Politics Election category, Page 25
Shapiro formally launches reelection campaign in Allegheny County
Gov. Josh Shapiro promised to be “a governor for all Pennsylvanians” as he formally announced his reelection campaign Thursday in a Pittsburgh suburb. “Most Pennsylvanians want the same few things,” Shapiro told a crowd of officials and supporters at the Carpenters Union Local 432 building in Collier, six miles southwest...
Senate pushes back on Trump’s military threats against Venezuela with war powers vote
WASHINGTON — The Senate advanced a resolution Thursday that would limit President Donald Trump’s ability to conduct further attacks against Venezuela, sounding a note of disapproval for his expanding ambitions in the Western Hemisphere. Democrats and five Republicans voted to advance the war powers resolution on a 52-47 vote and...
Trump’s ‘beautiful’ new law means states have big decisions this year on Medicaid, SNAP and taxes
States have major decisions to make in 2026 about the social safety net and taxes in the aftermath of a sweeping law President Donald Trump signed last year. The federal government is shifting more responsibilities to states over the next few years, and states must prepare for greater costs in...
Josh Shapiro to run for 2nd term as Pa. governor, trailed by talk of a 2028 White House bid
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro will run for a second term in the pivotal battleground state after a first term that put him on the Democratic Party’s radar as a potential presidential contender in 2028. He plans to make the formal announcement Thursday at events in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia....
House takes step toward extending Affordable Care Act subsidies, overpowering GOP leadership
WASHINGTON — Overpowering Speaker Mike Johnson, a bipartisan coalition in the House voted Wednesday to push forward a measure that would revive an enhanced pandemic-era subsidy that lowered health insurance costs for roughly 22 million people, but that had expired last month. The tally of 221-205 was a key test...
Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano won’t run for governor again in 2026
HARRISBURG — State Sen. Doug Mastriano will not seek the GOP nomination for Pennsylvania again this year, after months of teasing a potential run to the chagrin of establishment Republicans. Mastriano’s announcement Wednesday now clears the way for State Treasurer Stacy Garrity, who was endorsed by the state GOP last...
Fetterman breaks with many Democrats in supporting Venezuela raid
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman has again distanced himself from fellow Democrats, this time in support of last weekend’s military invasion that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. “Removing Maduro was positive for Venezuela. As a Democrat, I don’t understand why we can’t acknowledge a good development for...
Ohio governor race takes shape as Ramaswamy and Acton pick running mates
COLUMBUS, Ohio — In Ohio’s closely watched race for governor, Republican entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and Democratic former health chief Amy Acton rolled out their picks for running mate on Wednesday, announcing a seasoned conservative lawmaker for him and a pragmatic former party chair for her. Ramaswamy tapped Ohio Senate President...
Trump store in suburban Philadelphia ‘kind of run its course’ and is set to close
BENSALEM, Pa. — A suburban Philadelphia shop selling President Donald Trump-themed merchandise that became a magnet for die-hard supporters announced it’s closing its doors, six years after opening. The Trump Store, which sells hats, flags, T-shirts and other items in hotly politically contested Bucks County, posted on social media that...
Trump administration says it’s withholding social safety net money from 5 states over fraud concerns
President Donald Trump’s administration said Tuesday that it is withholding funding for programs that support needy families with children in five Democratic-led states over concerns about fraud. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the program, will require the states to provide extra documentation to access the...
As Pa. energy prices rise, advocates skeptical that lawmakers will put aside partisan differences
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Democrats and Republicans who lead the Pennsylvania legislature have singled out increasing energy production as a goal...
Rep. Doug LaMalfa of California dies, reducing GOP’s narrow control of the House to 218-213
WASHINGTON — Republican Doug LaMalfa, a seven-term U.S. representative from California, has died, GOP officials said Tuesday. He was 65. His death, confirmed by Majority Whip Tom Emmer and National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Richard Hudson, reduces the Republicans’ already narrow control of the House to 218 seats to Democrats’...
