Politics Election category, Page 163
Biden to huddle with top donors as 2024 effort kicks off
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden thanked some of his top donors Friday night as he launches a reelection campaign that is expected to need to raise well over $1 billion to secure his second term. “It’s because of you, I’m standing here,” Biden said in the ballroom of a Washington...
Rising GOP star embroiled in tough Kentucky primary fight
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Flagged as a rising Republican star who worked for Mitch McConnell and pitched Donald Trump’s campaign to Black voters, Daniel Cameron could have taken a cautious approach and run for reelection as attorney general. Instead, he took a career-defining risk by plunging into Kentucky’s competitive race for...
Pence testifies before election probe grand jury
WASHINGTON — Former Vice President Mike Pence testified Thursday before a federal grand jury investigating efforts by then-President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person requested anonymity to discuss the private appearance before...
Trump back in New Hampshire, 1st event since Biden launch
MANCHESTER, N.H. — Former President Donald Trump is returning to New Hampshire on Thursday for his first campaign appearance since President Joe Biden launched his own reelection bid, heading for a potential 2024 rematch. The appearance at a downtown Manchester hotel, expected to be a smaller event than Trump’s typical...
Florida Gov. DeSantis says Disney lawsuit is political
JERUSALEM — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday shrugged off Disney’s lawsuit against him as politically motivated, and said that it was time for the iconic company to stop enjoying favorable treatment in his state. Disney sued DeSantis on Wednesday over the Republican’s appointment of a board of supervisors in...
Pa. House passes bill officially recognizing Diwali
The state House nearly unanimously passed a bill Wednesday to officially recognize Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights celebrated in the fall. State Rep. Arvind Venkat, D-McCandless, introduced the bill and celebrated its passing. Venkat is the first Indian-American representative in Pennsylvania state House history. “This legislation is important in...
Gun control measures advance in Pennsylvania state House
HARRISBURG — Democrats advanced four gun-control bills in Pennsylvania’s state House of Representatives on Wednesday after years of a virtual standstill on legislation amid a politically divided government. The bills passed through committees on party lines. They could go before the full House as early as next week. The measures...
Montana lawmaker Zooey Zephyr barred from 2023 sessionVideo
HELENA, Mont. — Transgender lawmaker Zooey Zephyr was barred from participating on the House floor as Republican leaders voted Wednesday to silence her for the rest of 2023 session after she protested GOP leaders’ decision earlier in the week to silence her. The punishment of the freshman lawmaker caps a...
House Republicans pass U.S. debt bill, push Biden on spending
WASHINGTON — House Republicans passed sweeping legislation Wednesday that would raise the government’s legal debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion in exchange for steep spending restrictions, a tactical victory for Speaker Kevin McCarthy as he challenges President Joe Biden to negotiate and prevent a catastrophic federal default this summer. The bill...
2024 race won’t be like 2020. That’s good and bad for Biden
WASHINGTON — No honking geese are likely to interrupt his speeches this time. As President Joe Biden seeks a second term, he won’t have to depend on glitchy Zoom connections, or deliver remarks in largely vacant theaters with attendees in chairs ringed by circle markings on the floor to ensure...
Chief Justice John Roberts declines Senate request to testify on court ethics
WASHINGTON — Chief Justice John Roberts has declined a request from the Senate Judiciary Committee to testify at a hearing next week on ethical standards at the court, instead providing the panel with a statement of ethics reaffirmed by the court’s nine justices. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill.,...
Florida GOP set to remove hurdle to Ron DeSantis White House bid
TALLAHASSEE — Florida Republicans are poised to change state law to allow GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis to run for president without having to leave office, according to legislation filed Tuesday. The proposal would exempt presidential candidates from Florida’s so-called resign to run law, which prohibits elected officials from qualifying as...
Pa. House passes 4th bill on child sex abuse lawsuit window
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives on Tuesday passed — for the fourth time this year — a measure that would open up a window in the commonwealth’s statute of limitations in order to allow survivors of childhood sexual abuse a two-year legal window to file suit. House Bill 1 —...
Sen. Scott bill would fund armed officers in all U.S. schools
Money earmarked for thousands of new IRS employees would be transferred to a grant program allowing schools nationwide to hire armed law enforcement personnel under legislation outlined Tuesday by U.S. Sen. Rick Scott of Florida. The School Guardian Act would take about $80 billion that Congress previously approved to expand...
Bill allowing counties to process mail ballots early clears 1st hurdle in Pa. House
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — After years of advocacy and political deadlock, Pennsylvania counties could be a step closer to getting more time to...
Pittsburgh region could prove pivotal in Biden reelection chances
President Joe Biden announced his reelection campaign Tuesday, and the Pittsburgh region could again prove pivotal for his chances at returning to the White House. “There is no doubt that Allegheny County is going to be pivotal to whoever the candidates are on both sides,” said Duquesne University political science...
Trump gets endorsed by Daines, GOP’s Senate campaign chief
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Former President Donald Trump has gotten his most high-profile endorsement from a Senate Republican yet, winning the backing of Montana’s Steve Daines, chief of the Senate’s GOP fundraising arm. “I’m proud to endorse Donald J. Trump for president of the United States,” Daines, chair of the National...
Why is Biden announcing 2024 bid now, and what will change?
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has formally announced he’s seeking reelection. But he’s also still the president, with roughly 20 months left in his term regardless of whether he wins a second one on Election Day 2024. With Tuesday’s campaign video release, Biden is following through on months of saying...
President Joe Biden announces 2024 reelection bid
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Tuesday formally announced that he is running for reelection in 2024, asking voters to give him more time to “finish this job” and extend the run of America’s oldest president for another four years. Biden, who would be 86 at the end of a...
House committee passes anti-discrimination bill for LGBTQ Pennsylvanians
The Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee approved a bill Monday that would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the state’s nondiscrimination law, a step forward in what was described as a two-decade effort to codify rights for LGBTQ people in the state. The legislation, House Bill 300, is a fundamental...
Pa. House panel advances election reform bill that makes ballot secrecy envelopes optional
Legislation that would give counties a seven-day head start on getting ballots ready for tabulating and require voters be given the chance to correct minor issues to ensure their ballot gets counted won passage by a state House committee on Monday. The bill, sponsored by House State Government Committee Chairman...
Biden’s 2024 campaign has been hiding in plain sight
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign has been hiding in plain sight all along. The contours of the 2024 campaign that Biden will formally launch with a video as soon as this week will look a lot like his messaging and policy moves from the past few months: Play...
Kevin McCarthy says House will pass GOP debt limit bill this week
WASHINGTON — Speaker Kevin McCarthy said that the House will pass his $1.5 trillion debt ceiling increase plan this week, but he dodged when asked if he has already secured the 218 Republican votes he needs. “We will hold a vote this week and we will pass it,” McCarthy said...
How rich are the U.S. Supreme Court justices?
WASHINGTON — The nine Supreme Court justices in total are worth at least $24 million. Or it might be closer to $68 million. It’s impossible to get more specific than that. That’s because federal ethics laws require justices to disclose only those assets that might pose a conflict of interest....
Trump defends push to restrict abortion rights after rebuke
CLIVE, Iowa — Donald Trump, stinging from a rebuke by the nation’s leading anti-abortion group, used a speech Saturday before influential evangelicals in Iowa to spotlight his actions as president to try to restrict abortion rights. Chief among the accomplishments Trump listed were his nominations of three conservative judges to...
