Politics Election category, Page 161
Supreme Court opened the door to states’ voting restrictions
ATLANTA — Within hours of a U.S. Supreme Court decision dismantling a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, Texas lawmakers announced plans to implement a strict voter ID law that had been blocked by a federal court. Lawmakers in Alabama said they would press forward with a similar law...
New Hampshire Gov. Sununu rules out 2024 presidential bid, warns that crowded GOP field helps TrumpVideo
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said Monday that he will not seek the presidency in 2024, arguing that Republican candidates with “no path to victory must have the courage to get out” of their party’s increasingly crowded primary to stop former President Donald Trump. The 48-year-old governor, who has emerged...
Allegheny County passes campaign finance law limiting size of individual donations
A law enacted last week will bring campaign finance limits to Allegheny County starting in 2025. Candidates seeking elected office in Allegheny County government now face no limits on how much money people can donate to their campaigns, allowing corporate interests, wealthy people, labor unions and national groups to pour...
Former Vice President Pence files paperwork launching 2024 presidential bid in challenge to Trump
NEW YORK — Former Vice President Mike Pence filed paperwork on Monday declaring his campaign for president in 2024, setting up a challenge to his former boss, Donald Trump, just two years after their time in the White House ended with an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and Pence fleeing...
Pa. budget 2023: Your guide to what’s on the table, what comes next and how to follow along
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — June is budget negotiation month in Pennsylvania, when state lawmakers decide how to direct billions of tax dollars and...
Biden’s 2024 pitch highlights pragmatism over Trump’s pugilism
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden promised voters in 2020 that he knew how to get things done in Washington and could bring stability to the capital. It seemed like a message out of step with the more combative era brought on by Donald Trump. But Biden prevailed, by more than...
DeSantis hits Trump from the right while the ex-president looks ahead to the general election
NEW YORK — In his first week on the campaign trail as a presidential candidate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis repeatedly hit his chief rival, Donald Trump, from the right. “This is a different guy than 2015, 2016,” DeSantis told a conservative radio host before slamming the bipartisan criminal justice reform...
Western Pa.’s Fetterman, Lee explain votes against debt ceiling bill
Western Pennsylvania’s U.S. Sen. John Fetterman and U.S. Rep. Summer Lee were among lawmakers in Washington to vote against the debt ceiling and budget cuts package after weeks of tense negotiations. The compromise package negotiated between President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy restricts spending for the next two years,...
Justice Department says it won’t charge Mike Pence over handling of classified documents
NEW YORK — The Department of Justice has informed former Vice President Mike Pence ‘s legal team that it will not pursue criminal charges related to the discovery of classified documents at his Indiana home. The department sent a letter to Pence’s attorney on Thursday informing him that, after an...
Just days to spare, Senate gives final approval to debt ceiling deal, sending it to BidenVideo
WASHINGTON — Fending off a U.S. default, the Senate gave final approval late Thursday to a debt ceiling and budget cuts package, grinding into the night to wrap up work on the bipartisan deal and send it to President Joe Biden’s desk to become law before the fast-approaching deadline. The...
NATO presses Turkey to approve Sweden’s membership, eyes Ukraine security framework as summit looms
OSLO, Norway — NATO on Thursday ramped up pressure on member nation Turkey to drop its objections to Sweden’s membership as the military organization seeks to deal with the issue by the time U.S. President Joe Biden and his counterparts meet next month. The 31-member alliance is also looking at...
North Korean leader’s sister says U.S. hypocritical for criticizing failed satellite launchVideo
SEOUL, South Korea — The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Thursday accused the United States of “gangster-like” hypocrisy for criticizing her country’s failed launch of a military spy satellite and insisted a successful launch will be made soon. Kim Yo Jong said North Korea’s efforts...
Grand jury charges ex-GOP candidate with election interference in shootings at lawmakers’ homes
SANTA FE, N.M. — A failed political candidate has been indicted on federal charges including election interference in connection with a series of drive-by shootings at the homes of state and local lawmakers in Albuquerque, according to a grand jury indictment that was unsealed Wednesday. The indictment filed in U.S....
