After law school, Reschenthaler served in the United States Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps in Iraq. In the U.S. Navy, Reschenthaler deployed to Baghdad, Iraq, in 2009. In 2010, he was one of three attorneys who defended a Navy SEAL accused of covering up an assault on terrorist Ahmad Hashim Abd al-Isawi while in custody. The Navy SEAL represented by Reschenthaler and the other SEALs charged were eventually acquitted of all charges. Reschenthaler was awarded the Michael Taylor Shelby Award for Professional, Ethics and Dedication in the practice of law. He left military service in 2012.
Legal career
After his Navy service, Reschenthaler returned to Pittsburgh to practice law in spring 2012 before being elected magisterial district judge in Pittsburgh's South Hills in 2013. He was elected district judge in May 2013. As a magistrate, Reschenthaler sought to reduce truancy. In 2013, Reschenthaler briefly co-hosted a radio program with Carl Higbie, who resigned from the Trump administration in 2018 over "anti-gay, anti-Muslim, racist and sexist remarks he had made on his radio program." He also wrote the foreword to Higbie's self-published 2012 book, which contained racist, homophobic, and xenophobic content. He said in April 2018 that he denounced the book and was unaware of its contents when he wrote the foreword. In April 2018, he disavowed the foreword he had written and said he would not have written the foreword. CNN reported that Higbie's book was a frequent topic of discussion on the radio show that Reschenthaler co-hosted, with Reschenthaler saying that he read parts of the book and citing those parts approvingly. In a 2013 episode of the radio show, Higbie argued that "the black race" was "lazier than the white race." Reschenthaler became "audibly upset," calling Higbie's comments "insane" and "so off-base." Reschenthaler encouraged Higbie not to make that episode of the show public, because it could damage both of their careers. After that episode, Reschenthaler continued to associate with Higbie, co-hosting the show and having Higbie conduct book signings at Reschenthaler's fundraisers. In a later episode of the show, Reschenthaler disagreed with Higbie that black people do not contribute equally to society, saying that it was "multiculturalism" that was "destroying the fabric of the country." Reschenthaler was of counsel at Pittsburgh law firm Brennan, Robins & Daley and serves as a member of Penn State Behrend's Political Science Advisory Board.
Pennsylvania Senate
After the resignation of Democratic state senator Matt Smith, Reschenthaler won the Republican nomination for a special election in the 37th state Senate district in July 2015. He defeated the Democratic nominee, Heather Arnet, in the general election to serve the remainder of Smith's term, ending in 2016. He was sworn-in upon the official certification of the election results on November 24, 2015.
Reschenthaler announced in early October 2017 that he would be seeking the Republican nomination in the special election in Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district. At the Republican Party conference, he was defeated by State Representative Rick Saccone. He received 75 votes by local activists and failed to gain a majority in the first round. He was defeated by a margin of 32 votes in the second round of voting.
2018 general election
In 2018, Rescenthaler sought the Republican nomination for Pennsylvania's newly redistricted 14th congressional district. He defeated Rick Saccone in May 2018 to win the Republican Party's nomination. He received 55.4% of the vote, defeating Saccone by a margin of 10.8%. In the general election, he defeated businesswoman and Democratic nomine Bibiana Boerio, receiving 58% of the vote.
