The congressman makes much of little
Recently, our serially absent congressman, Guy Reschenthaler, ventured to write a newspaper commentary tooting his own horn, citing, for instance, the return home of Pennsylvania native Marc Fogel from a Russian prison.
“President Trump secured [Fogel’s] release within just three weeks in office,” Reschenthaler wrote enthusiastically.
“Welcoming Marc back on American soil alongside the president at the White House was a profound moment that reinforced why this work matters.”
Now, the fact that Marc Fogel was reunited with his family, including his Butler mother, was a fine and joyous thing. But what role did Reschenthaler play in the matter?
It’s entirely possible that Reschenthaler did more behind the scenes than we are aware of. He is, after all, the chief deputy whip of the GOP’s House majority, and, presumably, he knows how and when to write a strategic letter or two. At the same time, the public record of his involvement in the Fogel case is weak.
A long CNN piece on Fogel’s imprisonment and release failed to mention Reschenthaler, while it did mention President Trump, presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, and Butler County congressman Republican Mike Kelly, the Fogel family’s hometown man in Washington, D.C.
According to Reschenthaler, another accomplishment involved the release from custody of Somerset County’s Bryan Hagerich by authorities in Turks and Caicos, a small island group in the Caribbean whose sovereign is King Charles of Great Britain.
“Working alongside a bipartisan group of my colleagues, we intervened to bring Bryan and other Americans home,” Reschenthaler wrote in May.
It was true that the congressman and Sen. John Fetterman were at the airport to welcome Mr. Hagerich back to the United States and to the loving embrace of his brave, steadfast wife Ashley and the couple’s two children. There are photographs.
It was a great thing to have Mr. Hagerich on U.S. soil. He appears to be an all-American dad. Soon after his return, Bryan was back coaching baseball.
For the record, it’s quite possible that Rep. Reschenthaler did more than meets the eye in the Hagerich matter. There may be reams of official correspondence that attest to his diligent pursuit of justice in the case.
Based on reporting, however, these are the facts: Arrested in February 2024 for the illegal possession of a small amount of ammunition, which, he assured, he accidentally brought to Turks and Caicos, Hagerich was detained for better than three months on the island.
Finally appearing before a judge, he was fined $6,700, and instead of going to jail, was handed a suspended sentence.
It was a close call. Before leaving Somerset County for the sentencing hearing, Ashley packed two bags for her husband. One was for prison. Bryan Hagerich faced a possible 12-year term behind bars.
The question remains: What was Reschenthaler’s role? Was he a real help, or is it a matter of his grandstanding for the cameras?
The congressman knows a thing or two about the latter. He appears regularly in photos with President Trump, flashing a smile and mimicking the presidential thumbs-up.
Reschenthaler’s May commentary included the boast that he and his staff had returned “over $11 million” to his constituents in federal “benefits and payments.”
My gosh, constituent services are the minimum expected of a congressman.
Guy Reschenthaler first took a seat in Congress in 2019. His district encompasses all of Fayette, Greene and Washington counties, and portions of Westmoreland, Indiana, and Somerset counties.
Over his incumbency, Reschenthaler’s avoidance of Fayette County has been conspicuous. Yet despite everything, absentee Guy always comes up the winner on election day. Mark that.
Richard Robbins lives in Uniontown. He can be reached at dick.l.robbins @gmail.com.