Politics Election category, Page 231
On border tour, VP Kamala Harris cites ‘progress’ in ‘tough’ situation
EL PASO, Texas — Vice President Kamala Harris asserted Friday that the Biden administration had made progress tackling a migration spike that’s drawn fire from Republicans and made fellow Democrats uncomfortable. Her first trip to the U.S.-Mexico border as head of the Biden administration’s response is being closely watched on...
‘We have deal’: Biden, bipartisan senators on infrastructure
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced on Thursday that “we have a deal,” signaling a bipartisan agreement on a $953 billion infrastructure plan that would achieve his top legislative priority and validate his efforts to reach across the political aisle. Biden made a surprise appearance in front of the cameras...
Biden administration extends eviction moratorium for a month
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has extended the nationwide ban on evictions for a month to help tenants who are unable to make rent payments during the coronavirus pandemic, but it said this is expected to be the last time it does so. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers...
Pelosi creates panel to ‘seek the truth’ on Capitol attack
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made it official Thursday that she is creating a special committee to investigate the attack on the Capitol, saying it is “imperative that we seek the truth.” The new committee comes after Republican senators blocked legislation that would have set up a bipartisan commission...
New York court suspends Rudy Giuliani’s law license
NEW YORK — An appeals court suspended Rudy Giuliani from practicing law in New York Thursday because he made false statements while trying to get courts to overturn Donald Trump’s loss in the presidential race. An attorney disciplinary committee had asked the court to suspend Giuliani’s license on the grounds...
Senators to pitch bipartisan infrastructure plan to Biden
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of senators is seeking President Joe Biden’s support for a $953 billion infrastructure plan, raising hopes for a breakthrough agreement after arduous negotiations on his top legislative priority. Biden has invited members of the group of 21 senators, Republicans and Democrats, to the White House...
Florida Gov. DeSantis: Universities ‘intellectually repressive,’ survey on beliefs is needed
TALLAHASSEE — Civics education will be expanded in Florida, including instruction about communist and totalitarian governments, and state universities will be prevented from quashing conservative ideology under bills Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed this week. DeSantis signed three bills at a Lee County middle school, two of which dealt...
Missouri special session on Medicaid funding begins
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri senators on Wednesday returned to the Capitol to work out a deal on a critical piece of Medicaid funding that’s entangled in a fight over family planning services. Republican Gov. Mike Parson called the last-minute special session after threatening to cut $722 million from the...
Mitch McConnell killed election reform in Senate. Democrats will now take it to the people
WASHINGTON — Mitch McConnell held his entire Republican caucus together to effectively kill the Democrats’ highest legislative priority of the year, a transformative 888-page bill intended to make it easier to vote, rein in the wealthy’s impact on elections, and outlaw the gerrymandering process that constructs partisan congressional districts. But...
Michigan Senate GOP probe: No systemic fraud in election
LANSING, Mich. — State Senate Republicans who investigated Michigan’s 2020 presidential election for months concluded there was no widespread or systemic fraud and urged the state attorney general to consider probing people who have made baseless allegations about the results in Antrim County to raise money or publicity “for their...
Biden faces growing pressure from the left over voting bill
WASHINGTON — When New York Democratic Rep. Mondaire Jones was at the White House for the signing of the proclamation making Juneteenth a national holiday last week, he told President Joe Biden their party needed him more involved in passing voting legislation on the Hill. In response? Biden “just sort...
Panel agrees to put guardrails on how Pa. lawmakers draw congressional maps, but not their own
This article is part of a yearlong reporting project focused on redistricting and gerrymandering in Pennsylvania. It is made possible by the support of Spotlight PA members and Votebeat, a project focused on election integrity and voting access. HARRISBURG — A key state Senate committee agreed Tuesday to put guardrails...
House will form new committee to investigate Jan. 6 attack
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told Democratic colleagues on Tuesday that she is creating a new committee to investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol, according to a person familiar with her remarks. Pelosi made the announcement at a private leadership meeting and did not give additional details....
