ICYMI: DNC Vice Chair Malcolm Kenyatta Walks 105 Miles From Philadelphia to Harrisburg To Demand PA Republicans Take Action on Mass Transit Funding Arrow

On Friday, DNC Vice Chair and Pennsylvania State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta kicked off his march for public transit - traveling 105 miles over five days from North Philadelphia to Harrisburg, the state capitol of Pennsylvania, to demand immediate action on SEPTA funding after Senate Republicans blocked budget and appropriation bills already passed by the Democratic-led House and backed by Governor Shapiro.

Let's be clear: Public transit isn't a privilege for many Pennsylvanians - it's a lifeline. Republicans want to defund SEPTA for the sole purpose of playing political games. Kenyatta's walk served the purpose of drawing attention to SEPTA cuts, and it shows a broader national pattern of Democrats standing up and fighting for everyday Americans while Republicans betray workers every chance they get.

Take a look at some of the coverage below:

NOTUS: DNC Vice Chair to Protest Cuts By Walking 105 Miles Across Pennsylvania

[Emily Kennard, 8/28/25]

"A Democratic National Committee vice chair plans to walk more than 100 miles in Pennsylvania to raise awareness for cuts to the state's mass-transit services, arguing that they're what working-class voters can expect under more Republican control.

"'This is coming to your state. You thought Republicans just wanted to cut waste, fraud and abuse? That's not what they wanted to do. They wanted to cut all of it," Kenyatta told NOTUS. "You have people who depend on the busses and trains not being able to get where they need to go with these massive, unprecedented cuts."

"He acknowledged that the brunt of the reconciliation bill Republicans in Congress recently passed won't be felt by voters until after the midterms. That's why he's taking this state issue, which sprang from a funding fight in the Pennsylvania General Assembly, to the national stage, he said.

"Kenyatta, in his first year in a leadership position at the DNC, wants to call attention to what he called his opponents' tendencies to "strip and burn everything that working families depend on from government. He says this transit issue is an example of how it's already playing out in his home state."

The Guardian: The Pennsylvania Democrat marching for public transit: 'time-honoured American tradition'

[David Smith, 8/29/25]

"The Democratic state representative was speaking by phone from Broomall, Pennsylvania, on Friday, around 12 miles into a one-man, 105-mile (170km) march from Philadelphia to Harrisburg in protest against drastic cuts to regional public transport services. …

"Kenyatta hopes to bring attention to budget cuts at the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (Septa), a public transit agency providing bus, subway, trolley and regional rail service in the Philadelphia area. …

"'It is a problem that is growing, not shrinking,' Kenyatta said. 'Part of what has made this so frustrating is that this is not one of those budgetary standoffs that's driven by a lack of resources. We've put forward five bipartisan proposals to fund mass transit.'

"But Republicans in the state senate, he added, fled the capitol to play golf, go clay shooting and take trips, leaving the transport funding in limbo: 'As working people are struggling, they are literally palling around having cocktails with the wealthiest people in the state.

"'That contrast is one that is dramatic, that is pronounced and should piss people off, and what I'm doing right now on this 105-mile-long walk comes out of a time-honoured American tradition of marching.'"

Philadelphia Inquirer: State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta is walking 105 miles from North Philly to Harrisburg to protest SEPTA cuts

[Sean Collins Walsh, 9/2/25]

"State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta on Friday morning embarked on a 105-mile walk from his home in North Philadelphia to Harrisburg to protest the SEPTA service cuts that began this week due to an impasse over mass transit funding and the broader state budget in the Pennsylvania legislature.

"'We're gonna be walking all the way to Harrisburg to draw attention to the very real fact that there are folks for whom this - walking - is their new reality because SEPTA has had to drastically reduce services as a result of Republican inaction in Harrisburg," Kenyatta, a Democrat, said at a news conference outside SEPTA's 69th Street Transportation Center in Upper Darby. …

"'We have the money to fund mass transit,' Kenyatta said. 'What we don't have is the political will within the Republican Senate caucus. What we don't have is Senate Republicans who give a damn about working Pennsylvanians.'"

