Politics Election category, Page 232
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....
Biden signs bill making Juneteenth a federal holidayVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed legislation Thursday establishing a new federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery, saying he believes it will go down as one of the greatest honors he has as president. Biden signed into law a bill to make Juneteenth, or June 19, the 12th federal...
Democrats eye $6T plan on infrastructure, Medicare, immigrationVideo
WASHINGTON — Democrats are eyeing a $6 trillion infrastructure investment plan that goes far beyond roads and bridges to include core party priorities, from lowering the Medicare eligibility age to 60 and adding vision and hearing benefits to incorporating a long-running effort to provide legal status for certain immigrants, including...
Gov. Wolf calls GOP’s election bill ‘driven by fringe conspiracy theories’ as Republican lawmakers crash eventVideo
PHILADELPHIA — The battle to shape public opinion over Pennsylvania Republicans’ proposed election overhaul intensified Thursday, as Gov. Tom Wolf called it an attack on voting rights and GOP lawmakers crashed a news conference in the Philadelphia suburbs to demand he negotiate. Democrats have blasted the proposal as the latest...
Pompeo unveils PAC, demurs on possible 2024 presidential bid
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has become the latest former Trump administration official to launch a political action committee, but he’s not disclosing any possible 2024 presidential plans. “Only the Lord knows where I will be in 2023,” Pompeo said Thursday in an interview with the...
Conservative activists request audit of Michigan election
LANSING, Mich. — Conservative activists who falsely claim former President Donald Trump won reelection asked the Republican-led Michigan Senate on Thursday to order an audit of the results, seeking a review like one that is underway in fellow battleground state Arizona. Michigan Conservative Coalition co-founder Marian Sheridan said “something very...
Texas governor: State, crowdsourcing will fund border wallVideo
AUSTIN — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday that he will use $250 million in state money and crowdsourced financing to build more barriers along the U.S. border with Mexico, part of an emerging proposal that also extends his political fight over immigration with the Democratic Biden administration. But questions...
Biden to sign bill making Juneteenth a federal holidayVideo
WASHINGTON — The United States will soon have a new federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the nation. The House voted 415-14 on Wednesday to make Juneteenth, or June 19th, the 12th federal holiday. President Joe Biden is scheduled to sign the bill into law on Thursday. Juneteenth...
West Virginia Sen. Manchin proposes changes to Democrats’ voting bill
WASHINGTON — Sen. Joe Manchin is proposing an extensive list of changes to his party’s sweeping elections and voting bill, raising hopes among Democrats that they could unite behind the legislation even if the measure is nearly certain to be blocked by Republicans in a showdown Senate vote next week....
Biden administration extends protections to transgender students
The Education Department on Wednesday expanded its interpretation of federal sex protections to include transgender and gay students, a move that reverses Trump-era policy and stands against proposals in many states to bar transgender girls from school sports. In a new policy directive, the department said discrimination based on a...
Senate approves bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday
WASHINGTON — The Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would make Juneteenth, or June 19th, a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. The bill would lead to Juneteenth becoming the 12th federal holiday. It is expected to easily pass the House, which would send it...
Military defends Jan. 6 response as House steps up investigations
WASHINGTON — A top Army leader defended the Pentagon’s response to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, telling a House panel Tuesday that the National Guard was delayed for hours because it had to properly prepare for the deployment and that senior military leaders had determined beforehand that...
Emails show Trump pressured Justice Dept. over 2020 election
WASHINGTON — During the last weeks of his presidency, Donald Trump and his allies pressured the Justice Department to investigate unsubstantiated claims of widespread 2020 election fraud that even his former attorney general declared without evidence, newly released emails show. The emails, released Tuesday by the House Oversight Committee, reveal...
Senate votes to confirm Biden pick for D.C. appeals court
WASHINGTON — The Senate on Monday confirmed the first appellate court judge of President Joe Biden’s tenure, elevating a judge with strong prospects of landing on the president’s short list should a Supreme Court vacancy arise. Senators voted 53-44 to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve on the Court of...
Ligonier approves resolution to support anti-gerrymandering bill
Ligonier officials joined more than 362 municipalities and 24 counties across the state, signing onto resolutions asking the General Assembly to pass a bill outlawing gerrymandering. The small borough in Eastern Westmoreland County last week joined only two other Westmoreland municipalities—North Huntingdon and Trafford— that have gone on record in...
Florida Gov. Desantis signs bill requiring moment for school prayer
TALLAHASSEE — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis visited a South Florida Jewish temple to denounce anti-Semitism and stand with Israel, as the Republican governor cloaked himself in religion Monday while signing a bill into law that would require public schools in his state to set aside at least one minute of...
Pennsylvania Republicans eye referendums to get past vetoes
HARRISBURG — Republicans who control Pennsylvania’s Legislature are increasingly looking to take a different avenue to write laws, voter referendums, to get around Gov. Tom Wolf and make policy that the Democrat cannot block with his veto pen. On Friday, Republicans unveiled a proposed constitutional amendment to expand Pennsylvania’s existing...
Biden at NATO: Ready to talk China, Russia and soothe allies
BRUSSELS — President Joe Biden made his entrance at the NATO summit aiming to consult European allies on efforts to counter provocative actions by China and Russia while highlighting the U.S. commitment to the 30-country alliance that was frequently maligned by predecessor Donald Trump. The summit Monday comes as Biden...
Pelosi demands Trump-era attorneys general testify on subpoenasVideo
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi demanded that Trump-era officials testify under oath about the Justice Department’s effort to secretly subpoena data from House Democrats and the news media. Former attorneys general Bill Barr and Jeff Sessions, along with Rod Rosenstein, a former deputy attorney general, must answer to questions about subpoenas...
Exodus of election officials raises concerns of partisanship
There is no shortage of job openings for local election officials in Michigan. It’s the same in Pennsylvania. Wisconsin, too. After facing threats and intimidation during the 2020 presidential election and its aftermath, and now the potential of new punishments in certain states, county officials who run elections are quitting...
Biden urges G-7 leaders to call out, compete with China
CARBIS BAY, England — Leaders of the world’s largest economies on Saturday unveiled an infrastructure plan for the developing world to compete with China’s efforts, but the democracies didn’t immediately agree on how to publicly call out Beijing, including for its forced labor practices. The proposal on labor practices is...
GOP governors tie economy to relaxed approach to coronavirus
JEKYLL ISLAND, Ga. — Republican governors running for reelection have begun trumpeting the party’s more hands-off approach to the coronavirus pandemic, trying to flip the script on an issue that helped Democrats win the White House and control of Capitol Hill in 2020. GOP governors, especially in populous, diverse Sun...
Oregon legislator is 1st-ever ousted after Statehouse breach
SALEM, Ore. — Republican lawmakers voted with majority Democrats in the Oregon House of Representatives to take the historic step of expelling a Republican member who let violent, far-right protesters into the state Capitol on Dec. 21. Legislators said on the House floor that this could be the most important...
Justice Dept., Congress probing Trump seizures of Dems’ data
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department’s internal watchdog launched an investigation Friday after revelations that former President Donald Trump’s administration secretly seized phone data from at least two House Democrats as part of an aggressive leaks probe. Democrats called the seizures “harrowing” and an abuse of power. The announcement by Inspector...
