Deluzio shares challenges of politics, public service with Shaler Area's newspaper staff

Editor’s note: The following story was submitted for the Shaler Area Student Section, a collaboration between TribLive and The Oracle, the student newspaper of Shaler Area High School.

U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, D-Fox Chapel, met with Shaler Area High School students Nov. 12 for an hourlong conversation that ranged from his post-9/11 decision to join the Navy to the challenges of serving in a sharply polarized Congress.

The event, hosted by the school’s journalism program, offered students the chance to question Deluzio on politics, public service and issues facing their generation.

Deluzio, elected in 2022, opened by reflecting on the path that led him to a career in public service. He told students he never expected to enter politics, imagining instead a long military career when he entered the Naval Academy shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001.

“I thought I’d be a fighter pilot,” Deluzio said. “I looked back and it was the best decision I made. It put me on a path that was difficult … but I was really proud of my service.”

The congressman spoke candidly about the transition from military service to law school, clerking for a federal judge and eventually running for office, emphasizing “there’s no one way into politics.”

A divided Congress, and the weight of public service

Students asked Deluzio about the government shutdown, congressional gridlock and the broader political climate.

He described the current Congress as deeply polarized

“I’ve only worked in a Congress that is very divided,” Deluzio said. “There’s little room to compromise.”

In the days following the Shaler interview, Deluzio made a post on the platform “X” sharing his time with the students. His social media posts about spending time with the community’s youth garnered some negative comments. Said one: “You should not be allowed near young people and allowed to influence them with your treasonous cowardly lies. Your military career, if you can call it that, was a disgrace to the country …”

Still, Deluzio stressed that bipartisan work does happen, especially on committees such as Armed Services and Transportation.

When asked about the rise in political violence, including recent attacks and threats against public officials, Deluzio didn’t hesitate.

“It’s dangerous stuff,” he said. “I think political leaders should be able to clearly denounce it, no matter the party. We’re a democracy — if people elected from among the people are gunned down for their beliefs, we’re saying we can’t govern ourselves.”

This warning, delivered calmly in a school classroom, would become disturbingly relevant just days later.

Bomb threats and calls for condemnation

According to WTAE, both Deluzio’s Carnegie and Beaver County offices received threats Nov. 21. Employees were rushed out as police and explosive weapons teams swept the buildings. While both offices were cleared, the incident highlighted what Deluzio had told students: Political violence isn’t abstract.

The threats came as Deluzio publicly condemned rhetoric from President Donald Trump, who had targeted Deluzio and a group of veteran lawmakers online. The lawmakers had posted a video on Nov. 18, telling military and intelligence officers to “refuse illegal orders.” Trump then went online and said,“This is really bad, and Dangerous to our Country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???” In a third post, he wrote, “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!”

In response, Deluzio and his colleagues issued a statement reaffirming their oath to the U.S. Constitution.

“No threat, intimidation or call for violence will deter us from that sacred obligation,” he said. “Fear is contagious, but so is courage.”

In a recent TribLive opinion piece, Deluzio doubled down, arguing that “all patriots” have a duty to forcefully condemn political violence, because silence, he wrote, only encourages extremism.

And in a CBS interview following the threats, he said bluntly, “I hope that elected officials — certainly my Republican counterparts — can find the moral courage to speak clearly … that the president threatening violence is wrong.”

The difference between his calm message in a high school classroom and the dangerous reality he faces in public highlights this fragile moment in American politics.

Campaigning, money in politics and the reality of negative ads

In lighter moments of the discussion, students asked Deluzio about campaign finance as well as the tone of modern political ads. Many of the students said they only encounter negative advertisements.

Deluzio responded by criticizing the influence of super PACs and anonymous donors.

“It’s corrupting. … A lot of the ads you see aren’t even paid for by candidates. When outside groups do it, there’s no one who has to stand in front of their neighbors and say, ‘I support this message.’ ”

He framed the issue as a challenge to fair elections and noted that competitive districts like his are “flooded with outside spending.”

“In some ways, this is a tradition, but it’s maybe not the best tradition in our politics,” Deluzio said. “It’s much more amplified when those ads are on all of the phones and all the screens and all the televisions — anywhere that you might be. So I welcome your ideas. Maybe this will be your generation that fixes this, but our politics are pretty nasty.”

A message for first time voters and young people

Deluzio ended the visit by urging the students, most of whom will be eligible to vote in the next presidential election, to participate fully in democracy.

When asked whether the younger generation can make a difference in the political world, he offered encouraging words.

“Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, think about what happens. For a long time in America, the youngest and newest voters typically don’t participate in democracy the way the oldest voters do. And to me, that’s leaving your power on the table.”

Before leaving for a flight back to Washington, D.C., Deluzio posed for photos and thanked the students for their questions, telling them he hopes their generation will “help the country heal.”

Given the threats against his own offices, the national conversations about political violence and who to take orders from, his words felt less like a slogan and more like a plea, a reminder that democracy depends not only on leaders, but on the courage of ordinary citizens to participate, speak up and reject fear.

“You have the power if you show up,” Deluzio said. “… You can shape a lot if you’re willing to use it.”