Fox 29 Philadelphia: State Rep. walking from Philly to Harrisburg to 'demand immediate action on transit funding'

[Dan O'Mara, 8/29/25]

"Pennsylvania State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta on Friday embarked on a five-day walking tour from Philadelphia to Harrisburg to call for action on transit funding. …

"Rep. Kenyatta blamed state Republicans for blocking budget and appropriation bills that were already passed by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

"'This fight is about the students stranded trying to get to class, the seniors missing doctors' appointments, and the workers forced to choose between keeping their jobs and getting home at night - all because Republicans refuse to do their damn job,' he said."

Philadelphia Tribune: 'Praying with our feet': State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta walking to Harrisburg in support of transit

[Marco Cerino, 8/29/25]

"The representative began a five-day walk from his home in North Philadelphia to the state capital on Friday morning. Kenyatta's journey from his 181st Legislative District will take 105 miles through the counties and districts of his colleagues.

"During one stop, outside the 69th Street Transportation Center, Kenyatta said he's walking to carry the needs and concerns of those who have to walk more following the bus routes cut due to SEPTA's ongoing operating budget deficit. …

"'The folks who are stopping by our offices, telling us they don't know what the hell they're going to do - that's not symbolism, that's real. And in this moment, where you have folks trying to tear up the social safety net from the studs, when you have folks trying to dismantle government, I think we have to reach back to the grab-bag of people who have come before us.'"

WGAL: Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta is walking 105 miles to Harrisburg to demand transit funding

[WGAL Staff, 8/31/25]

"Pennsylvania Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta passed through Lancaster on Sunday during his 105-mile walk from north Philadelphia to the State Capitol. …

"He stopped to hold a rally in Ewell Plaza before continuing on to Harrisburg, where he'll demand that the state legislature pass transit and budget bills to fund transit and infrastructure in Pennsylvania.

"Kenyatta said the walk is about showing the struggles mass transit riders could face if bills aren't passed.

"'We invested in the bills that they refuse to pass - $300 million to fix roads and bridges in Paradise, Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Elk County and everywhere in between. We do not have to choose. We can do right by your family and do right by your neighbor. We can do right by Lancaster County and do right by Reading. We can do right by Harrisburg and do right by Pittsburgh,' said Kenyatta in Lancaster on Sunday."

KYW Newsradio: State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta is walking from Philly to Harrisburg to protest SEPTA cuts

[Shara Dae, 8/31/25]

"Over the Labor Day weekend, State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta is continuing his 5-day walk to Harrisburg from North Philadelphia in protest of SEPTA's recent budget cuts.

"At 124,788 steps and counting, Kenyatta continued his 105-mile walk to the state capital on Sunday.

"'Of course, what I'm doing is symbolic, but it's as American as it gets,' Kenyatta said. 'What's clear as I do this is that this is not symbolic for so many of my neighbors and constituents who are literally walking right now because they've had their bus routes cut.'"

Fox 43: Pa. lawmaker walking from Philadelphia to Harrisburg to push for mass transit funding

[James Corrigan, 8/31/25]

"State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D-Philadelphia) is walking more than 100 miles from Philadelphia to Harrisburg this Labor Day Weekend, hoping to draw attention to Pennsylvania's mass transit funding issue amidst the state budget deadlock. …

"'I've been praying for a long time we could get to a solution. Now, I'm praying with my feet," Kenyatta told FOX43 News on his route in Lancaster County. 'This is about making sure people can get to work, to the doctor, to school and home to their families.' …

"Kenyatta criticized Senate leaders for delaying action, saying lawmakers need to be in Harrisburg working instead of in recess.

"'For the first eight months of this year, they have been to work 28 days,' Kenyatta said. 'Pennsylvanians deserve elected officials that want to work just as hard as them."