Politics Election category

As she has done several times recently, liberal Justice Elena Kagan last week sounded the alarm after another bold emergency action by the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority again let President Donald Trump carry out one of his policies without taking the usual time or deliberation to review its legality....

HARRISBURG — A fiery state House debate on a gun bill turned into a ugly shouting match on the floor Wednesday, that included expletives and a comment taken as a threatening racial epithet, according to lawmakers who witnessed the events. The fight over gun legislation was the most raucous in...

Federal agencies and departments are discussing the recent government shutdown differently. Just take a look at their websites. The government stalled much of its operations at midnight Wednesday as Congress and the White House remain in a deadlock regarding the 2026 budget. It’s the first time since December 2018 —...

Marsha Chapple doesn’t know how — or if — the government shutdown will impact her and the physically and mentally disabled adults she serves. Chapple, 56, of McKees Rocks, is a caregiver for Trinity Home Care, a Coraopolis-based company that receives federal funding. “I called in this morning, and we’re...

WASHINGTON — Russell Vought, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, told House Republicans in a private call Wednesday that mass layoffs of federal workers will begin in “a day or two” if the government shutdown continues, according to a lawmaker on the call. Vought’s timeline for...

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday froze $26 billion for Democratic-leaning states, following through on a threat to use the government shutdown to target Democratic priorities. The targeted programs included $18 billion for transit projects in New York, home to Congress’s top two Democrats, and $8 billion for...

For the second time in less than 24 hours, the U.S. Senate blocked a stopgap spending bill that would fund the government through late November. The proposal needed support from 60 senators to end a filibuster and advance to a final vote, but it fell short Wednesday with just 55...

With Congress and the White House remaining deadlocked over the 2026 federal budget, the U.S. government shut down much of its operations as of midnight Wednesday. The partial shutdown could be a long standoff, Reuters reported, which could lead to the loss of thousands of federal jobs. Agencies are warning...

With a government shutdown on the horizon, a series of polls released a day before the lights are set to go dark offer a divided picture of how Americans are viewing the crisis — and who they think is most to blame. In two national surveys released Tuesday, Americans were...

WASHINGTON — The U.S. government shut down much of its operations on Wednesday as deep partisan divisions prevented Congress and the White House from reaching a funding deal, setting off what could be a long, grueling standoff that could lead to the loss of thousands of federal jobs. There was...

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey’s administration on Tuesday proposed a penny-pinching budget that avoids a tax increase for 2026. Gainey’s $680 million operating budget — which funds basic city functions, like employee salaries, programming and utility bills — would increase spending from the roughly $666 million budgeted this year. That’s an...

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has withdrawn its nomination of conservative economist E.J. Antoni as head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the White House said on Tuesday. President Donald Trump nominated Antoni last month to lead the bureau, which is part of the Department of Labor and produces statistics...

The federal government has entered a shutdown. TribLive has put together a collection of some of the federal government’s most recent shutdowns over the past 35 years. 2018-2019 The last shutdown happened during President Donald Trump’s first term when he insisted he would not sign any spending bill that did...

National Park Service officials are dusting off the contingency plan from the 2018 federal government shutdown, in anticipation of another closure starting Wednesday. In southwestern Pennsylvania, the two most-visible areas that could be affected are national parks such as the Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County and Fort Necessity...

In a rare address to military commanders on Tuesday, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stressed the importance of grooming standards, even using the sometimes derogatory term “beardos.” “The era of unprofessional appearance is over. No more beardos,” Hegseth told the audience, which sat in silence, according to Reuters. What does...

Republican leaders in the state Senate said Tuesday they plan to introduce legislation to forgive the interest payments on Treasury loans designed to help county governments and Head Start providers weather Pennsylvania’s budget impasse. “They should not be penalized because of what is happening here in Harrisburg,” state Senate President...

WASHINGTON — The Congress and President Donald Trump have little time and few options remaining to reach a funding deal to avoid triggering disruptions in a range of U.S. government services and the furlough of hundreds of thousands of civil servants beginning on Wednesday. What could stave off a government shutdown?...

The failure of Pennsylvania lawmakers to pass a budget for the fiscal year that began nearly three months ago is inspiring several pieces of legislation aimed at preventing such impasses in the future. In the House, a bill from state Rep. Jill Cooper, R-Murrysville, would suspend paychecks for the governor,...

Lisa Sprague does what she can on her own, but nerve damage caused by multiple sclerosis means she needs help getting out of bed, bathing and completing other daily tasks. The state pays for 13 hours of care every day at her Harmar home, a bungalow retrofitted with a wheelchair...

Hungary’s Viktor Orban said on Monday that Ukraine was not a sovereign country, as he hit back at accusations that Hungarian reconnaissance drones violated its airspace — the latest salvo in an increasingly bitter row between Kyiv and Budapest. “Ukraine is not at war with Hungary; it is at war...

WASHINGTON — James Comey will be arraigned Oct. 9 in a criminal case that President Donald Trump encouraged, but the former FBI director has proclaimed his innocence and invited a trial. Comey’s indictment Sept. 25 came after Trump publicly urged the Justice Department to pursue the charges against his longtime...

WASHINGTON — U.S. military leaders deployed around the world have started to prepare to travel to Virginia for a meeting with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth next week, which some officials on Friday billed as a gathering focused on the “warrior ethos.” Hegseth has summoned U.S. generals and admirals from around...

A breakfast appointment with MAGA leader Steve Bannon. A planned lunch with billionaire Peter Thiel. A mention of billionaire Elon Musk potentially coming to the “island,” with the notation “is this still happening?” Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released documents Friday from Jeffrey Epstein’s estate that mention a number...