GOP walkout in Oregon Senate hits 4th week; uncertain if boycotters will be sanctioned
SALEM, Ore. — The longest-ever walkout in the Oregon Legislature reached its fourth week on Wednesday as the enforceability of a ballot measure that would disqualify the boycotters from immediate reelection appeared in doubt. Senate President Rob Wagner once again tried on Wednesday to convene the Senate, which last met...
Oklahoma high court strikes down 2 abortion bans; procedure remains illegal in most cases
OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that two state laws banning abortion are unconstitutional, but the procedure remains illegal in the state in nearly all cases except life-threatening situations. In a 6-3 ruling, the high court said the two bans are unconstitutional because they require a...
Coal firms owned by family of West Virginia governor sued over unpaid penalties
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Thirteen coal companies owned by the family of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice are being sued over unpaid penalties for previous mining law violations that the federal government says pose health and safety risks or threaten environmental harm. Justice, who was not named in the lawsuit, accused...
Chris Stewart, 6-term Utah Republican, resigning from Congress
SALT LAKE CITY — U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart on Wednesday announced plans to resign his Utah seat due to his wife’s illness, triggering a special election to replace him in a reliably Republican district. “I can say with pride that I have been an effective leader for my beloved home...
House OKs debt ceiling bill to avoid default, sends Biden-McCarthy deal to Senate
WASHINGTON — Veering away from a default crisis, the House approved a debt ceiling and budget cuts package late Wednesday, as President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy assembled a bipartisan coalition of centrist Democrats and Republicans against fierce conservative blowback and progressive dissent. The hard-fought deal pleased few, but...
Kevin McCarthy floats contempt for FBI director over document requestVideo
WASHINGTON — Speaker Kevin McCarthy threatened Tuesday to seek to hold the head of the FBI in contempt of Congress if the agency didn’t comply with a congressional subpoena issued after lawmakers received “whistleblower disclosures” related to President Joe Biden. The comments came hours before the head of the House...
Trump takes aim at birthright U.S. citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants
Former President Trump Tuesday vowed to deny citizenship to children of undocumented immigrants who are born in the U.S. if he wins reelection next year. Although anyone born in the U.S. is guaranteed citizenship by the 14th Amendment, Trump declared he would end birthright citizenship as a priority if he...
Republican Rep. Chris Stewart of Utah planning to resign, report says
WASHINGTON — Rep. Chris Stewart, a Republican from Utah, plans to resign from Congress, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. The newspaper report, citing multiple unnamed sources, said Stewart plans to step down as early as this week due to undisclosed health issues experienced by his wife, Evie Stewart. He...
Why Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment fight isn’t finished yet
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Legislature already made one historic move with its impeachment of Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton. Another one is coming. The GOP-led House of Representatives on Saturday approved 20 articles of impeachment on sweeping allegations of wrongdoing that have trailed the state’s top lawyer for...
Christie allies launch super PAC ahead of expected 2024 campaign for the GOP presidential nomination
NEW YORK — Allies of former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie have launched a new super PAC to support his expected candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination. Christie has painted himself as the only potential candidate willing to directly take on former President Donald Trump, who is currently leading the...
One justice explained absence from case. Another didn’t. Ethics questions vexing Supreme Court
WASHINGTON — One Supreme Court justice explained her absence from a case. One justice didn’t. The difference shows how difficult forging consensus over even small steps on ethics can be at the Supreme Court, which is facing new calls to adopt an ethics code following revelations about undisclosed gifts from...
Texas state Sen. Angela Paxton could vote in trial on husband’s impeachment
AUSTIN, Texas — On the way to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton becoming a rising figure in the GOP, his wife, Angela, used to entertain crowds with a guitar and a song. “I’m a pistol-packin’ mama, and my husband sues Obama,” she sang at campaign events and Republican clubs in...