Trump Mobile’s golden phone remains nowhere to be found
A golden phone that President Donald Trump’s family business promised to release last year remains mysteriously under wraps as the technology industry serves up a glut of new gadgets at CES in Las Vegas this week. When the Trump Organization launched a mobile phone service last June, it was supposed...
After Maduro capture, Trump’s tough talk evokes a return to the days of American imperialism
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump hasn’t minced words about the larger message he’s trying to send the world with the U.S. military raid to capture Nicolás Maduro and spirit the deposed Venezuelan leader and his wife to the United States to face federal drug trafficking charges. “American dominance in the...
Trump tries to rally House GOP but meanders along the way as the party’s majority narrowsVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump insisted Tuesday that Republicans have “so many good nuggets” to campaign on this year as they try to hold onto their razor-thin margin in the House. But the president’s nearly 90-minute speech before House Republicans had little in the way of a fresh policy agenda...
Experts slam CDC guidance to slash childhood vaccination schedule
Pennsylvania medical experts fear vaccination rates will wane after federal health officials issued a nonbinding, but possibly influential, recommendation Monday that kids get fewer shots. Jim O’Neill, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, slashed the number of shots all children should receive to 11 from 17....
Pete Hegseth censures Sen. Kelly after Democrats’ video urging troops to resist unlawful orders
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Monday that he censured Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona over the former Navy pilot’s participation in a video that called on troops to resist unlawful orders. Hegseth said the censure — by itself simply a formal letter with little practical consequence —...
Calls for restraint, condemnation: World leaders react to U.S. action in Venezuela
The overnight attacks in Venezuela and the subsequent capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in a U.S. military operation on Saturday triggered sharp international reactions, ranging from European Union calls for de-escalation to condemnations from some of Latin America’s most outspoken leaders, who described the use of force...
Wisconsin judge convicted of obstructing arrest of immigrant resigns as GOP threatens impeachment
Embattled Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan, who was convicted of obstruction last month for helping an immigrant evade federal officers, has sent her resignation letter to the governor. The letter was sent Saturday. Republicans had been making plans to impeach her ever since her Dec. 19 conviction. A spokesperson for Gov....
U.S. plans to ‘run’ Venezuela and tap its oil reserves, Trump says, after operation to oust Maduro
CARACAS, Venezuela — Hours after an audacious military operation that plucked leader Nicolás Maduro from power and removed him from the country, President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States would run Venezuela at least temporarily and tap its vast oil reserves to sell to other nations. The dramatic...
Japan says Trump has invited its leader to the U.S. It comes as ties with China are strained
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump invited Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during a phone call Friday to visit the United States this year, the Japanese foreign ministry said, in what would be the ultraconservative leader’s first trip to the U.S. since taking office in October. The White House is yet...
Trump delays increased tariffs on upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets and vanities for a year
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed a New Year’s Eve proclamation delaying increased tariffs on upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets and vanities for a year, citing ongoing trade talks. Trump’s order signed Wednesday keeps in place a 25% tariff he imposed in September on those goods, but delays for another year...
Farmers can now learn how much aid they will get from the Trump administration
OMAHA, Neb. — Farmers are now learning how much aid they can expect to receive from a $12 billion package that President Donald Trump announced earlier this month. The U.S. Department of Agriculture released the figures Wednesday for how much aid per acre farmers can plan on for each row...
Trump, in interview, defends his energy and health, offers new details on screening he underwent
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump defended his energy and health in an interview with The Wall Street Journal and disclosed that he had a CT scan, not an MRI scan, during an October examination about which he and the White House delayed offering details. Trump, in the interview, said he...
Zohran Mamdani promises to govern ‘expansively and audaciously’ in inaugural speech as NYC mayor
NEW YORK — Zohran Mamdani became mayor of New York City on Thursday, taking over one of the most unrelenting jobs in American politics with a promise to transform government on behalf of the city’s striving, struggling working class. Mamdani, a Democrat, was sworn in at a decommissioned subway station...
