A private event billed as a dinner and fireside chat featuring U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick and his wife at the Carnegie Museum of Art has generated backlash and raised concerns about the propriety of the museum offering space for such a gathering, which cost $5,000 to attend.

The dinner occurred at the Carnegie Museum of Art on Tuesday after the Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit at Carnegie Mellon University, which was organized by McCormick, a Pittsburgh Republican, and drew President Donald Trump, members of his administration and hundreds of tech, energy and AI leaders.

Carnegie Museums President Steven Knapp sent a letter Wednesday, the day after the summit, acknowledging discomfort among staff related to the dinner.

“A number of you have raised questions or expressed concerns about the event that took place last night in our Oakland facility,” the letter said. “Whatever interpretations of the event may be circulating in social media and elsewhere, Carnegie Museums did not host or endorse the event.”

Knapp said the museum had received assurances the dinner would not be a partisan gathering.

“When the post-summit reception was booked, we were assured both verbally and in writing that this would not be a partisan event or a political fundraiser, and we agreed to book on that understanding,” according to the letter.

Betsy Momich, a spokesperson for the museum, did not respond to a request for a copy of the written assurances.

The Carnegie’s policy prohibits accepting bookings for “partisan political events or fundraisers,” according to the event space booking page of their website as of Tuesday evening.

McCormick’s office did not respond to email and phone messages left by TribLive.

PA Rising

According to the flyer advertising the dinner, the event was linked to a group called PA Rising.

PA Rising is a nonprofit corporation which “works to promote policies that will keep Pennsylvania prosperous for all including growth in energy, manufacturing and small business throughout the Commonwealth,” according to the flyer.

In a statement Thursday night, Anna Rogers Duncan, an adviser to PA Rising, said: “Senator and Mrs. McCormick hosted a personal, private reception for many of the VIPs who attended the summit. Following the reception, there was a separate event and dinner hosted by PA Rising, a non profit 501(c)4 that promotes policies to support working class Pennsylvania families.”

State business records show one nonprofit entity called PA Rising, which was incorporated in December. Its treasurer and “governor” is listed as Joel Jukus. Zachary Wallen, who is listed as the incorporator, has an address in Bethel Park.

A man named Joel Jukus is the president of Right Way Compliance in Harrisburg, a company that assists political campaigns with understanding reporting requirements and regulations.

Its client list includes Republicans in Congress, state Treasurer Stacy Garrity and the Republican Party of Pennsylvania, for which Jukus was a former comptroller, according to his company biography.

“Right Way Compliance is about keeping your campaign on the right side of the ever-shifting reporting requirements,” according to its website. “We’ll keep your finances out of the headlines and your candidate on the stump, undistracted by legal minutia. We are experts in dealing with local, state and federal campaign regulations and have worked on campaigns at all levels.”

Wallen is listed on his firm’s bio as practicing “federal and state political law” and being an active member of the Republican National Lawyers Association.

Neither Jukus nor Wallen could be reached this week for comment.

PA Rising’s name is similar to Pennsylvania Rising, a political action committee that has been linked to McCormick.

The flyer said it was paid for by PA Rising and was not printed at government expense.

‘Marquee’ sponsor

Under the section about attendance and sponsorship information, the flyer lists five tiers of increasing cost. The lowest, “Attendee,” offered priority seating for $5,000. The other tiers increased to $25,000, $100,000, $250,000 and $500,000 for a Marquee Event Sponsor.

That top tier included six tickets to a “private kick-off event,” recognition during programming, priority seating with 24 tickets to the dinner and invitations to upcoming PA Rising dinners.

The response form, to be returned to PA Rising in Washington, D.C., provided instructions to pay by wire or credit card.

Pittsburgh Councilwoman Erika Strassburger, D-Squirrel Hill, who is on the Carnegie Museums’ Board of Trustees, said she was made aware of the event the evening prior “because of concerns from residents and advocates.”

“I have expressed my concerns to museum leadership,” Strassburger told TribLive on Wednesday.

She said she was concerned the event might have violated museum policies but has not received a definitive answer from museum leaders about whether it is classified as a fundraiser or simply a “fireside chat.”

“The museum, I know, is going to try to figure out exactly what it was,” Strassburger said.

On Monday, Indivisible Pittsburgh, a grassroots activist group focused on progressive causes, posted the first page of the flyer on Facebook with the words, “No fundraising for fascists.”

“We were appalled to learn that the Carnegie Museums, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Carnegie Museum of Art are hosting a $5,000 a plate POLITICAL FUNDRAISER for Dave McCormick,” the post said.

The Carnegie Museum’s website contained a note on the page for holding events that said, “Carnegie Museums does not accept bookings for partisan political events or fundraisers, including voter education, registration and get-out-the-vote drives led by partisan groups.”

On Thursday, the page had an error message saying it could not be found.

Staff writer Julia Burdelski contributed to this report.

Clarification: Erika Strassburger is a member of the Carnegie Museums’ Board of Trustees.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)