PRESTONSBURG, Ky. — As the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” became law on the Fourth of July, two starkly different scenes played out simultaneously.
In Washington D.C., President Donald Trump signed the bill into law on the White House lawn, complete with the fanfare of B-2 bombers flying overhead and appause from assembled administration staffers and Congressional Republicans.
Meanwhile, about 325 miles away in Prestonsburg, attorney Ned Pillersdorf, speaking before several dozen supporters who turned out despite the sweltering heat, launched into a blistering attack against the bill and its chief proponent in Eastern Kentucky, U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers. And he did so while kicking off his bid to end Rogers’ tenure in the House at 46 years.
“I’ve used the words that we’ve got a political act of treason against our vulnerable citizens [and] I think that’s fair,” Pillersdorf said. “After I announced, Rogers released this statement. He said he had a ‘vision for Kentucky.’ Well, his vision is Medicaid cuts that would cause countless vulnerable people to lose their benefits. His vision is cuts to food stamps. And you know what the cruelest one is — there’s this fund that helps people pay their bills. They clawed that back too.”
Pillersdorf continued to criticize Rogers’ support for the bill which cut funding to public radio, public television and legal aid, while reducing taxes for the wealthy, calling it “the greatest transfer of wealth in the history of our nation.”
It was Rogers’ support for the bill that Pillersdorf said convinced him to file to run for the Democratic nomination to challenge him in 2026.
Rogers has pushed back against the narrative that the One Big, Beautiful Bill will hurt many of the residents of his district, saying the cuts would shore up the programs to preserve them for those who truly need them. He called the bill’s passage “a victory for the American people.”
Pillersdorf, 70, also briefly touched on another issue which has become a topic in other campaigns in recent years — his opponent’s age. While talking about the historical trend that the party in control of the White House almost always loses seats in the midterm election, Pillersdorf said it is virtually guaranteed that Democrats will take back control of the House in 2026.
He then added, “Who will be representing the Fifth Congressional District? … What if it’s a 91-year-old man in the minority party? He won’t be able to do nothing to help us. In fact, what he is doing now is beyond harmful.”
Rogers has served as Fifth District congressman since 1981 and has largely faced only token opposition on Election Day. The last real challenge he faced was against former state Sen. John Doug Hays in 1992, who he defeated by about 10 percent.
Pillersdorf’s entry into the race has resulted in a rarity in the deep red Fifth District — excitement among Democrats for a candidate with widespread name recognition to challenge Kentucky’s longest-serving congressman. Whether that excitement can translate into the votes and campaign donations needed to mount a successful campaign remains to be seen.
