrows in past cycles. The congressman said that, while he's not sure how many Democratic officials feel differently about appearing on the trail with Sanders now, he doesn't see much difference between his messaging and the Vermont senator's. Appearing with him in Harrisburg and Bethlehem over the weekend — on the other side of the state from his congressional district — Deluzio railed against 'bootlicker politicians,' 'the oligarchs in the White House and the boardroom' and 'these phony patriots' he sees 'waging a war on the American Dream.' And he called on Democrats to rally around a congressional stock trading ban as part of an anti-corruption push. 'Donald Trump understood that anger,' Deluzio said in Bethlehem of working-class disenchantment with the status quo. 'He saw that wound in the American psyche. What does he offer? Snake oil of hate, division and autocracy. That's not the way forward. We're here to call out that bulls---.' In the early days of Trump's administration, Democrats were divided over how strongly to combat Trump, with some feeling the anti-Trump 'resistance' of his first term contributed to his comeback the second time around. Yet as the president has moved to quickly enact his agenda of deconstructing the civil service, slashing federal funding to an array of programs and enacting sweeping global tariffs, many in the party have shifted. 'It's not so much ideological, right?' Deluzio said in the interview. 'It's about style, and, of course, it is about substance too. Across the ideological spectrum from Sen. Sanders to Sen. [Elissa] Slotkin and anybody else who's weighed in here, I think you're seeing a pretty clear consensus among Democrats who get this, that you've got to be tough … You've got to be clear about who you're fighting against.' Slotkin, D-Mich., had pushed back recently on using the 'oligarchy' framing to argue against Trump and his agenda, saying that many Americans don't understand what an oligarchy — a form of government where power is held by a small group of people — is. Sanders hit back, telling NBC News' 'Meet the Press' that Americans 'are not quite as dumb as Ms. Slotkin thinks they are.' But Deluzio doesn't think there is much of a divide there. 'Sen. Slotkin is someone who gets and has talked aggressively about Democrats needing this alpha energy, as she says, as Democrats should be fighting,' he said. 'So I actually think it's less of a division than some have reported it. … Whether you're using 'oligarch,' 'robber baron' or 'corporate jagoff,' we know who we're talking about. The American people know who we're talking about here.' Deluzio came under fire from some party activists and allies last month when House Democrats promoted a video of him on X describing how tariffs can be part of a plan to boost American manufacturing just two days after Trump announced his sweeping global tariffs that sparked a market selloff. 'I don't think there's much of a divide about Trump's tariffs being really dangerous and hurtful,' he said in the interview. 'We have to be able to say that, and actually I think it's pretty powerful, coming from the Rust Belt, coming from Western Pennsylvania, that I can say that clearly. And then, I think we have to articulate, 'well, what do we want to do differently?' And for me, yes, targeted enforcement against countries like China and sectors like steel and ship-building, that's part of it.' 'You also need the industrial policy at home,' he continued. 'You need the incentives for American companies to invest here, and foreign companies to invest, and that is completely lacking in Trump's trade approach. So I think Democrats have to articulate what we would do differently, too.' Deluzio is seen as someone who could be a future statewide candidate in Pennsylvania. He spoke with NBC News days after New York Magazine offered an in-depth story on Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., where staffers alleged that his recovery from a stroke and subsequent mental health episodes has taken a step backward, causing internal tension with his team and even his wife, Gisele. Asked if he believed Fetterman can continue serving the state in the Senate, Deluzio said he would wait to render judgment until Fetterman addressed the story. 'Number one, I want him to be healthy, and he's been pretty honest so far about his struggles and treatment,' Deluzio said. 'I want to give him a chance to respond, and I haven't seen him say anything yet, so I want to give him a chance to do that.' After the interview, Fetterman told NBC News on Tuesday morning that the story was built on 'one source' with 'a couple anonymous sources,' describing it as a 'hit piece from a very left publication.' 'There's really nothing more to say about it,' he added. This article was originally published on
CBS News
25-04-2025
- CBS News
8 taken into custody during immigration enforcement raid at Beaver County Mexican restaurant
Eight people were taken into custody after an immigration enforcement raid at 1942 Tacos & Tequila, a popular Mexican restaurant in Beaver County, a spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed on Friday. Multiple federal agencies, including ICE, the FBI and ATF, executed a search warrant at the restaurant in Rochester on Wednesday. Photos showed federal agents and a white van with blacked-out windows outside the establishment. An ICE spokesperson said the search was part of "an ongoing criminal investigation into hiring and employment" of people who are in the country illegally. ICE said eight people were taken into custody for violating U.S. immigration law. The restaurant was closed on Wednesday but back open on Thursday. While details had been limited until ICE released its statement on Friday, customers said they were surprised by the news. "If they were personally really illegally here, then I don't have a problem with them going. But they were amazing. We were just in there, there's no same people in there, it's all new people," said customer Donna Bentler. Congressman Chris Deluzio's office told KDKA-TV that it first heard about the raid from concerned community members. His office said it was working to get answers from federal agencies. The ICE spokesperson declined to release further details, citing an ongoing investigation. "It's mind-boggling, to be honest with you," said customer Tiffany Mcallister. "I mean, I understand they have certain criteria or different things for certain situations, but I've never had any problems with any of them." 1942 Tacos & Tequila has three locations in Rochester, Cleveland and Newell, West Virginia.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'He is abusing a tool in a really egregious way.'
