Politics Election category, Page 2
Challengers test Summer Lee’s grip on congressional seat in Trump-era midterms
A popular and polarizing Democratic congresswoman is staking her reelection bid on her record in a midterm election seen by many as a referendum on President Donald Trump. While Beltway experts say this year’s race in Pennsylvania’s 12th District is Rep. Summer Lee’s to lose, the progressive firebrand from Swissvale...
Poll: 4 in 10 Pa. voters think Josh Shapiro would make a good president
Nearly 6 in 10 Pennsylvania voters think Josh Shapiro is doing a good job as governor, but only 4 in 10 think he’d be a good president, according to a new poll. The Quinnipiac University poll released this week showed that 56% of registered voters approve of the job Shapiro...
JD Vance says administration pausing some Medicaid funding to Minnesota because of fraud concernsVideo
WASHINGTON — Vice President JD Vance announced Wednesday that the Trump administration would “temporarily halt” some Medicaid funding to the state of Minnesota over fraud concerns, as part of what he described as an aggressive crackdown on misuse of public funds. Vance, who made the announcement with Dr. Mehmet Oz,...
Health care union calls on McCormick to oppose ambassadorship for nursing home magnate
Unionized care workers are pushing U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick to reject an ambassadorship nomination for a scandal-plagued nursing home magnate who owned facilities in Western Pennsylvania. Service Employees International Union Healthcare Pennsylvania staged a small press conference Wednesday morning outside the Republican lawmaker’s office in Downtown Pittsburgh, calling on him...
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...
Trump administration’s ‘third country’ deportation policy is unlawful, judge rules
The Trump administration’s latest policy of deporting immigrants to “third countries” to which they have no ties is unlawful and must be set aside, a federal judge ruled Wednesday in a case that already reached the nation’s highest court. U.S. District Judge Brian E. Murphy in Massachusetts agreed to suspend...
Viktor Orban’s support crumbles weeks ahead of Hungarian elections
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s support crumbled less than seven weeks before a parliamentary election, a poll showed, raising the prospect of a landslide victory for an opposition that’s pledged to reverse the country’s slide toward authoritarianism. The opposition Tisza party of former ruling elite insider Peter Magyar widened its...
Trump plans to take his State of the Union message on the road — eventually
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has delivered the State of the Union. Now the challenge for him is to make that message stick. His address Tuesday was a declaration of pride in the achievements of his still-young second term, as he boasted of an economic renaissance at home while he’s...
Bill Mazeroski’s run for office: A Pirates legend at the center of a political turning point
More than two decades after Bill Mazeroski’s famous home run in the 1960 World Series, the Pittsburgh Pirates legend was at the center of what many believe was the beginning of the end of Democratic control of Westmoreland County politics. In the spring of 1987, Mazeroski, then a Hempfield resident,...
Takeaways from Trump’s address: Sales mode on economy, heavy on patriotism, dark turn on DemocratsVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump started in sales mode, using his State of the Union address to deliver an upbeat vision of the U.S. economy. But that portrayal collides with the sentiment of Americans who remain anxious about their finances and feel they haven’t benefited from Trump’s policies. He took...
U.S. Rep. Summer Lee delivers Working Families Party’s response to State of the Union address
U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, said the nation is in crisis and the American dream further and further out of reach as a result President Donald Trump. That message was part of her response to Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday evening. The congresswoman from Western Pennsylvania spoke...
Trump uses longest-ever State of the Union to try to convince voters that U.S. is ‘winning so much’Video
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump declared during Tuesday’s marathon State of the Union that “we’re winning so much,” saying he’d sparked a jobs and manufacturing boom at home while imposing a new world order abroad — hoping that offering a long list of his accomplishments can counter approval ratings that...
Trump’s DOJ losing court fights over DOGE, Elon Musk secrecy
WASHINGTON — U.S. courts are foiling efforts by the Trump administration to keep under wraps information about the Department of Government Efficiency and the role that Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, played in it during his whirlwind stint with the White House last year. A New York federal judge...
House rejects bill requiring aircraft locator systems to prevent midair collisions like last year’s
The House failed to approve a bill Tuesday that was crafted after last year’s tragic midair collision near Washington, D.C., to require all aircraft flying around busy airports to have key locator systems to prevent such crashes. The collision of an airliner and an Army helicopter killed 67 people in...
Texas Rep. Gonzales resists calls to resign over allegations of affair with ex-stafferVideo
HOUSTON — U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas resisted growing calls Tuesday from fellow congressional Republicans to resign over a report of an alleged affair with a former staffer who later died when she set herself on fire. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky joined Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Anna...
Trump faces tough legal landscape to oppose tariff refunds
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is likely to face legal obstacles if it argues against refunds for the tariffs struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court — thanks to statements by Justice Department lawyers. In a 6-3 decision last week, the justices declared President Donald Trump’s use of an economic...
Trump’s State of the Union will seek to calm voters’ economic concerns ahead of midterm electionsVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump will use Tuesday’s State of the Union to champion his immigration crackdowns, his slashing of the federal government, his push to preserve widespread tariffs that the Supreme Court just struck down and his ability to direct quick-hit military actions around the world, including in Iran...
ICE officer training is ‘deficient’ and ‘broken,’ former agency lawyer tells congressional forum
WASHINGTON — A former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lawyer who was responsible for training new deportation officers warned Monday that the agency’s training program for new recruits is “deficient, defective and broken.” Ryan Schwank’s comments during a forum held by congressional Democrats come at a time of intense scrutiny...
Aspinwall pharmacist to appear at State of the Union address
An Aspinwall pharmacy owner who has advocated for reform in his industry to protect community pharmacies against national monopolies will attend Tuesday’s State of the Union address as a guest of U.S. Rep. Chris DeLuzio. Jonathan Akanowicz owns Towne Drugs on Commercial Avenue in Aspinwall and has worked to change...
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...
Federal court rejects GOP-led Utah Legislature’s latest try to block House map that helps Democrats
New Utah voting districts that give Democrats an improved shot at winning a U.S. House seat can be used in this year’s election, a federal court ruled Monday while turning aside a Republican request to block the new map. The ruling marked the second setback in recent days for Republicans,...
FBI director invites fresh scrutiny over travels with appearance at U.S. men’s hockey team celebration
WASHINGTON — When the American men’s hockey team retreated to their locker room to celebrate their Winter Olympics gold medal win, they were joined by a special guest from the United States: FBI Director Kash Patel. For some supporters of the embattled law enforcement official, it was a patriotic, good-natured...
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...
After Supreme Court rebuke, Democrats call for government to refund billions in Trump tariff money
WASHINGTON — A trio of Senate Democrats is calling for the government to start refunding roughly $175 billion in tariff revenues that the Supreme Court ruled were collected because of an illegal set of orders by President Donald Trump. Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon, Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Jeanne...
How Trump will use his State of the Union address to sell skeptical midterm voters on his plans
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday is likely to be a test run of the message Republicans will give to voters in November’s elections for control of the House and the Senate. The president and his party appear vulnerable, with polls showing much of...
