Ruben Gallego: Why I’m heading to Bucks County

We have a president hell-bent on pushing aggressive tariff policies that are raising prices on American households, and Elon Musk is cutting programs our kids and seniors rely on. All the while, the conversations happening in Washington, D.C., are disconnected from the conversations happening at kitchen tables.

Yet, despite all this, Democrats still look like the party that brought a knife to a gunfight. And honestly, it’s not as easy as just standing up to Donald Trump at every possible chance. Voters want Washington to work. They want their elected leaders to work together and solve problems, not score points.

As a Marine, standing up for what’s right is second nature to me. I understand the pressure families in Pennsylvania are under right now because I’ve lived it. I grew up working any job I could — a meatpacking plant, a hot dog stand, cleaning dorm rooms in college — just to make ends meet. Like many Pennsylvania families, I know what it’s like to work hard and still feel like you’re falling behind.

When you grow up poor, hope is your only currency. That sense of possibility, that belief tomorrow can be better, is what kept me going, and keeps so many families pushing forward today.

With prices rising, wages not keeping up, and housing and childcare becoming less affordable, it’s no surprise that voters have looked for unconventional solutions. But unconventional doesn’t always mean better. Acting swiftly without a clear plan has left too many families to deal with uncertainty and instability.

In the first 100 days of this administration, I’ve heard directly from Americans who wanted to give the president and Congress a chance but are exhausted by the daily chaos and lack of clarity.

I’ve caught some flak for working with the other side — something I’m not sorry for. But when the White House and the Republican-led Congress cross the line and threaten the pocketbooks of families in Pennsylvania, Arizona, and across America, we need to call them out and fight.

That’s why I’m coming to Pennsylvania. The Keystone State, like Arizona, is a battleground where the voices of hardworking families must be heard and their concerns taken seriously.

The voices of hardworking families must be heard and their concerns taken seriously.

Here are the numbers: Over three million Pennsylvanians rely on Medicaid, also known as medical assistance. More than two million rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which helps families with children and Pennsylvanians with disabilities put food on the table. If Republicans cut these programs, Pennsylvania could lose nearly 50,000 jobs and see its economy shrink by $5.3 billion.

This would be devastating. And I would know. I grew up relying on these types of programs. I was raised by a single mother who worked to provide for my three sisters and me. Families like mine aren’t abstract statistics.

These numbers reflect grocery bills, rent, and prescriptions. Cuts mean real consequences for real people, and I’ve long said you can have all the graphs you want, but if you check your bank account and bring home less, it doesn’t matter what the GDP growth is.

And that’s where people are feeling it. These cuts would be a one-two punch on top of the losses Pennsylvania families are already experiencing.

Retirement accounts are plummeting, a reckless trade war is raising prices, and Musk and his cronies continue to slash access to services like Social Security and childhood school programs. Families feel like they’re getting hit from every angle.

This isn’t about left or right. It’s about priorities. It’s about whether we’re building a future where everyone has a fair shot — or as some of my colleagues in Congress would prefer, one where only a few get ahead on the backs of hardworking families.

I can’t stand idle, so I’m heading to Bucks County to turn up the heat and show Pennsylvanians what’s at stake — their healthcare, retirement security, and children’s future.

The stakes are too high for anyone to stay on the sidelines. I’m going to make sure the voices of real people, hardworking Americans, are heard where it counts.

So I hope you’ll join me in laying out the stakes. I want to hear your stories and bring them back to Washington — because no matter who’s in charge, the people deserve to be heard.

Ruben Gallego is a first-term Democratic U.S. senator from Arizona.