Pennsylvania Republicans who narrowly won their House seats feel the heat of early votes back home

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Newly minted U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan swore he wouldn't support gutting government benefits such as Medicaid that residents of his northeastern Pennsylvania district rely on.

Then the first-term Republican voted for a bill that could do just that.

Bresnahan and two other Pennsylvania Republicans won in November by some of the smallest margins in all of Congress, prevailing in a critical battleground state that not only helped decide the presidency but also aided the GOP in taking control of the U.S. House.

Bresnahan, fellow newcomer Ryan Mackenzie and seven-term Rep. Scott Perry now find themselves navigating the delicate politics of a divided electorate once again, this time during the first weeks of President Donald Trump's second term as he makes economy-altering decisions.

Those include imposing tariffs on raw materials such as steel and aluminum, firing federal workers, shedding federal office space and, most recently, pushing for votes on budget legislation that appear likely to require major cuts to Medicaid and other programs people in Pennsylvania might care about.

There is no time to hide: Mackenzie has already drawn a Democratic challenger in 2026, and rumors are circulating about challengers to Bresnahan, who is trying to find footing that balances loyalty to the Republican president with his constituents' needs.

Before last Tuesday night's budget vote, Bresnahan had said he would vote against any bill “that guts the benefits my neighbors rely on.”

“These benefits are promises that were made to the people of (northeastern Pennsylvania) and where I come from, people keep their word,” Bresnahan said in a statement.

Bresnahan then voted for a GOP blueprint that sets the stage for $2 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years and would, Democrats and many analysts say, inevitably require steep cuts to Medicaid, the federal-state partnership that covers medical care and long-term nursing care for some 72 million people nationwide.

He played down the vote, saying it was a "procedural" step to start budget negotiations and did not contradict his earlier position.

“I will fight to protect working-class families in Northeastern Pennsylvania and stand with President Trump in opposing gutting Medicaid," Bresnahan said in a statement. “My position on this has not and will not change.”

Trump has insisted he will not touch the safety net programs of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, and will only cut what he calls waste and fraud. Republican lawmakers insist there will be no direct cuts to health care through Medicaid.

Nursing home operators are watching closely, including in the neighboring districts represented by Mackenzie and Bresnahan on Pennsylvania's eastern border, where communities are still trying to recover from the disappearance of the coal and steel industries that built them.

There, and in Perry's south-central Pennsylvania district, many fear a devastating funding cut after years of scraping by, and they doubt there is much undiscovered waste and fraud in the program still to be unearthed.

“It's definitely a very hot topic for us right now, 100%,” said Mary Kay McMahon, president and CEO of the nonprofit Fellowship Community, which operates a nursing home outside Allentown in Mackenzie's district.

McMahon estimated that Medicaid covers about 35% to 40% of the cost to care for a skilled nursing patient, and a Medicaid cut might force Fellowship Community to sell the service or eliminate beds.

“There’s very few options left, to be honest, and I don't know where these people are going to go for that care,” McMahon said. "That’s what concerns me.”

Jim Brogna, a vice president for Allied Services Integrated Health Systems, a nonprofit that runs three nursing homes in Bresnahan's district, said representatives met with Bresnahan's staff to press him not to support Medicaid cuts.

Any reduction in the program would mean cuts to services, Brogna said.

Nursing home operators have pushed Pennsylvania for Medicaid rate increases to help manage their costs, and Brogna said the prospect of less federal funding is “heartbreaking” at a time when nursing homes there are closing their doors or eliminating beds.

Bresnahan did not respond to an interview request from The Associated Press. Nor did he answer a constituent email from Chris Chesek, who was motivated by the layoff of five employees at Steamtown National Historic Site to organize his first-ever rally.

Last Saturday's “Save Steamtown” rally drew dozens to downtown Scranton and, for Chesek, it is personal: Steamtown, which memorializes Scranton’s rise as a railroad and coal powerhouse in the 1900s, is like a second home where the rangers have fed his 10-year-old son's fascination with steam engines.

“Steamtown is a vital part of Scranton's economy, it brings people from all over the country and world,” Chesek said.

The Times-Tribune of Scranton's editorial page echoed that sentiment, decrying Trump's “heavy-handed, indiscriminate slashing of federal spending."

Bresnahan's district is also home to a heavy concentration of federal employees, potentially a sensitive spot as Trump readies for large-scale layoffs of federal workers — 80% of whom live outside the Washington area.

Many federal employees and contractors in Bresnahan’s district work at military-related installations, including at the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant, where they forge 155 mm howitzer shells that help Ukraine repel the Russian invasion, and Tobyhanna Army Depot, one of the region's largest employers.

“There’s a lot of people on pins and needles right now,” said Bill Cockerill, a labor liaison for Scranton's local AFL-CIO council. "So far, nothing's been hit, but you just don't know when the shoe is going to drop.”

Rumors are circulating about who might challenge Bresnahan. The developer ran a family construction company before defeating six-term Democratic Rep. Matt Cartwright, who said he is considering running again in 2026’s election.

