Politics Election category, Page 40
Trump urges senators to get his big tax bill done by July 4
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump wants his “big, beautiful” bill of tax breaks and spending cuts on his desk to be signed into law by the Fourth of July, and he’s pushing the slow-rolling Senate to make it happen sooner rather than later. Trump met with Senate Majority Leader John...
John Fetterman loses another top staffer in Senate office
Another top aide is leaving U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s staff. The departure of chief of staff Krysta Sinclair Juris, first reported by Axios, is the latest in a string of departures from the Braddock Democrat’s office staff. “I’m grateful for Krysta’s work. She’s been an invaluable member of the team...
Trump formally asks Congress to claw back approved spending targeted by DOGE
WASHINGTON — The White House on Tuesday officially asked Congress to claw back $9.4 billion in already approved spending, taking funding away from programs targeted by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. It’s a process known as “rescission,” which requires President Donald Trump to get approval from Congress to return...
Elon Musk slams Trump’s big tax bill as ‘abomination’
WASHINGTON — Elon Musk blasted President Donald Trump’s“big, beautiful bill” of tax breaks and spending cuts as a “disgusting abomination” on Tuesday, testing the limits of his political influence as he targeted the centerpiece of Republicans’ legislative agenda. The broadside, which Musk issued on his social media platform X, came...
Federal uncertainty complicates Pa. budget haggling over transit, education
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. HARRISBURG — Competing priorities and possible federal cuts to Medicaid are complicating negotiations as top Pennsylvania lawmakers attempt to hammer out a budget deal by...
Republican push for proof of citizenship to vote proves a tough sell in the states
AUSTIN, Texas — President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans have made it a priority this year to require people to prove citizenship before they can register to vote. Turning that aspiration into reality has proved difficult. Trump’s executive order directing a documentary, proof-of-citizenship requirement for federal elections has been blocked...
Former Homeland Security official fights back against Trump’s ‘unprecedented’ investigation order
WASHINGTON — A former Homeland Security official during President Donald Trump’s first administration who authored an anonymous op-ed sharply critical of the president is calling on independent government watchdogs to investigate after Trump ordered the department to look into his government service. Miles Taylor, once chief of staff at the...
Fetterman, McCormick find common ground on many issues, split on budget plan
U.S. Sens. John Fetterman and Dave McCormick have found common ground on a number of key issues during their first five months working together in Washington, but they acknowledge it’s unlikely they’ll agree on President Trump’s budget plan. Fetterman, D-Braddock, and McCormick, R-Pittsburgh, appeared together Monday at a forum in...
Can Trump fix the national debt? Republican senators, many investors and even Elon Musk have doubts
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump faces the challenge of convincing Republican senators, global investors, voters and even Elon Musk that he won’t bury the federal government in debt with his multitrillion-dollar tax breaks package. The response so far from financial markets has been skeptical as Trump seems unable to trim...
Musk put a spotlight on federal spending, but cut less than he wanted
Elon Musk’s effort to dramatically cut government spending is expected to fall far short of his grand early pronouncements, and perhaps even his most modest goals. It didn’t have to be that way. According to experts across the ideological spectrum, a major problem was a failure to deploy people who...
Ernst draws groans at Iowa town hall after retort on Medicaid cuts, saying ‘we all are going to die’
DES MOINES, Iowa — Republican Sen. Joni Ernst was met with shouts and groans when she said “we all are going to die” as she addressed potential changes to Medicaid eligibility at a town hall in north-central Iowa on Friday. She had been consistent in her message throughout the contentious...
Appeals court keeps block on Trump administration’s downsizing of the federal workforce
SAN FRANCISCO — An appeals court on Friday refused to freeze a California-based judge’s order halting the Trump administration from downsizing the federal workforce, which means that the Department of Government Efficiency-led cuts remain on pause for now. A split three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals...
CMU, Pitt students speak out as Chinese student visas are threatened
Mia Cody fears that the diverse student environment she has grown to love in her two years at Carnegie Mellon University is under threat. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that the Trump administration will aggressively revoke the visas of some Chinese students studying at colleges and universities throughout...
