Politics Election category, Page 77
Congress returns to unfinished business and a new Trump era
WASHINGTON — Congress returns to a changed Washington as President-elect Donald Trump’s hard-right agenda is quickly taking shape, buoyed by eager Republican allies eyeing a full sweep of power on Capitol Hill while Democrats are sorting out what went wrong. Even as final election results are still being tallied, the...
Trump planning to choose Marco Rubio to lead State Department in historic first
President-elect Donald Trump plans to tap U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio as his secretary of state, making him the first Latino to helm the State Department, according to a source familiar with the plans. Trump’s selection of Rubio, born in Miami to Cuban parents, is expected to assuage fears among GOP...
McCormick to go to Washington for Senate orientation over Schumer objections
Republican Dave McCormick said Monday he is off to Washington, D.C. for freshman orientation at the U.S. Senate, even as the chamber’s Democratic leaders are withholding an invitation while waiting for the remaining votes to be counted in Pennsylvania. The Associated Press Friday declared McCormick the winner in an upset...
How did Pa. Dems keep the state House during a red wave? Meet Frank Burns
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. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania House Democrats have clung to their one-vote majority despite a statewide wave of GOP wins that...
Biden and Harris are appearing together for the first time since she lost the election to Trump
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday made their first joint appearance since her election loss when they observed Veterans Day together by laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. Biden honored the service and sacrifice of America’s...
Trump names Lee Zeldin to lead EPA, Stephen Miller to be deputy chief of policy
NEW YORK — President-elect Donald Trump on Monday named former Rep. Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency as he continues to build out his future administration with loyal supporters. Trump, in a statement, said Zeldin, who mounted a failed bid for governor of New York in 2022, would...
Trump chooses New York Rep. Elise Stefanik as ambassador to United Nations
NEW YORK — President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Rep. Elise Stefanik to serve as his ambassador to the United Nations. “Elise is an incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter,” Trump said in a statement Monday announcing his pick. Stefanik, 40, who serves as House Republican Conference Chair, has...
Will Trump’s hush money conviction stand? A judge will rule on the president-elect’s immunity claim
NEW YORK — A gut punch for most defendants, Donald Trump turned his criminal conviction into a rallying cry. His supporters put “I’m Voting for the Felon” on T-shirts, hats and lawn signs. “The real verdict is going to be Nov. 5 by the people,” Trump proclaimed after his conviction...
Trump on Day 1: Begin deportation push, pardon Jan. 6 rioters and make his criminal cases vanish
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump has said he wouldn’t be a dictator — “except for Day 1.” According to his own statements, he’s got a lot to do on that first day in the White House. His list includes starting up the mass deportation of migrants, rolling back Biden administration policies...
Trump names Tom Homan, former director of immigration enforcement, as ‘border czar’
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump says Tom Homan, his former acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement director, will serve as “border czar” in his incoming administration, a position that is likely to play a key role in Trump’s campaign pledges to secure the U.S.-Mexico border and mount a massive deportation...
Trump pressures candidates for Senate GOP leader to fill his Cabinet right away
WASHINGTON — Days before Senate Republicans pick their new leader, President-elect Donald Trump is pressuring the candidates to change the rules and empower him to appoint some nominees without a Senate vote. Republican Sens. John Thune of South Dakota, John Cornyn of Texas and Rick Scott of Florida are running...
Frustrated Americans await economic changes they voted for with Trump
WASHINGTON — Fed up with high prices and unimpressed with an economy that by just about any measure is a healthy one, Americans demanded change when they voted for president. They could get it. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to topple many of the Biden administration’s economic policies. Trump campaigned...
Iranian American human rights activist expresses defiance over Iranian plots to kill her and Trump
BERLIN — In the middle of a Berlin hotel cafe, Masih Alinejad raises her voice and starts singing at the top of her lungs in Farsi, as waiters turn to watch along with the three German government bodyguards assigned to protect her. “I blossom through my wounds and my scars,”...