Mackenzie, a former state lawmaker who beat three-term Democratic Rep. Susan Wild, drew an opponent barely 48 hours after voting for the House budget bill when the two-term Northampton County executive, Democrat Lamont McClure, announced his candidacy.

In a statement, Mackenzie called the budget vote a "starting point" that makes no specific reference to Medicaid and said that if the program emerges in negotiations, he would "fight to end the waste, fraud and abuse in the system, and protect benefits for those who need them.”

In his Thursday news conference at Northampton County's courthouse, McClure didn't hesitate to link that legislation to Mackenzie.

Mackenzie's first instinct in going to Washington was to “gut” health care for thousands in the district, McClure said, “at a time when people are most concerned about the cost of health care and the access to health care.”

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Follow Marc Levy on X at https://x.com/timelywriter.

Ella Rayburn, a former National Park Service employee that helped create the Steamtown National Historical site, speaks at a "Save Steamtown" rally to protest the Trump administration layoffs at the Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pa., Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (Aimee Dilger/WVIA via AP)

Protesters carry signs under the Columbus Statue at the Scranton Court House Square at a "Save Steamtown" rally to protest the Trump administration layoffs at the Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pa., Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (Aimee Dilger/WVIA via AP)

Patrick Festa chants in support of the National Park Service at a "Save Steamtown" rally to protest the Trump administration layoffs at the Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pa., Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (Aimee Dilger/WVIA via AP)

A protester raises a sign that reads "Save Our Parks" under the Scranton Electric City building at a "Save Steamtown" rally to protest the Trump administration layoffs at the Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pa., Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (Aimee Dilger/WVIA via AP)

Dahlia Alvarado, 6, holds a sign in support of the National Park Service at a "Save Steamtown" rally to protest the Trump administration layoffs at the Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pa., Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (Aimee Dilger/WVIA via AP)

Rachael Stark holds up a sign at a "Save Steamtown" rally to protest the Trump administration layoffs at the Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pa., Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (Aimee Dilger/WVIA via AP)

Lamont McClure, Democratic Northampton County Executive, speaks during an event announcing his campaign to run for the Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District, in Easton, Pa., Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Lamont McClure, Democratic Northampton County Executive, speaks during an event announcing his campaign to run for the Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District, in Easton, Pa., Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

An attendee records Lamont McClure, Democratic Northampton County Executive, as he speaks during an event announcing his campaign to run for the Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District, in Easton, Pa., Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Lamont McClure, Democratic Northampton County Executive, speaks during an event announcing his campaign to run for the Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District, in Easton, Pa., Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Lamont McClure, Democratic Northampton County Executive, speaks during an event announcing his campaign to run for the Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District, in Easton, Pa., Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Lamont McClure, Democratic Northampton County Executive, speaks during an event announcing his campaign to run for the Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District, in Easton, Pa., Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Lamont McClure, Democratic Northampton County Executive, applauds a speaker's remarks during an event announcing his campaign to run for the Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District, in Easton, Pa., Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

FILE - Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2024, in Oxon Hill, Md., Feb. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

FILE - State Rep. Ryan Mackenzie speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Allentown, Pa., Oct. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

FILE - Rob Bresnahan speaks at a campaign rally for Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, Aug. 17, 2024, in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

A group of Buddhist monks and their rescue dog are striding single file down country roads and highways across the South, captivating Americans nationwide and inspiring droves of locals to greet them along their route.

In their flowing saffron and ocher robes, the men are walking for peace. It's a meditative tradition more common in South Asian countries, and it's resonating now in the U.S., seemingly as a welcome respite from the conflict, trauma and politics dividing the nation.

Their journey began Oct. 26, 2025, at a Vietnamese Buddhist temple in Texas, and is scheduled to end in mid-February in Washington, D.C., where they will ask Congress to recognize Buddha’s day of birth and enlightenment as a federal holiday. Beyond promoting peace, their highest priority is connecting with people along the way.

“My hope is, when this walk ends, the people we met will continue practicing mindfulness and find peace,” said the Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara, the group’s soft-spoken leader who is making the trek barefoot. He teaches about mindfulness, forgiveness and healing at every stop.

Preferring to sleep each night in tents pitched outdoors, the monks have been surprised to see their message transcend ideologies, drawing huge crowds into churchyards, city halls and town squares across six states. Documenting their journey on social media, they — and their dog, Aloka — have racked up millions of followers online. On Saturday, thousands thronged in Columbia, South Carolina, where the monks chanted on the steps of the State House and received a proclamation from the city's mayor, Daniel Rickenmann.

At their stop Thursday in Saluda, South Carolina, Audrie Pearce joined the crowd lining Main Street. She had driven four hours from her village of Little River, and teared up as Pannakara handed her a flower.

“There’s something traumatic and heart-wrenching happening in our country every day,” said Pearce, who describes herself as spiritual, but not religious. “I looked into their eyes and I saw peace. They’re putting their bodies through such physical torture and yet they radiate peace.”

