One week before winning his election in 2024, Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-Luzerne) appeared on WILK’s The Sue Henry Show and made comments about rising gas and grocery prices that would appear prophetic in the wake of President Donald Trump’s Iran war.
Meet the candidates: Paige Cognetti and Rob Bresnahan face off in Pa-08
“I have no problem paying taxes. My problem, though, is when you pay your taxes and then you look and see another $10 or $100 billion being sent to a different country, and the people right here already can’t afford groceries,” Bresnahan said at the time.
He added, “Everything is just far too expensive […] and when fuel prices escalate, that is naturally going to drive the cost of material, whether that is lumber, whether that is copper wiring, whether that is petroleum prices themselves. Everything is a derivative on the cost of energy.”
Now, Bresnahan is fighting for his political life after voting with Republicans six times to back Trump’s war of choice against Iran, which caused gas prices to spike across the country.
At the start of the war, Bresnahan posted on X supporting it and then voted against a resolution calling for the removal of troops from the region that was introduced by US Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.).
Bresnahan’s most recent vote against ending the Iran war happened last month when he voted against a war powers resolution before Congress went on break for the midterms. That resolution passed with seven Republicans voting in favor of it.
Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti (D) is running against Bresnahan in November, and many political forecasters have labeled this race as a “toss-up.”
Since the end of February, the Iran war has cost taxpayers over $43.6 billion, and Americans across the country are feeling the squeeze in their wallets heading into the midterm elections.
“Rob Bresnahan’s comments about fuel and grocery costs would be spot on if they weren’t from just days before the 2024 Election. Since then, he has completely changed his tune, voting to fund the Iran War six times on the taxpayers’ dime,” Alisha Hoffman-Mirilovich, executive director of Action Together NEPA, said in a statement about the unearthed audio.
A recent poll conducted by the Philadelphia Inquirer, The New York Times, and Siena University found that the economy was the top issue for voters going into November.
Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, told Fox Business in September that since the start of the Iran war, the average household has spent an extra $860 on energy costs.
Since the start of the war, gas prices in Pennsylvania have increased significantly. According to the American Automobile Association, the average price of regular gasoline has increased by $1.35 per gallon since the end of February, and diesel has increased by $2.37 during that time.
“Thanks to [Bresnahan’s] votes, constituents around the 8th District don’t have enough gas to get their kids to school and drive to work. NEPA families can’t afford groceries or fuel — and that’s on him and his fellow Republicans in Congress,” Hoffman-Mirilovich added.
Bresnahan owns millions in data center investments while campaigning to regulate them
Cognetti has been critical of Bresnahan’s support for the war throughout her campaign.
“Rob Bresnahan’s support for the Iran war is yet another example of how he has been caught promising voters one thing, and then doing the opposite,” Cognetti said in a statement.
She added, “he promised he would invest in our community but instead has voted six times to support this reckless war that has sent gas and diesel prices soaring and cost the lives of brave American servicemembers. Rob’s actions speak louder than words. His change of tune is just more empty promises and far too little, too late.”
Bresnahan’s campaign declined to provide comment.
