Politics Election category, Page 238
House GOP leader amps up pressure on Liz Cheney over Trump barbsVideo
WASHINGTON — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy stepped up pressure on No. 3 House Republican Liz Cheney on Tuesday, claiming rank-and-file concerns about “her ability to carry out her job” as she trades insults with former President Donald Trump. McCarthy’s comments on the Fox News Channel underscored the continued, if...
One ritzy fundraiser shows how tough selling lobbying reform in Pa. will be
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan 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 — For the first time, the Pennsylvania legislature’s top leaders are expected to throw their weight behind reining in the...
Ex-consumer watchdog Richard Cordray tapped to manage federal student aid
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A former federal consumer watchdog and Democratic nominee for Ohio governor has landed his next job. The Department of Education announced Monday that Richard Cordray has been selected as its chief operating officer of federal student aid. Cordray, 62, previously served as Ohio treasurer and attorney general...
Liz Cheney re-ignites fight with Trump over false election claimsVideo
WASHINGTON — Representative Liz Cheney, the No. 3 Republican in the House, accused Donald Trump of “poisoning” U.S. democracy with his false election claims, escalating the GOP’s internal conflict over the former president’s role in the party. She tweeted a response on Monday to a statement from Trump saying that...
Mitch McConnell says GOP open to $600 billion for infrastructureVideo
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Monday that Republicans are willing to spend up to $600 billion on infrastructure, far less than President Joe Biden is seeking, even as he ruled out supporting a higher corporate tax rate to pay for it. Instead McConnell is endorsing...
Biden lifts Trump refugee cap after delay backlashVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday formally raised the nation’s cap on refugee admissions to 62,500 this year, weeks after facing bipartisan blowback for his delay in replacing the record-low ceiling set by former President Donald Trump. Refugee resettlement agencies have waited for Biden to quadruple the number of...
Pa. Supreme Court picks former Pitt chancellor to chair powerful redistricting commission
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 former University of Pittsburgh chancellor will chair the committee...
EPA rule to phase out greenhouse gases used in refrigerators, coolants
WASHINGTON — In the first Biden administration rule aimed at combating climate change, the Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to phase down production and use of hydrofluorocarbons, highly potent greenhouse gases commonly used in refrigerators and air conditioners. The proposed rule follows through on a law Congress passed in December...
Are Pa.’s state House and Senate maps gerrymandered? Depends on how you measure them
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 — When Amanda Holt was preparing to vote in 2010, she...
D.C. should be part of Maryland, not a state, GOP Sen. Susan Collins saysVideo
WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia should become part of Maryland rather than a new state if it wants to ensure congressional representation for its residents, Sen. Susan Collins said. The Maine Republican weighed in Sunday on the issue of statehood after the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives passed a bill...
Treasury secretary doesn’t see Biden plan creating inflation ‘issue’Video
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s economic plan is unlikely to create inflation pressure in the U.S. because the boost to demand will be spread over a decade, said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. “I don’t believe that inflation will be an issue. But if it becomes an issue, we have tools...
Adviser suggests Biden still wears mask outside out of habit
WILMINGTON, Del. — One of President Joe Biden’s top White House advisers suggested Sunday that he’s still wearing a mask outdoors out of habit although the latest public health guidance says he doesn’t need it. Questioned about Biden’s practice, senior adviser Anita Dunn told CNN’s “State of the Union” that...
Eyeing 2024, Mike Pence says he’ll push back on ‘liberal agenda’
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Former Vice President Mike Pence, positioning himself for a possible return to elected office, told an audience in early-voting South Carolina that he will spend the coming months “pushing back on the liberal agenda” he says is wrong for the country. “We’ve got to guard our values...
Florida GOP awaits governor’s signature on new voting rules
TALLAHASSEE — Florida Republicans passed a series of sweeping voter restrictions Thursday targeting mailed ballots, drop boxes and other popular election methods, becoming the latest GOP-controlled state to tighten voting rules after massive turnout in 2020. The bill now heads to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who just months ago touted...
In GOP response, Sen. Tim Scott says U.S. isn’t racistVideo
WASHINGTON — South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott has used the Republican response to President Joe Biden’s address to Congress to vow that “America is not a racist country.” Scott, the only Black Republican senator, seized on Biden’s calls earlier in the evening that passage of major police reform could help...
Biden to the nation, world: ‘America is rising anew’Video
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden declared Wednesday night in his first address to a joint session of Congress that “America is rising anew,” and pointed optimistically to the nation’s emergence from the pandemic as a vital moment to rebuild the U.S. economy and fundamentally transform roles the government plays in...
Watch live: President Biden’s address before the joint session of CongressVideo
President Joe Biden is laying out his policy agenda and updating the nation Wednesday in his first address to a joint session of Congress....
Senate votes to reinstate methane rules loosened by Trump
WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats are moving to reinstate regulations designed to limit potent greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas fields, as part of a broader effort by the Biden administration to tackle climate change. The Senate approved a resolution Wednesday that would undo an environmental rollback by President Donald...
Judge has doubts on voter privacy in Arizona recount
PHOENIX — A judge hearing a challenge to voter privacy policies during the Republican-controlled Arizona Senate’s recount of 2.1 million 2020 election ballots in the county that includes metro Phoenix said Tuesday he is not convinced voter secrecy is being upheld. The comment from Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Daniel...
Democrats pressing Biden to go even bigger with families planVideo
Democratic lawmakers are clamoring to add to President Joe Biden’s package of social spending even before he rolls it out on Wednesday, risking a ballooning price tag and adding to the complications already facing the White House in getting it through Congress. From taxes to expanding Medicare to subsidizing child...
Indiana governor sues Legislature over emergency powers
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana’s governor is asking a court to block a new law passed by state legislators giving themselves more authority to intervene when the state’s chief executive declares an emergency. Lawyers for Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb filed a lawsuit Tuesday in a Marion County court challenging the law that...
What’s behind the growth slump? Takeaways from census data
The first batch of once-every-decade data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows a United States that is growing less quickly but still seeing its population shift to the South and the West. The data released Monday was relatively basic — containing national and state-level population figures and details of how...
Firm recounting Arizona ballots wants methods kept secret
PHOENIX — A contractor hired by Arizona’s state Senate to oversee the recount of 2.1 million ballots in the county that includes the metro Phoenix area wants a judge to keep secret its methods for ensuring ballot privacy. The request came in advance of a hearing Tuesday where a judge...
Homeland Security launches review of extremism within agency
WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security on Monday announced an internal review to assess the threat of violent extremism from within the agency, part of a broader administration focus on domestic threats following the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Senior DHS officials will immediately begin the review,...
Rick Santorum slammed for dismissing Native American culture: ‘There was nothing here’ when colonists arrivedVideo
Rick Santorum’s recent bit of revisionist history was not received well on the internet. Santorum, a former Penn Hills resident who represented Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate for 12 years, told a student conference on Friday that “there was nothing here” when European colonizers “birthed a nation from nothing” upon...
