Trump calls out Dems for not applauding more State of the Union remarks
The White House is criticizing Democrats for refusing to applaud many of the claims President Donald Trump made during his 108-minute State of the Union address. “This was a speech of renewal and resolve — yet congressional Democrats, consumed by delusional hatred and obstruction, refused to join in celebrating these...
Mazzocco, Leckenby to square off in state House special election in South Hills
A special election is being held Tuesday in the South Hills to fill a vacant state House seat. The seat had been occupied by former state Rep. Dan Miller, D-Mt. Lebanon, for more than 12 years. He stepped down after being elected in November to serve as an Allegheny County...
Summer Lee to deliver State of the Union response for progressive Working Families Party
The Working Families Party has picked U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, to deliver its response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union Address on Tuesday night. “I’m going to elevate the voices of the people in my district and across the country who are angry, scared and fed up...
Deluzio launches reelection campaign
U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio launched his reelection campaign Thursday with a kick-off event at a social hall in Green Tree. Deluzio, 41, of Fox Chapel, is seeking a third term representing a district that includes part of Allegheny County, including much of the Alle-Kiski Valley, and all of Beaver County....
Reschenthaler weds Fox News’ Brooke Singman
Guy Reschenthaler, a Republican congressman from Peters, married Fox News reporter Brooke Singman over the weekend in a ceremony at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Midtown Manhattan. Social media posts show the festivities were attended by luminaries including FBI Director Kash Patel, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Mike Waltz,...
Shapiro unveils plan to address Pa. housing needs
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro unveiled a plan Thursday to boost housing construction and affordability over the next 10 years. “For too many families in Pennsylvania, housing prices are rising faster than their paychecks and the American dream of owning a home no longer feels possible, but it doesn’t have to...
Deluzio says Trump administration abused its power in probe of ‘illegal orders’ videoVideo
Lawmakers targeted by the Justice Department after releasing a video telling servicemembers they have an obligation to refuse illegal orders said Wednesday they haven’t ruled out taking action against the Trump administration for “weaponizing the government” against them. “I’m not going to litigate and share our legal strategy here,” U.S....
Deluzio says Trump administration abused its power in probe of ‘illegal orders’ video
Lawmakers targeted by the Justice Department after releasing a video telling servicemembers they have an obligation to refuse illegal orders said Wednesday they haven’t ruled out taking action against the Trump administration for “weaponizing the government” against them. “I’m not going to litigate and share our legal strategy here,” U.S....
Report: Grand jury rejects indictment against Deluzio, other lawmakers over ‘illegal orders’ video
Federal prosecutors failed to secure an indictment against six Democratic members of Congress, including U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio of Fox Chapel, who released a video last year telling servicemembers they have an obligation to refuse illegal orders, The New York Times reported Tuesday night, citing four unnamed people familiar with...
Watchdog projects Pa. will end fiscal year with $3.9B budget deficit, but reserves will grow
Pennsylvania’s Independent Fiscal Office projects the state will end this fiscal year with a $3.9 billion budget deficit but still grow its largest reserve fund to a record $7.8 billion, according to a report released Tuesday. The IFO says the deficit is expected to get bigger, growing to $6.7 billion...
Shapiro condemns Trump’s post about Obamas as ‘racist garbage’
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has condemned a video shared by President Donald Trump depicting former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as apes as “racist garbage.” “The idea that anyone would post a video like that, let alone the president of the United States, someone who is supposed...
Deluzio rejects Justice Department request for interview over ‘illegal orders’ video
U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio said he doesn’t intend to voluntarily comply with a Justice Department investigation into a video he and five Democratic colleagues made last year telling servicemembers they have an obligation to refuse illegal orders. “I do not intend to sit down for a voluntary interview with DOJ...
