Politics Election category, Page 10
Epstein attorney slams Musk’s claim that Trump is ‘in the Epstein files’
A defense attorney who worked with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein claims his former client provided no information that would implicate President Donald Trump in any illegal activity. Epstein, who hanged himself at Manhattan’s Metropolitan Correctional Center in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges, was known to party...
Trump looks to sell Tesla after feud with Musk
It was a costly spat. As President Donald Trump and Elon Musk feuded on social media Thursday afternoon, shares of Musk’s Tesla Inc. plummeted more than 14% — erasing $150 billion of the electric vehicle maker’s value. Investors weren’t the only ones looking to dump Tesla. Trump is looking to...
Senate Republicans revise ban on state AI regulations in bid to preserve controversial provision
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans have made changes to their party’s sweeping tax bill in hopes of preserving a new policy that would prevent states from regulating artificial intelligence for a decade. In legislative text unveiled Thursday night, Senate Republicans proposed denying states federal funding for broadband projects if they regulate...
Elon Musk pulls back on threat to withdraw Dragon spacecraft
As President Donald Trump and Elon Musk argued on social media on Thursday, the world’s richest man threatened to decommission a space capsule used to take astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station. A few hours later, Musk said he wouldn’t follow through on the threat. After Trump threatened...
Ex-WH press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre left the Democratic Party, publisher of her new book says
Former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has a book out this fall that promises a close look at President Biden’s decision not to run for reelection and calls for thinking beyond the two-party system. Jean-Pierre herself has switched her affiliation to independent after working in two Democratic administrations, according...
The implosion of a powerful political alliance: Trump and Musk in their own words
Last Friday, President Donald Trump heaped praise on Elon Musk as the tech billionaire prepared to leave his unorthodox White House job. Less than a week later, their potent political alliance met a dramatic end Thursday when the men attacked each other with blistering epithets. Trump threatened to go after...
Trump and Musk’s relationship flames out just as intensely and publicly as it started
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s alliance took off like one of SpaceX’s rockets. It was supercharged and soared high. And then it blew up. The spectacular flameout Thursday hit a crescendo when Trump threatened to cut Musk’s government contracts and Musk said without providing evidence that Trump’s administration...
Trump suggests Biden aides acted without then-president’s knowledge — but says he has no evidence
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump alleged Thursday that officials in Joe Biden ‘s administration might have in effect forged their boss’s signature and taken broad actions he wasn’t aware of — while acknowledging he had no evidence that actually happened. Meeting in the Oval Office with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz,...
Trump EPA moves to roll back rules projected to save billions of dollars and thousands of lives
When the head of the Environmental Protection Agency announced a wide-ranging rollback of environmental regulations, he said it would put a “dagger through the heart of climate-change religion” and introduce a “Golden Age” for the American economy. What Lee Zeldin didn’t mention: how ending the rules could have devastating consequences...
San Francisco leaders blast Trump for trying to erase gay rights icon Harvey Milk’s name from ship
SAN FRANCISCO — Leaders in San Francisco are blasting the Trump administration for stripping the name of gay rights activist Harvey Milk from a U.S. naval ship, and especially during Pride Month, when people gather to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community. Milk is a revered figure in San Francisco history, a...
Trump orders investigation into Biden’s actions as president, ratcheting up targeting of predecessor
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday directed his administration to investigate Joe Biden’s actions as president, alleging aides masked his predecessor’s “cognitive decline” and casting doubts on the legitimacy of his use of the autopen to sign pardons and other documents. The order marked a significant escalation in Trump’s...
Summer Lee grills U.S. Education secretary on DEI policies
U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, grilled Education Secretary Linda McMahon over her department’s DEI policies and accused the Trump administration of trying to rewrite history on Wednesday during a congressional hearing. During a tense exchange, McMahon refused to give a “yes” or “no” answer when asked if teaching students that...
