Politics Election category, Page 44
Iran and U.S. envoys hold 1st negotiation — face to face — over Tehran’s nuclear program
MUSCAT, Oman — Iran and the United States will hold more negotiations next week over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program, Iranian state television reported Saturday at the end of the first round of talks between the two countries since President Donald Trump returned to the White House. American officials offered...
Trump proclaims himself ‘in good shape,’ but the results of his physical aren’t immediately released
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump had an annual physical on Friday and concluded, “I did well,” praising his own heart, soul and cognitive ability while noting medical reports from White House doctors may not be ready until the weekend. The 78-year-old, who in January became the oldest in U.S. history...
Trump wants Congress to end changing of clocks and keep country on daylight saving time
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday urged Congress to “push hard for more Daylight at the end of a day” in his latest dig at the semiannual changing of clocks. Trump, in a post on his Truth Social media network, said it would be “Very popular and, most importantly,...
Trump reaches deals with 5 law firms, allowing them to avoid prospect of punishing executive orders
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced deals Friday with five law firms that will allow them to avoid the prospect of a punishing executive order and require them to together provide hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of free legal services for causes his administration supports. The resolutions reflect the...
Emails between Pa. lawmakers, lobbyists will remain hidden from public after court ruling
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 — Emails and other communications between Pennsylvania lawmakers and the lobbyists who try to influence them will remain hidden from the public, an appellate...
Sen. Dave McCormick joins Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick in calling for term limits for members of Congress
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick has joined forces with U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick in calling for changes to the Constitution to impose term limits on members of Congress — a concept that continues to be an off-and-on debate on Capitol Hill. McCormick’s resolution, introduced Thursday, proposes capping term limits...
Senate confirms Trump nominee Caine for chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff in overnight vote
WASHINGTON — The Senate confirmed retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine to become the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Friday, filling the position almost two months after President Donald Trump fired his predecessor. Trump nominated Caine to become the top U.S. military officer in...
Trump nominee for public lands post withdraws after her criticism of Jan. 6 attack surfaces
BILLINGS, Mont. — President Donald Trump’s nominee to oversee an agency that manages a quarter-billion acres of public land has withdrawn her nomination following revelations that she criticized the Republican president in 2021 for inciting the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The withdrawal of Kathleen Sgamma to lead...
House approves budget framework for Trump’s ‘big’ bill after intense wrangling sways GOP holdouts
WASHINGTON — House Republicans narrowly approved their budget framework Thursday, a political turnaround after Speaker Mike Johnson worked into the night to satisfy GOP holdouts who had refused to advance trillions of dollars in tax breaks without deeper spending cuts. Johnson stood with Senate Majority Leader John Thune early in...
Uncertainty still abounds for Western Pa. businesses, consumers despite tariffs pause
Many consumers and business owners across Western Pennsylvania responded Wednesday with a sense of relief to President Trump’s decision to pause most of his hefty reciprocal tariffs on imported goods — and the stock market responded with historic gains. But the 90-day pause doesn’t apply to China, one of the...
Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity seriously eyeing run for governor as the GOP race for 2026 heats up
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity is seriously considering a run for governor in 2026, as the GOP race to challenge Gov. Josh Shapiro heats up. Garrity, who replaced Shapiro as Pennsylvania’s top vote-getter in history when she won reelection last year, has been a leading prospect for Republican insiders...
Pa. House passes pension increase for oldest retired teachers, state government workers
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives has again passed a bill that would give a cost-of-living raise to roughly 59,000 retired teachers and state employees whose pension benefits have been held flat since 2002. The issue is one of the many idiosyncrasies of the State Employees Retirement System (SERS) and the...
Trump targets ‘Anonymous’ author and former top cybersecurity official in escalation of retributionVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump intensified his efforts to punish his critics by signing a pair of memoranda directing the Justice Department to investigate two officials from his first administration and stripping them of any security clearances they may have. Trump’s targeting of Miles Taylor, a former Department of Homeland...