Hailing from Theravada Buddhist monasteries across the globe, the 19 monks began their 2,300 mile (3,700 kilometer) trek at the Huong Dao Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth.

Their journey has not been without peril. On Nov. 19, as the monks were walking along U.S. Highway 90 near Dayton, Texas, their escort vehicle was hit by a distracted truck driver, injuring two monks. One of them lost his leg, reducing the group to 18.

This is Pannakara's first trek in the U.S., but he's walked across several South Asian countries, including a 112-day journey across India in 2022 where he first encountered Aloka, an Indian Pariah dog whose name means divine light in Sanskrit.

Then a stray, the dog followed him and other monks from Kolkata in eastern India all the way to the Nepal border. At one point, he fell critically ill and Pannakara scooped him up in his arms and cared for him until he recovered. Now, Aloka inspires him to keep going when he feels like giving up.

“I named him light because I want him to find the light of wisdom,” Pannakara said.

The monk's feet are now heavily bandaged because he's stepped on rocks, nails and glass along the way. His practice of mindfulness keeps him joyful despite the pain from these injuries, he said.

Still, traversing the southeast United States has presented unique challenges, and pounding pavement day after day has been brutal.

“In India, we can do shortcuts through paddy fields and farms, but we can’t do that here because there are a lot of private properties,” Pannakara said. “But what’s made it beautiful is how people have welcomed and hosted us in spite of not knowing who we are and what we believe.”

In Opelika, Alabama, the Rev. Patrick Hitchman-Craig hosted the monks on Christmas night at his United Methodist congregation.

He expected to see a small crowd, but about 1,000 people showed up, creating the feel of a block party. The monks seemed like the Magi, he said, appearing on Christ’s birthday.

“Anyone who is working for peace in the world in a way that is public and sacrificial is standing close to the heart of Jesus, whether or not they share our tradition,” said Hitchman-Craig. “I was blown away by the number of people and the diversity of who showed up.”

After their night on the church lawn, the monks arrived the next afternoon at the Collins Farm in Cusseta, Alabama. Judy Collins Allen, whose father and brother run the farm, said about 200 people came to meet the monks — the biggest gathering she’s ever witnessed there.

“There was a calm, warmth and sense of community among people who had not met each other before and that was so special,” she said.

Long Si Dong, a spokesperson for the Fort Worth temple, said the monks, when they arrive in Washington, plan to seek recognition of Vesak, the day which marks the birth and enlightenment of the Buddha, as a national holiday.

“Doing so would acknowledge Vesak as a day of reflection, compassion and unity for all people regardless of faith,” he said.

But Pannakara emphasized that their main goal is to help people achieve peace in their lives. The trek is also a separate endeavor from a $200 million campaign to build towering monuments on the temple’s 14-acre property to house the Buddha’s teachings engraved in stone, according to Dong.

The monks practice and teach Vipassana meditation, an ancient Indian technique taught by the Buddha himself as core for attaining enlightenment. It focuses on the mind-body connection — observing breath and physical sensations to understand reality, impermanence and suffering. Some of the monks, including Pannakara, walk barefoot to feel the ground directly and be present in the moment.

Pannakara has told the gathered crowds that they don't aim to convert people to Buddhism.

Brooke Schedneck, professor of religion at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, said the tradition of a peace walk in Theravada Buddhism began in the 1990s when the Venerable Maha Ghosananda, a Cambodian monk, led marches across war-torn areas riddled with landmines to foster national healing after civil war and genocide in his country.

“These walks really inspire people and inspire faith,” Schedneck said. “The core intention is to have others watch and be inspired, not so much through words, but through how they are willing to make this sacrifice by walking and being visible.”

On Thursday, Becki Gable drove nearly 400 miles (about 640 kilometers) from Cullman, Alabama, to catch up with them in Saluda. Raised Methodist, Gable said she wanted some release from the pain of losing her daughter and parents.

“I just felt in my heart that this would help me have peace,” she said. “Maybe I could move a little bit forward in my life.”

Gable says she has already taken one of Pannakara’s teachings to heart. She’s promised herself that each morning, as soon as she awakes, she’d take a piece of paper and write five words on it, just as the monk prescribed.

“Today is my peaceful day.”

Freelance photojournalist Allison Joyce contributed to this report.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," get lunch Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Aloka rests with Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

A sign is seen greeting the Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Supporters pray with Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Supporters watch Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

A Buddhist monk ties a prayer bracelet around the wrist of Josey Lee, 2-months-old, during the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Bhikkhu Pannakara, a spiritual leader, speaks to supporters during the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Buddhist monks participate in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Buddhist monks participate in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Bhikkhu Pannakara leads other buddhist monks in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Audrie Pearce greets Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Bhikkhu Pannakara, a spiritual leader, speaks to supporters during the, "Walk For Peace," Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," arrive in Saluda, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)

Buddhist monks who are participating in the, "Walk For Peace," are seen with their dog, Aloka, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in Saluda, S.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)