After the president's 'Liberation Day' tariff announcement, the voice of the Democratic response was Pennsylvania Rep. Chris Deluzio. The Iraq War veteran and attorney from the Pittsburgh area cut a video for House Democrats, which started not with a condemnation of Trump, but of the 'wrong-for-decades consensus' that preceded him. The video frustrated many liberals, who wanted to see the party come out hard against Trump and own the tariff issue. But Deluzio saw a need for nuance, a party that didn't just have one position, and a Trump move that wouldn't do what its advocates wanted. Some labor unions were cheering Trump on, and even the chair of the House Democrats' campaign committee didn't think the party was going to coalesce around a pure anti-tariff stance. 'It's not about any particular tariff,' Washington Rep. Suzan DelBene told Semafor's Eleanor Mueller. 'It's just the kind of uncertainty of what will or won't happen, and how much change there will be.' On Wednesday, shortly before Trump reversed himself on many of the tariffs, I sat down with Deluzio to understand what he was advising, and figure out if the party would actually cohere around a position — probably one more complicated than 'orange man bad.' This is an edited transcript of the conversation. David Weigel: What were you hearing in your district after 'Liberation Day?' Chris Deluzio: The reaction has been pretty aligned with where I am. What the president's doing is reckless and dangerous, really hurting people. And we also know we have to get trade and manufacturing right. What he's doing isn't it. The fact that you can hear from a guy like me, who's from the Rust Belt, in steel country, and knows we have to make more in this country, that what the president just did is crazy and dangerous? It tells you something about how out there he's been. So, how would a president with a sound strategy use those tools differently last week? You've got to have an industrial policy to incentivize American manufacturing, especially when we're competing with countries that are propping up their industries, that are subsidizing them in real ways. Chinese steel is the obvious one that comes to mind for me. The CHIPS Act was a big example of this. The Inflation Reduction Act had some of that as well. You've got to have investments in our workforce, and you've got to have, I think, a broader trade approach. Renegotiating the USMCA, slapping tariffs on Mexico, are not going to change the fact that they undercut American workers. Tariffs won't fix that. When you look at what the president just did, which is blanket, across the board, foe and ally alike — it's reckless. How close was the Biden administration to the right strategy? There were movements in the right direction. Trade enforcement is part of it, and incentivizing the production here. We don't have factories humming at the drop of a hat. If there's any leverage point for Democrats this year, in a must-pass bill, should they be returning some of the tariff power from the president to Congress? I think the Congress, across parties and presidencies, has given up too much power to the executive branch. Around war making — I'm a guy who thinks that allowing the president, whomever it is, to rely on the post-9/11 authorization for the use of military force for everything they want to do is an affront to our constitutional order. I'd also like to see the Congress take back more power from the executive, and I think President Trump's reckless use of the powers of his office highlight why we should be doing that. What about ending the state of emergency he's declared? I think there's a role for Congress to assert ourselves here. What he's doing is dangerous, and the Congress should be inserting itself more. What would be the risk for Democrats, if they just said: Look, we are against tariffs? We're for ending everything Trump did. Politically, and for Pennsylvanians, what would happen? How does that play out? You're not going to invest in, or you don't care about, American manufacturing? That's crazy to me. I don't think that's where the Democratic Party is. Again, I think you saw that in the Biden administration: House and Senate Democrats being willing to work together on industrial policy like the CHIPS Act. That's what's missing from Trump's crazy tariff-only policy. Is there a risk that the way Trump is pursuing this could discredit tariffs as a tool, period? I mean: He is abusing a tool in a really egregious way. Of course, some folks will think the tool is terrible on its own. This thing alone is not going to accomplish the goal that I think all Democrats want, which is good, solid jobs and a good way of life in this country. Back home, are you hearing from any voters who do support what Trump is doing, if even in a ham-handed way? Look, I spent some time this past weekend talking to some folks in labor, and I think even there, there is just a pretty broad recognition of this as reckless and crazy. The other part of this is the CEO crowd. It's been pretty friendly to the president. What those guys are saying is: How the heck are we supposed to plan around this? Even if we want to invest in a factory in America, we've got trade rules and tariff levels changing day to day, week to week. You need business certainty to make decisions about investments and where you place them. I think even the fact that that crowd is willing to talk about the disruption coming from this White House on trade, it tells you something. In no world would I ever be willing to hurt my people, and cause people real economic harm and pain, to try to have another country negotiate. Just go to the negotiating table! You don't hurt the American people to do it. Well, let's imagine you could go back in time — let's say after NAFTA, before PNTR with China — and put tariffs like these in place. How would western Pennsylvania be different today? The first kick for us was really foreign trade with Japan, before NAFTA. There was also the movement to ship work to the South, in right-to-work states, so they could undercut worker pay in a place like Pennsylvania, where we had the protections of the union. We saw a lack of investment in our steel industry, in the old blast furnaces, which we still have. Our country gave up a lot of leadership on steel. The AK Valley in my district used to be a manufacturing powerhouse. Trade ravaged a lot of those jobs. So it wasn't just one thing that could have been fixed. It's sector by sector. I'm not interested in killing American jobs and industry, and we aren't competing fairly, and I think our government needs to reflect that. What Trump is doing does not achieve that.
