Politics Election category, Page 23
Police escort Texas Democrats to prevent new redistricting walkout as California moves to retaliate
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Democrats who ended a walkout found themselves shadowed by law enforcement officers to keep them from repeating the protest that stalled Republican efforts to redraw congressional districts and fulfill President Donald Trump’s desire to reshape U.S. House maps. Republicans in the Texas House forced returning Democrats...
Trump vows to change how elections are run. The U.S. Constitution doesn’t give him that power
President Donald Trump on Monday vowed more changes to the way elections are conducted in the U.S., but based on the Constitution there is little to nothing he can do on his own. Relying on false information and conspiracy theories that he’s regularly used to explain away his 2020 election...
What to know about Zelenskyy’s meeting with Trump
President Donald Trump is set to host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders at the White House on Monday to discuss how to end Russia’s three-year war in Ukraine. Months of U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting haven’t made headway, but the stakes have risen since Trump met...
Pa. Senate leaders look to skill games tax as transit funding debate continues
The highest-ranking Republican in the state Senate described the looming service cuts and fare hikes at Pennsylvania’s largest transit agency as a “manufactured crisis” that doesn’t need to happen. “This is (the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority) wanting exactly what they want and holding everyone hostage,” said Senate President Pro Tempore...
In Trump’s redistricting push, Democrats find an aggressive identity and progressives are on board
ATLANTA — Fight! Fight! Fight! It’s not just Donald Trump’s mantra anymore. As the Republican president pushes states to redraw their congressional districts to the GOP’s advantage, Democrats have shown they are willing to go beyond words of outrage and use whatever power they do have to win. Democrats in...
Summit puts Putin back on the global stage and Trump echoes a Kremlin position
In Alaska, President Vladimir Putin walked on a red carpet, shook hands and exchanged smiles with his American counterpart. Donald Trump ended the summit praising their relationship and calling Russia “a big power … No. 2 in the world,” albeit admitting they didn’t reach a deal on ending the war...
Trump tax law could cause Medicare cuts if Congress doesn’t act, CBO says
WASHINGTON — The federal budget deficits caused by President Donald Trump’s tax and spending law could trigger automatic cuts to Medicare if Congress does not act, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported Friday. The CBO estimates that Medicare, the federal health insurance program for Americans over age 65, could potentially...
D.C. sues to block Trump’s federal takeover of its police department as intervention intensifies
WASHINGTON — The nation’s capital sued to block President Donald Trump’s takeover of its police department in court on Friday, hours after his administration escalated its intervention into the city’s law enforcement by naming a federal official as the new emergency head of the department. Washington’s police department chief said...
California pushes left, Texas to the right, with U.S. House control and Trump agenda in play
LOS ANGELES — A political standoff in Texas over proposed House maps that could hand Republicans five new seats is poised to enter a new phase Friday, while heavily Democratic California plans to release its own new maps intended to erase all but a sprinkle of the state’s GOP House...
GOP plans to address budget impasse, transit shot down in Democratic-led House committees
A pair of committees in the Democrat-led state House on Wednesday shot down proposals from the GOP-controlled state Senate to end Pennsylvania’s budget impasse and address funding problems at the state’s transit agencies. Now, with the budget impasse standing at 44 days and Pennsylvania’s largest transit agency preparing to begin...
GOP-controlled Pa. Senate advances budget, transit plans
The Republican-controlled Pennsylvania Senate advanced proposals Tuesday to end the state’s budget impasse and address funding problems at transit agencies for the next two years. Both proposals passed along party lines, with all of the chamber’s 27 Republicans voting in favor and the 22 Democrats present opposing. For the measures...
Trump’s nominee to oversee jobs, inflation data faces shower of criticism
WASHINGTON — The director of the agency that produces the nation’s jobs and inflation data is typically a mild-mannered technocrat, often with extensive experience in statistical agencies, with little public profile. But like so much in President Donald Trump’s second administration, this time is different. Trump has selected E.J. Antoni,...