Judge tosses Democratic committees’ lawsuit over the Federal Election Commission’s independence
WASHINGTON — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to block President Donald Trump’s administration from implementing an executive order that Democratic Party officials claim could undermine the independence of the Federal Election Commission. U.S. District Judge Amir H. Ali in Washington ruled late Tuesday that there’s insufficient...
Trump tax bill will add $2.4 trillion to the deficit and leave 10.9 million more uninsured, CBO says
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s big bill making its way through Congress will cut taxes by $3.75 trillion but also increase deficits by $2.4 trillion over the next decade, according to an analysis released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The CBO also estimates an increase of 10.9 million...
Trump urges senators to get his big tax bill done by July 4
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump wants his “big, beautiful” bill of tax breaks and spending cuts on his desk to be signed into law by the Fourth of July, and he’s pushing the slow-rolling Senate to make it happen sooner rather than later. Trump met with Senate Majority Leader John...
John Fetterman loses another top staffer in Senate office
Another top aide is leaving U.S. Sen. John Fetterman’s staff. The departure of chief of staff Krysta Sinclair Juris, first reported by Axios, is the latest in a string of departures from the Braddock Democrat’s office staff. “I’m grateful for Krysta’s work. She’s been an invaluable member of the team...
Trump formally asks Congress to claw back approved spending targeted by DOGE
WASHINGTON — The White House on Tuesday officially asked Congress to claw back $9.4 billion in already approved spending, taking funding away from programs targeted by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. It’s a process known as “rescission,” which requires President Donald Trump to get approval from Congress to return...
Elon Musk slams Trump’s big tax bill as ‘abomination’
WASHINGTON — Elon Musk blasted President Donald Trump’s“big, beautiful bill” of tax breaks and spending cuts as a “disgusting abomination” on Tuesday, testing the limits of his political influence as he targeted the centerpiece of Republicans’ legislative agenda. The broadside, which Musk issued on his social media platform X, came...
Federal uncertainty complicates Pa. budget haggling over transit, education
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 — Competing priorities and possible federal cuts to Medicaid are complicating negotiations as top Pennsylvania lawmakers attempt to hammer out a budget deal by...
Republican push for proof of citizenship to vote proves a tough sell in the states
AUSTIN, Texas — President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans have made it a priority this year to require people to prove citizenship before they can register to vote. Turning that aspiration into reality has proved difficult. Trump’s executive order directing a documentary, proof-of-citizenship requirement for federal elections has been blocked...
Former Homeland Security official fights back against Trump’s ‘unprecedented’ investigation order
WASHINGTON — A former Homeland Security official during President Donald Trump’s first administration who authored an anonymous op-ed sharply critical of the president is calling on independent government watchdogs to investigate after Trump ordered the department to look into his government service. Miles Taylor, once chief of staff at the...
Fetterman, McCormick find common ground on many issues, split on budget plan
U.S. Sens. John Fetterman and Dave McCormick have found common ground on a number of key issues during their first five months working together in Washington, but they acknowledge it’s unlikely they’ll agree on President Trump’s budget plan. Fetterman, D-Braddock, and McCormick, R-Pittsburgh, appeared together Monday at a forum in...
Can Trump fix the national debt? Republican senators, many investors and even Elon Musk have doubts
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump faces the challenge of convincing Republican senators, global investors, voters and even Elon Musk that he won’t bury the federal government in debt with his multitrillion-dollar tax breaks package. The response so far from financial markets has been skeptical as Trump seems unable to trim...
Musk put a spotlight on federal spending, but cut less than he wanted
Elon Musk’s effort to dramatically cut government spending is expected to fall far short of his grand early pronouncements, and perhaps even his most modest goals. It didn’t have to be that way. According to experts across the ideological spectrum, a major problem was a failure to deploy people who...
Ernst draws groans at Iowa town hall after retort on Medicaid cuts, saying ‘we all are going to die’
DES MOINES, Iowa — Republican Sen. Joni Ernst was met with shouts and groans when she said “we all are going to die” as she addressed potential changes to Medicaid eligibility at a town hall in north-central Iowa on Friday. She had been consistent in her message throughout the contentious...