Shapiro proposes record $53.3B in spending for coming fiscal year
Gov. Josh Shapiro on Tuesday unveiled a proposed $53.3 billion budget for the coming fiscal year that would use nearly $4.6 billion, or more than half, of the state’s largest reserve fund to balance. Shapiro said in an address to a joint session of the state House and Senate that...
Pa.’s budget impasse ended in November. It’s already time to talk about the next budget
Here we go again. Pennsylvania’s latest budget impasse, which dragged on for 135 days, just ended in mid-November. Now, less than three months later, state government leaders are preparing to begin the often-tortured process of trying to hammer out a budget for the coming fiscal year. The budget process formally...
Allegheny County GOP Chairman Jason Richey to run for lieutenant governor
A Sewickley attorney who serves as Allegheny County’s GOP chairman said Thursday that he is running for lieutenant governor with the endorsement of the presumptive Republican nominee for the state’s highest office, Stacy Garrity. Jason Richey, 54, said he arrived at the decision to run over the past two weeks...
Shapiro calls for end to immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, Noem to be fired
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Tuesday during an appearance on “CBS Mornings” that he thinks the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis should end immediately and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose department is overseeing the operation, should be fired. “The mission is broken. It must be terminated,” said Shapiro, a Democrat...
Fetterman says Trump should fire Homeland Security’s Kristi Noem
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman is calling for President Donald Trump to fire Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem as the immigration crackdown her department is overseeing faces increasing criticism following this weekend’s fatal shooting by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis. “President Trump, I make a direct appeal to immediately fire Secretary...
Fetterman calls for end to immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis in wake of killing
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman issued a statement Monday afternoon calling for the federal government to immediately end its massive immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis. The statement from the Braddock Democrat came two days after Border Patrol agents fatally shot Alex Pretti, 37, in Minneapolis, increasing tensions in a city where...
Lee, Deluzio oppose funding for ICE
Southwestern Pennsylvania’s two Democratic members of Congress voted against a spending bill that includes funding for the Department of Homeland Security, citing its concerns over President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts. The Republican-controlled House managed to pass the spending bill Thursday despite objections from Democrats, 220 votes to 207. “My...
Summer Lee votes to hold Clintons in contempt of Congress for defying Epstein-related subpoenas
U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, voted Wednesday to hold former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in contempt of Congress for defying subpoenas to testify before the House Oversight Committee as part of its Jeffrey Epstein investigation. Lee was one of nine Democrats on the Oversight...
Greensburg native, a federal judge in Va., questioned legitimacy of Trump-appointed prosecutor
A federal district judge, who excoriated a former Justice Department prosecutor for pursuing indictments against political adversaries of President Donald Trump, grew up in Greensburg and earned a bachelor’s degree from Saint Vincent College. David Novak, a Trump-appointed district judge in the Eastern District of Virginia, is one of two...
Shapiro, Garrity set stage for Pa.’s high-stakes race for governor
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro didn’t mention his likely Republican opponent by name once last week when he launched his reelection campaign with a 26-minute speech in Pittsburgh. President Donald Trump’s name didn’t come up either. Shapiro’s likely opponent in the race for governor, state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, took a different...
Fetterman opposes calls to abolish ICE
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman is rejecting calls from some fellow Democrats to abolish the federal government’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement following last week’s deadly shooting of a woman by an ICE agent and continuing unrest in Minneapolis. “The party must resist the destructive tendencies to push extreme positions,” Fetterman, D-Braddock,...
Democrats push to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem
U.S. Rep. Summer Lee has joined a longshot effort by a group of Democrats in the House to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. “Right now, the Trump administration is commissioning the endangerment of the American public — (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is hunting human beings down, tearing families apart...
Pa. lawmakers among highest-paid in the country, thanks to automatic pay raises
Automatic pay increases that took effect last month again placed Pennsylvania’s Legislature among the highest paid in the country. The base annual salary for lawmakers in the state House and Senate is up to about $113,591, under terms set by a 1995 law mandating automatic cost-of-living adjustments for top state...