Politics Election category, Page 3
Congress is debating the possible consequences for ICE and even Noem after Renee Good’s killing
WASHINGTON — The killing of a Minnesota woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer is reverberating across Capitol Hill where Democrats, and certain Republicans, are vowing an assertive response as President Donald Trump’s aggressive deportation operations spark protests nationwide. Lawmakers are demanding a range of actions, from a full...
Rioter convicted for carrying Pelosi’s podium seeks Florida county office
BRADENTON, Fla. — A Florida man who grabbed then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s podium and posed for photographs with it during the U.S. Capitol riot is running for county office. Adam Johnson filed to run as a Republican for an at-large seat on the Manatee County Commission on Tuesday. That was...
Fight for the Right: Is the MAGA movement the future of the GOP?
Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part series examining the changing face of the country’s two major political parties. As former U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney prepared to step away from office in December 2024, he told reporters, “I’m a narrow slice, if you will, of what we used...
Fractures are starting to show in Trump’s GOP at the start of this election year
WASHINGTON — For House Republicans, the political year started with a pep rally of sorts as President Donald Trump gathered them at Washington’s Kennedy Center for a stemwinder of a speech. But by the time lawmakers had completed their first week of work this midterm election year, fractures in the...
Judge blocks Trump’s elections order in lawsuit by vote-by-mail states Oregon and Washington
SEATTLE — A federal judge on Friday blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from enforcing most of his executive order on elections against the vote-by-mail states Washington and Oregon, in the latest blow to Trump’s efforts to require documentary proof of citizenship to vote and to require that all ballots be...
Newsom faces another multibillion-dollar budget shortfall in his last year as California governor
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said the state faces a $2.9 billion budget deficit this year, an amount significantly lower than what legislative budget analysts projected. The deficit, though small, could still require cuts and means the Democratic governor doesn’t have money to advance new programs during...
After delays, missing Jan. 6 plaque will be displayed at the Capitol
WASHINGTON — The Senate has agreed to display a plaque honoring the police who defended the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, rebuffing House Speaker Mike Johnson who has said the commemorative memorial does not comply with the law. The action happened swiftly, with brief debate, in floor action...
House refuses to override Trump vetoes as Republicans stick with president
WASHINGTON — The House refused Thursday to override President Donald Trump’s veto of two low-profile bills as Republicans stuck with the president despite their prior support for the measures. Congress can override a veto with support from two-thirds of the members of the House and the Senate. The threshold is...
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 —...