At Pittsburgh rally, Trump promises to raise tariffs on imported steel, praises U.S. Steel deal
President Donald Trump’s rally Friday inside the U.S. Steel Irvin Works facility marked a victory lap for supporters of the company’s $14 billion partnership with Nippon Steel, and the president himself, who told hundreds of steel workers, “I was watching over you.” Live look at the crowd gathered at the...
Trump returns to Western Pa. to champion deal involving U.S. Steel, Nippon Steel
President Donald Trump is returning to Western Pennsylvania on Friday to champion what he has described as a $14 billion partnership between U.S. Steel and Japan’s Nippon Steel. Trump promised a “BIG rally” last week in a Truth Social post announcing the agreement between the Pittsburgh-based company and Japan’s largest...
White House acknowledges problems in RFK Jr.’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ report
WASHINGTON — The White House will fix errors in a much-anticipated federal government report spearheaded by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., which decried America’s food supply, pesticides and prescription drugs. Kennedy’s wide-ranging “Make America Healthy Again” report, released last week, cited hundreds of studies, but...
Federal job seekers will be quizzed on Trump’s executive orders
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is adding four essay questions to applications for civil service jobs, asking applicants about their favorite executive orders and their commitment to government efficiency. The essay requirements apply even to relatively lower-level jobs starting at the GS-5 pay scale or above — positions that can...
Already numb to tariff twists, U.S. importers see legal decisions as another price of doing business
NEW YORK — Businesses rattled by President Donald Trump’s on again, off again tariffs absorbed more jolts on Thursday after a U.S. appeals court temporarily blocked a federal court order that would have halted most of his taxes on foreign imports. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of International...
Appeals court allows Trump to continue collecting tariffs under an emergency powers law for now
WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court on Thursday allowed President Donald Trump to continue collecting tariffs under an emergency powers law for now, as his administration appeals an order striking down the bulk of his signature set of economic policies. The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit granted an...
U.S. academic partnership with China, under strain for years, faces its biggest threat
HONG KONG — Frayed by tariff wars and political battles, the academic ties between the U.S. and China are now facing their greatest threat yet as the Trump administration promises to revoke visas for an unknown number of Chinese students and tighten future visa screening. In a brief statement Wednesday,...
Harvard holds commencement amid Trump funding cuts, threats to international students
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Harvard University is holding its commencement Thursday at a pivotal moment, when its place as one of the world’s leading higher education institutions is under what increasingly seems like existential threats from the Trump administration. Other schools face the loss of federal funding and their ability to...
JD Vance urges crypto industry to stay involved in politics as he touts Trump administration’s recordVideo
Vice President JD Vance praised the cryptocurrency industry Wednesday and urged it to remain active in U.S. politics and policymaking, highlighting the Trump administration’s close ties to a deep-pocketed industry that’s become a powerful force in Washington. Speaking at a bitcoin conference in Las Vegas, Vance urged the crypto executives...
Trump bristles at ‘TACO’ trade that bets on him backing downVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump bristled at suggestions that Wall Street believes he’s ultimately unwilling to follow through on extreme tariff threats, saying his repeated retreats are instead part of a strategy to exert trade concessions. “It’s called negotiation,” Trump said Wednesday, adding that he intentionally would “set a number...
Elon Musk leaving the Trump administration after criticizing president’s ‘big beautiful bill’Video
WASHINGTON — Elon Musk is leaving his government role as a top adviser to President Donald Trump after spearheading efforts to reduce and overhaul the federal bureaucracy. The billionaire entrepreneur posted Wednesday about his decision on X, his social media website. “As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee...
Trump’s campaign against law firms dealt another setback as judge blocks executive order
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s campaign against the legal profession hit another setback Tuesday as a federal judge struck down an executive order that sought to sanction one of the country’s most prestigious law firms. The ruling in favor of WilmerHale marks the third time this month that a federal...
