Politics Election category, Page 137
Pennsylvania’s Senate approves millions for universities and schools, but rejects House priorities
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s Legislature on Wednesday approved hundreds of millions of dollars for universities after a fight that has dragged on five months into the fiscal year, although the politically divided body continued to feud over elements of school funding. Legislation to send just over $600 million to several higher...
House heads home after defeat of rule for Iran, spending bills
WASHINGTON — House lawmakers left town Wednesday for Thanksgiving after a GOP revolt that led to defeat of the rule for floor debate on the final two pieces of legislation the chamber was scheduled to consider. Nineteen Republicans voted against the rule for the fiscal 2024 Commerce-Justice-Science spending bill and...
Trump’s lawyers want a mistrial in his New York civil fraud case. They claim the judge is biased
NEW YORK — Lawyers for Donald Trump asked for a mistrial Wednesday in the New York civil fraud case that threatens the former president’s real estate empire. They accuse the judge of tainting the proceedings with “tangible and overwhelming” bias. Trump’s lawyers urged Judge Arthur Engoron to stop the case...
Sen. Joe Manchin says Donald Trump would destroy U.S. democracy if he wins 2nd term as presidentVideo
WASHINGTON — West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, days removed from announcing he won’t seek reelection, said Wednesday that if the nation’s voters give former President Donald Trump another term in the White House, “he will destroy democracy in America.” Manchin, whose home state voters overwhelmingly backed Trump in the last...
Senate looks to speed ahead on temporary funding to avert government shutdown through the holidays
WASHINGTON — The Senate was pushing toward a swift vote Wednesday on a temporary government funding package as lawmakers sought to keep the holiday season free from any suspense over a government shutdown. Senators were trying to speed forward on the funding package one day after it passed the House...
Spending on Pa. Supreme Court race broke records, set precedent for outside influence
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. HARRISBURG — The candidates for Pennsylvania Supreme Court and their allies spent at least $22 million to influence the race’s outcome, with much of that...
Nikki Haley walks back her demand that social media ban anonymous posters after facing GOP backlash
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Nikki Haley on Wednesday partially walked back her proposed requirement that social media companies ban people from posting anonymously online for national security reasons, a stance for which she drew backlash across conservative social media and some of her GOP presidential rivals. The former United Nations ambassador’s...
New Hampshire defies national Democrats’ calendar revamp with Jan. 23, 2024, presidential primaries
CONCORD, N.H. — New Hampshire’s secretary of state on Wednesday scheduled the state’s presidential primaries for Jan. 23, 2024, extending its century-old streak of going first despite national Democrats’ efforts to overhaul the nominating calendar. State law requires New Hampshire’s Republican and Democratic primaries to be held at least seven...
Pennsylvania House OKs $1.8 billion pension boost for government and public school retirees
HARRISBURG — Democrats who control the state House of Representatives on Tuesday advanced an estimated $1.8 billion boost to the pensions of Pennsylvania state government and public school retirees, while some Republicans said taxpayers will unfairly shoulder the financial burden. The legislation passed 140-63, with every Democrat supporting it. It...
Pa. Senate committee has ‘no plans’ to move House-approved gun safety measures
A Democratic-led state House committee on Tuesday advanced two more firearms safety bills despite fresh indications that gun reform remains largely intractable along partisan lines. The measures — requiring secure gun storage around children and imposing parental liability — are the latest pitched in the Democratic-majority House this session. Two...
GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin challenges Teamsters leader to a fight in a fiery exchange at hearingVideo
WASHINGTON — A congressional hearing devolved into an angry confrontation between a senator and a witness on Tuesday after Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma challenged Sean O’Brien, the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, to “stand your butt up” and settle longstanding differences right there in the room....
Kevin McCarthy foe accuses former speaker of ‘sucker punch’ elbow in Capitol hallwayVideo
WASHINGTON — Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., accused former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., whom he helped oust from the post last month, of elbowing him in a Capitol Hill hallway on Tuesday. “You just don’t expect a guy who was at one time three steps away from the White House to...