Biden and Trump will meet in the Oval Office on Wednesday, the White House says
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will host President-elect Donald Trump for a traditional postelection meeting in the Oval Office on Wednesday, the White House said Saturday. Such a meeting is customary between the outgoing president and the incoming president, and is meant partly to mark the start of a peaceful...
Gov. Tim Walz vows to fight Donald Trump’s agenda while working to understand his appeal
EAGAN, Minn. — Gov. Tim Walz vowed on Friday to make Minnesota a safe haven for the values that drove the Democratic presidential ticket he helped lead, while at the same time promising to work harder to understand the concerns of President-elect Donald Trump’s voters. Inside a high school auditorium...
A guide to key figures in Donald Trump’s orbit
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump will return to the White House accompanied by a crew of longtime friends and aides as well as newfound, splashy allies. The Republican president-elect has barely begun naming key figures in his administration, but he has kept a rotation of associates with him on and off...
Judge cancels court deadlines in Trump’s 2020 election case after his presidential win
WASHINGTON — The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s 2020 election interference case canceled any remaining court deadlines Friday while prosecutors assess the “the appropriate course going forward” in light of the Republican’s presidential victory. Special Counsel Jack Smith charged Trump last year with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020...
McCormick, appearing in Pittsburgh, declares victory over Casey
Republican David McCormick appeared Friday morning in Downtown Pittsburgh to declare victory in his tight U.S. Senate race against incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, who has yet to concede. The Associated Press called the race Thursday in McCormick’s favor, and the Republican claimed there’s no path for Casey to...
Trump rebuilds Democrats’ ‘blue wall’ states with red bricks. Especially Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG — Republicans landed historic victories in Pennsylvania this week, winning the battleground state’s valuable presidential electoral votes, posting a two-seat gain in its U.S. House delegation and sweeping all four statewide offices on the ballot, including a U.S. Senate seat. The strong performance means Donald Trump has won Pennsylvania...
Why AP called the Pennsylvania Senate race for David McCormick
WASHINGTON — Republican David McCormick cut Democratic Sen. Bob Casey’s leads in Philadelphia and its populous suburbs and built leads in the more GOP-leaning parts of the state, foreclosing the incumbent’s pathway to victory when The Associated Press called the race. McCormick was leading by more than 30,000 votes when...
Leader of the free world has never been a role Trump has embraced. The world has gotten the message
WASHINGTON — U.S. presidents usually pay lip service at least to being leaders of the free world, at the helm of a mighty democracy and military that allies worldwide can rally around and reasonably depend upon for support in return. Not so under President-elect Donald Trump, a critic of many...
The story of how Trump went from diminished ex-president to a victor once again
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — As he bid farewell to Washington in January 2021, deeply unpopular and diminished, Donald Trump was already hinting at a comeback. “Goodbye. We love you. We will be back in some form,” Trump told supporters at Joint Base Andrews, where he’d arranged a 21-gun salute...
California Gov. Gavin Newsom calls special session to protect liberal policies from Trump presidency
SACRAMENTO — California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, a fierce critic of former President Donald Trump, on Thursday called for lawmakers to convene a special session ahead of another Trump presidency to safeguard the state’s progressive policies. Meanwhile, attorneys general in blue states across the country announced they were also gearing...
President-elect Trump names Susie Wiles as chief of staff, 1st woman in the post
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump has named Susie Wiles, the manager of his victorious campaign, as his White House chief of staff, the first woman to hold the influential role. Wiles is widely credited within and outside Trump’s inner circle for running what was, by far, his most disciplined and...
Dave McCormick defeats Bob Casey in Pa. Senate race
Republican businessman David McCormick has won an upset in Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race against Democratic incumbent Bob Casey, The Associated Press reported Thursday, but Casey has not conceded. “Thank you, Pennsylvania! Looking forward to representing every citizen of our great Commonwealth,” McCormick posted on X two hours later. McCormick, 59,...