Some House Republicans threaten Trump’s ‘big, beautiful’ budget and tax cut bill ahead of floor vote
WASHINGTON — Despite a shove from President Donald Trump, House Republicans abruptly postponed a vote late Wednesday on their budget framework, unable to convince conservative GOP holdouts who had raised grave misgivings over allowing trillions of dollars in tax breaks without deeper spending cuts. Speaker Mike Johnson almost dared the...
‘I only have a semester left’: Carnegie Mellon student among those whose visas were terminated
Jayson Ma received the same email as everyone else at Carnegie Mellon University on Monday afternoon. The message, sent by the provost, announced the federal government had terminated the visas for two of Carnegie Mellon’s current international students, making them ineligible to continue studying in the United States. “I was...
Trump limits tariffs on most nations for 90 days, raises taxes on Chinese imports
WASHINGTON — Facing a global market meltdown, President Donald Trump on Wednesday abruptly backed off his tariffs on most nations for 90 days even as he further jacked up the tax rate on Chinese imports to 125%. It was seemingly an attempt to narrow what had been an unprecedented trade...
Michigan Democratic Gov. Whitmer strays from her party in moving closer to Trump
LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer delivered a speech emphasizing points of agreement with President Donald Trump on economic policy, just hours before their scheduled meeting — a reflection of the high-profile Democrat’s more diplomatic approach toward the president as her party ramps up its attacks on him. Framed...
Fetterman writes column on importance of weight loss drugs
U.S. Sen. John Fetterman says there is a drug on the market that has changed his life: Mounjaro. The drug, generally prescribed for Type 2 diabetes and weight loss, has also been touted for its heart health benefits. Fetterman suffered a stroke in May 2022. In a New York Times...
Republicans are going public with their growing worries about Trump’s tariffs
WASHINGTON — Manufacturers struggling to make long-term plans. Farmers facing retaliation from Chinese buyers. U.S. households burdened with higher prices. Republican senators are confronting the Trump administration with those worries and many more as they fret about the economic impact of the president’s sweeping tariff strategy that went into effect...
AP wins reinstatement to White House events after judge rules government can’t restrict its journalists
A federal judge ordered the White House on Tuesday to restore The Associated Press’ full access to cover presidential events, ruling on a case that touched at the heart of the First Amendment and affirming that the government cannot punish the news organization for the content of its speech. U.S.....
Democrats already planning for 2026 and think they can flip these 4 Pa. congressional seats
House Democrats have their eyes on four Pennsylvania congressional districts in 2026 — two they hope to regain and two they’ve been trying to win for years. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee told The Inquirer it is focusing its midterm attention on longtime U.S. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Bucks County...
Trump’s new insult ‘Panican’ becomes part of tariff debate
Fresh from Donald Trump’s insult factory is a new word: Panican. Trump unveiled the linguistic invention Monday in social media posts calling out those critical of his newly imposed tariffs. “The United States has a chance to do something that should have been done DECADES AGO. Don’t be Weak! Don’t...
U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick on Trump tariffs: ‘Let’s give it a little time’
U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick said Monday after touring an East Pittsburgh manufacturing facility that it’s too soon to pass judgment on the sweeping tariffs imposed last week by President Donald Trump. “There’s a lot of uncertainty (over the tariffs) right now. I think over the coming days and weeks a...
Trump threatens more tariffs on China as global markets plungeVideo
WASHINGTON — Undeterred by a stock market collapse that has continued for days, President Donald Trump threatened additional tariffs on China on Monday, raising fresh concerns that his drive to rebalance the global economy could intensify a financially destructive trade war. Trump’s threat, which he delivered on social media, came...
Tentative deal reached in Republican fight over proxy voting for new parents
WASHINGTON — A tentative deal has been reached with the Florida Republican leading a bipartisan push to allow proxy voting in the U.S. House for new parents, potentially ending a standoff that halted legislative work for days and threatened to delay a vote this week to advance President Donald Trump’s...