New Speaker Mike Johnson formally endorses Trump
NEW YORK — House Speaker Mike Johnson endorsed Donald Trump for president on Tuesday, a move that was a symbolic departure from his ousted predecessor leading the House. Johnson, an ally and defender of the former president, said Tuesday morning in an interview on CNBC, “I have endorsed him wholeheartedly.”...
House votes to prevent a government shutdown as GOP Speaker Johnson relies on Democrats for help
WASHINGTON — The House voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to prevent a government shutdown after new Republican Speaker Mike Johnson was forced to reach across the aisle to Democrats when hard-right conservatives revolted against his plan. The bipartisan tally — 336-95 with 93 Republicans voting no —showed Johnson’s willingness to leave his...
The Supreme Court says it is adopting a code of ethics, but it has no means of enforcement
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday adopted its first code of ethics, in the face of sustained criticism over undisclosed trips and gifts from wealthy benefactors to some justices, but the code lacks a means of enforcement. The policy, agreed to by all nine justices, does not appear to...
Biden sees hopeful signs for his reelection in Democrats’ 2023 wins. Others in his party are worried
WASHINGTON — Surrounded by dozens of Democratic donors at a glass art gallery space in Chicago last week, President Joe Biden urged them to look beyond negative poll numbers and feel assured their donations were not being wasted. Then Biden joked to the crowd: “I could still screw up.” The...
Donald Trump Jr. lauds dad’s real estate exploits as ex-president’s civil fraud trial begins defense
NEW YORK — Donald Trump Jr. returned to court Monday as something of a character witness for his father’s real estate empire, waxing exuberantly about the former president’s “incredible vision” and portfolio of “great, iconic projects” at the New York civil fraud trial now threatening his company’s future. The namesake...
Biden’s initial confidence on Israel gives way to the complexities and casualties of a brutal war
WASHINGTON — In the early days and hours after the horrific Hamas attack on Israeli civilians on Oct. 7, President Joe Biden spoke with stark declarations and unqualified support for the longtime U.S. ally. Now, a month on, that unambiguous backing has given way to the complexities and haunting casualties...
Innamorato’s close victory showed the complexities of Allegheny County party politics
There were about 30 minutes of uncertainty during Sara Innamorato’s election night gathering. The Associated Press called the Allegheny County executive race for the progressive Democrat just before 10 p.m. Tuesday, but an announcement was not immediately made to the crowd of more than 200 supporters at Mr. Smalls Theatre...
Republican presidential candidate Tim Scott announces he is dropping out of the 2024 race
Republican presidential candidate Tim Scott announced late Sunday that he was dropping out of the 2024 race, about two months before the start of voting in Iowa’s leadoff caucuses. The South Carolina senator, who entered the race in May with high hopes, made the surprise announcement on Fox News Channel’s...
Capitol rioter plans 2024 run as a Libertarian candidate in Arizona’s 8th congressional district
PHOENIX — Jacob Chansley, the spear-carrying rioter whose horned fur hat, bare chest and face paint made him one of the more recognizable figures in the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol, apparently aspires to be a member of Congress. Online paperwork shows the 35-year-old Chansley filed a...
Joe Biden wants to complete his goals on civil rights, taxes, and social services if he’s reelected
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has a simple reelection pitch to voters — let him “finish the job.” So what does that mean? What’s left for him to get done? Unlike Donald Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination who has been releasing videos and statements detailing...
House Republicans look to pass two-step package to avoid partial government shutdown
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson unveiled his proposal on Saturday to avoid a partial government shutdown by extending government funding for some agencies and programs until Jan. 19 and continuing funding for others until Feb. 2. The approach is unusual for a stopgap spending bill. Usually, lawmakers extend funding...
Trump’s plans if he returns to the White House include deportation raids, tariffs and mass firings
NEW YORK — A mass deportation operation. A new Muslim ban. Tariffs on all imported goods and “freedom cities” built on federal land. Much of the 2024 presidential campaign has been dominated by the myriad investigations into former President Donald Trump and the subsequent charges against him. But with less...
Biden and Xi set to meet next week at the APEC summit — no detail too small to sweat
WASHINGTON — When President Joe Biden meets Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Wednesday, there will be no such thing as a small detail. How they greet? If they eat? Where they sit? Will there be flowers? Bottled water or in a glass? “Pretty intense,” senior administration officials say of navigating...