National debt reaches record $37 trillion, the Treasury Department reports
WASHINGTON — The U.S. government’s gross national debt has surpassed $37 trillion, a record number that highlights the accelerating debt on America’s balance sheet and increased cost pressures on taxpayers. The $37 trillion update is found in the latest Treasury Department report issued Tuesday which logs the nation’s daily finances....
Sherrod Brown, Ohio’s highest-profile Democrat, expected to seek a return to U.S. Senate in 2026
COLUMBUS — Former U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, Ohio’s best-known Democrat, is expected to make another run for the U.S. Senate next year, giving Democrats a likely boost as they wage an uphill fight to win control of the chamber. Brown has not yet made a formal announcement, but people familiar...
DeSantis picks state Sen. Jay Collins to be Florida’s lieutenant governor
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis tapped Republican state Sen. Jay Collins to be his next lieutenant governor Tuesday. It’s a closely watched appointment by the two-term governor, who can’t run for reelection in 2026 and has been working to cement his legacy as his time leading the state...
EU leaders urge Trump to defend Europe’s security interests at his upcoming summit with Putin
BRUSSELS — European Union leaders appealed on Tuesday to U.S. President Donald Trump to defend their security interests at a key summit with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin later this week over the war in Ukraine. Putin appeared to be on the verge of making a key territorial grab ahead...
Trump weighs taking steps to decriminalize marijuana
President Donald Trump on Monday said his administration is considering rescheduling marijuana on the federal level, a move that would amount to a big step toward decriminalization of weed nationwide. Acknowledging potential divisions over the step, Trump said he will likely decide in coming weeks whether to reduce the official...
CBO: Trump’s tax law will mostly benefit the rich, while leaving poorer Americans with less
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s tax and spending law will result in less income for the poorest Americans while sending money to the richest, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported Monday. The CBO estimates that the 10% of poorest Americans will lose roughly $1,200 a year as they experience restrictions...
Pa. House passes transit funding bill, but critics give it little chance of advancing in Senate
The Democratic-controlled state House voted Monday to pass a transit funding bill, with support from several Republicans, that the legislation’s prime sponsor said could help stave off sweeping service cuts and fare hikes at Pennsylvania’s two largest transit agencies. “If they become reality, these service cuts will hurt real people,...
Trump says he’s placing Washington police under federal control and activating National GuardVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Monday he’s taking over Washington’s police department and activating 800 members of the National Guard in the hopes of reducing crime, even as city officials stressed crime is already falling in the nation’s capital. The president, flanked by his attorney general, his defense secretary...
Hegseth reposts video on social media featuring pastors saying women shouldn’t be allowed to vote
WASHINGTON — The man who oversees the nation’s military reposted a video about a Christian nationalist church that included various pastors saying women should no longer be allowed to vote. The extraordinary repost on X from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, made Thursday night, illustrates his deep and personal connection to...
Trump administration seeks more Pa. voter information, raises potential legal concerns
This article is made possible through Spotlight PA’s collaboration with Votebeat, a nonpartisan news organization covering local election administration and voting. The U.S. Justice Department is asking Pennsylvania to turn over its complete voter rolls, a request that appears to encompass voters’ personal information, including Social Security and driver’s license...
Hidden talents of Pa. lawmakers: The legislators lurking in episodes of ‘Succession’ and ‘Cheers’
This story first appeared in PA Local, a weekly newsletter by Spotlight PA taking a look at the people, places, and foods that make Pennsylvania so unique. Months before launching his bid for a Schuylkill County state House seat, Tim Twardzik spent an entire day on the set of The...
Harvard scientists say research could be set back years after funding freeze
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Harvard University professor Alberto Ascherio’s research is literally frozen. Collected from millions of U.S. soldiers over two decades using millions of dollars from taxpayers, the epidemiology and nutrition scientist has blood samples stored in liquid nitrogen freezers within the university’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The...
Trump’s redistricting fight mushrooms with Vance in Indiana and Florida joining the fray
INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana — As President Donald Trump ramps up pressure on Republican-run states to redraw congressional boundaries, he has dispatched Vice President JD Vance to Indiana and called for a new federal census — moves reflecting his intent to maximize the GOP’s partisan advantages in coming elections. Separately, a top...
