Politics Election category, Page 60
Democrats drawing closer to the crypto industry despite Trump divisions
WASHINGTON — As President Donald Trump builds a crypto empire — including hosting a private dinner with top investors at his golf club — Democrats have united in condemning what they call blatant corruption from the White House. But the Democratic Party’s own relationship with the emerging crypto industry is...
Southern Baptists target porn, sports betting, same-sex marriage and ‘willful childlessness’
Southern Baptists meeting this week in Dallas will be asked to approve resolutions calling for a legal ban on pornography and a reversal of the U.S. Supreme Court’s approval of same-sex marriage. The proposed resolutions call for laws on gender, marriage and family based on what they say is the...
The 911 presidency: Trump flexes emergency powers in his 2nd term
WASHINGTON — Call it the 911 presidency. Despite insisting that the United States is rebounding from calamity under his watch, President Donald Trump is harnessing emergency powers unlike any of his predecessors. Whether it’s leveling punishing tariffs, deploying troops to the border or sidelining environmental regulations, Trump has relied on...
Trump says Elon Musk could face ‘serious consequences’ if he backs Democratic candidates
BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — President Donald Trump is not backing off his battle with Elon Musk, saying Saturday that he has no desire to repair their relationship and warning that his former ally and campaign benefactor could face “serious consequences” if he tries to help Democrats in upcoming elections. Trump told...
DOGE employees can search Social Security records, Supreme Court says
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court cleared the way Friday for the DOGE team that had been led by Elon Musk to examine Social Security records that include personal information on most Americans. Acting by a 6-3 vote, the justices granted an appeal from President Donald Trump’s lawyers and lifted a...
Republican rift: Pittsburgh, Allegheny County GOP refuse to back Moreno for mayor
Two of Southwestern Pennsylvania’s largest Republican committees are refusing to back Tony Moreno, the GOP nominee for Pittsburgh mayor, as part of a widening split with a fractious candidate they view with suspicion and distress. The heads of the Pittsburgh and Allegheny County GOP committees told TribLive on Friday they...
Epstein attorney slams Musk’s claim that Trump is ‘in the Epstein files’
A defense attorney who worked with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein claims his former client provided no information that would implicate President Donald Trump in any illegal activity. Epstein, who hanged himself at Manhattan’s Metropolitan Correctional Center in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges, was known to party...
Trump looks to sell Tesla after feud with Musk
It was a costly spat. As President Donald Trump and Elon Musk feuded on social media Thursday afternoon, shares of Musk’s Tesla Inc. plummeted more than 14% — erasing $150 billion of the electric vehicle maker’s value. Investors weren’t the only ones looking to dump Tesla. Trump is looking to...
Senate Republicans revise ban on state AI regulations in bid to preserve controversial provision
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans have made changes to their party’s sweeping tax bill in hopes of preserving a new policy that would prevent states from regulating artificial intelligence for a decade. In legislative text unveiled Thursday night, Senate Republicans proposed denying states federal funding for broadband projects if they regulate...
Elon Musk pulls back on threat to withdraw Dragon spacecraft
As President Donald Trump and Elon Musk argued on social media on Thursday, the world’s richest man threatened to decommission a space capsule used to take astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station. A few hours later, Musk said he wouldn’t follow through on the threat. After Trump threatened...
Ex-WH press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre left the Democratic Party, publisher of her new book says
Former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has a book out this fall that promises a close look at President Biden’s decision not to run for reelection and calls for thinking beyond the two-party system. Jean-Pierre herself has switched her affiliation to independent after working in two Democratic administrations, according...
The implosion of a powerful political alliance: Trump and Musk in their own words
Last Friday, President Donald Trump heaped praise on Elon Musk as the tech billionaire prepared to leave his unorthodox White House job. Less than a week later, their potent political alliance met a dramatic end Thursday when the men attacked each other with blistering epithets. Trump threatened to go after...
Trump and Musk’s relationship flames out just as intensely and publicly as it startedVideo
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s alliance took off like one of SpaceX’s rockets. It was supercharged and soared high. And then it blew up. The spectacular flameout Thursday hit a crescendo when Trump threatened to cut Musk’s government contracts and Musk said without providing evidence that Trump’s administration...
Trump suggests Biden aides acted without then-president’s knowledge — but says he has no evidence
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump alleged Thursday that officials in Joe Biden ‘s administration might have in effect forged their boss’s signature and taken broad actions he wasn’t aware of — while acknowledging he had no evidence that actually happened. Meeting in the Oval Office with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz,...
Trump EPA moves to roll back rules projected to save billions of dollars and thousands of lives
When the head of the Environmental Protection Agency announced a wide-ranging rollback of environmental regulations, he said it would put a “dagger through the heart of climate-change religion” and introduce a “Golden Age” for the American economy. What Lee Zeldin didn’t mention: how ending the rules could have devastating consequences...
San Francisco leaders blast Trump for trying to erase gay rights icon Harvey Milk’s name from ship
SAN FRANCISCO — Leaders in San Francisco are blasting the Trump administration for stripping the name of gay rights activist Harvey Milk from a U.S. naval ship, and especially during Pride Month, when people gather to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community. Milk is a revered figure in San Francisco history, a...
Trump orders investigation into Biden’s actions as president, ratcheting up targeting of predecessor
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday directed his administration to investigate Joe Biden’s actions as president, alleging aides masked his predecessor’s “cognitive decline” and casting doubts on the legitimacy of his use of the autopen to sign pardons and other documents. The order marked a significant escalation in Trump’s...
Summer Lee grills U.S. Education secretary on DEI policiesVideo
U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, grilled Education Secretary Linda McMahon over her department’s DEI policies and accused the Trump administration of trying to rewrite history on Wednesday during a congressional hearing. During a tense exchange, McMahon refused to give a “yes” or “no” answer when asked if teaching students that...
Judge tosses Democratic committees’ lawsuit over the Federal Election Commission’s independence
WASHINGTON — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to block President Donald Trump’s administration from implementing an executive order that Democratic Party officials claim could undermine the independence of the Federal Election Commission. U.S. District Judge Amir H. Ali in Washington ruled late Tuesday that there’s insufficient...
Trump tax bill will add $2.4 trillion to the deficit and leave 10.9 million more uninsured, CBO says
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s big bill making its way through Congress will cut taxes by $3.75 trillion but also increase deficits by $2.4 trillion over the next decade, according to an analysis released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The CBO also estimates an increase of 10.9 million...
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...