GOP filibuster halts Democrats’ signature voting billVideo
WASHINGTON — The Democrats’ sweeping attempt to rewrite U.S. election and voting law stalled Tuesday in the Senate, blocked by a wall of Republican opposition to what would have been the largest overhaul of the electoral system in a generation. The bill, known as the For the People Act, would...
Republicans condemn election reform bill as an ‘extreme power grab’
U.S. Senate Republicans used a filibuster to block the Democrat-backed “For the People Act” — an election reform bill — Tuesday in Washington. Pennsylvania lawmakers voiced opinions on the legislation ahead of a test vote needed to begin debate on the bill in the Senate. “This would be the most...
Ohio business groups speak out against GOP vaccination bill
COLUMBUS — Two major Ohio business groups on Tuesday came out in opposition to pending GOP legislation in the Ohio House that would prohibit employers, either public or private, from requiring employees to receive vaccinations. The bill also would prevent workers from being fired as a result of refusing to...
How a Pennsylvania lawmaker billed taxpayers $1.8 million in expenses
Over the next year, The Caucus and Spotlight PA will examine and make public specific areas of spending by the legislature as part of their ongoing efforts to follow the money and track taxpayer dollars. HARRISBURG — The legislature was on break. Policymaking in the Capitol had ground to a...
Harris touts administration’s plans to help families, organized labor
Vice President Kamala Harris made it clear Monday to a receptive audience on her first visit to Western Pennsylvania: there’s a new sheriff in town as she touted the expanded child tax credit and took her case for the Biden administration’s battle for an expansive infrastructure program and stronger labor...
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis edges former President Trump in 2024 straw poll
A Florida man was the favorite of Western conservatives for president in 2024 — and it wasn’t the former president in Palm Beach. Gov. Ron DeSantis topped the 2024 presidential approval poll at the Western Conservative Summit 2021 in Denver over the weekend, edging out former President Donald Trump by...
In Senate vote, Biden sees ‘step forward’ for elections billVideo
WASHINGTON — The White House said Monday it views the Senate’s work on an elections bill overhaul and changes being offered by Sen. Joe Manchin as a “step forward,” even though the Democrats’ priority legislation is expected to be blocked by a Republican filibuster. White House press secretary Jen Psaki...
Judge weighs whether to dismiss Georgia ballot review case
McDONOUGH, Ga. — A judge is weighing whether to dismiss claims brought by a group of voters who allege that fraud during the November general election in Georgia’s most populous county resulted in the violation of their constitutional rights. The lawsuit filed by nine Georgia voters alleges that counterfeit ballots...
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham says bipartisan infrastructure deal is there for takingVideo
WASHINGTON — A senior Republican senator said a $579 billion bipartisan accord on infrastructure is on the table and he challenged President Joe Biden to decide whether he wants to pursue it. South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham, who’s in a group of 21 senators from both parties who last week signed...
Back home: Biden has daunting to-do list after European tour
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is facing a formidable to-do list now that he’s back from his summit-filled trip to Europe, with pressing legislative challenges, foreign policy follow-up and a need to steer the country’s reopening as the coronavirus threat recedes. His overseas tour was meant to showcase the U.S....
GOP needs new health care target as ‘Obamacare’ survives again
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court’s latest rejection of a Republican effort to dismantle “Obamacare” signals anew that the GOP must look beyond repealing the law if it wants to hone the nation’s health care problems into a winning political issue. Thursday’s 7-2 ruling was the third time the court has...
Democrats waiting for Conor Lamb as Pa.’s 2022 Senate race takes shape
PHILADELPHIA — When U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan decided she wouldn’t run for Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate seat, moderate Democrats lost one of their big hopes for next year’s critical election. But they haven’t freaked out. That’s because in Democratic political circles, there’s widespread belief that U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, a Mt....
