Politics Election category, Page 13
Republicans look to get Trump’s big bill back on track with rare Sunday committee session
WASHINGTON — Republicans will look to get their massive tax cut and border security package back on track during a rare Sunday night committee meeting after that same panel voted against advancing the measure two days earlier, a setback that Speaker Mike Johnson is looking to reverse quickly. Deficit hawks...
Trump’s tariffs may mean Walmart shoppers pay more, his treasury chief acknowledges
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent acknowledged Sunday that Walmart, the largest U.S. retailer, may pass along some of the costs from President Donald Trump’s tariffs to its shoppers through higher prices. Bessent described his call with the company’s CEO a day after Trump warned Walmart to avoid raising prices...
Trump’s clash with the courts raises prospect of showdown over separation of powers
DENVER — Tucked deep in the thousand-plus pages of the multitrillion-dollar budget bill making its way through the Republican-controlled U.S. House is a paragraph curtailing a court’s greatest tool for forcing the government to obey its rulings: the power to enforce contempt findings. It’s unclear whether the bill can pass...
The future of history: Trump could leave less documentation behind than any previous U.S. president
WASHINGTON — For generations, official American documents have been meticulously preserved and protected, from the era of quills and parchment to boxes of paper to the cloud, safeguarding snapshots of the government and the nation for posterity. Now, the Trump administration is scrubbing thousands of government websites of history, legal...
Turnout for Western Pa. primaries gets bump from mail-ins, but still draw fewer than 1 in 3 voters
Fewer than one in three registered voters in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties are expected to cast a ballot in this year’s primary. That may seem paltry, particularly compared with November’s hotly contested presidential election when voter turnouts in the two counties approached or exceeded 80%. But this year’s projected turnouts...
Republicans forge their tax bill in Trump’s image, with ‘MAGA accounts’ and more
WASHINGTON — Days before Republicans unveiled their sweeping tax cut plan, the chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee had one last person to consult. He went to the White House, where he and President Donald Trump went over the legislation “line by line.” “He was very happy with...
Trump warns Walmart: Don’t raise prices due to my tariffs but do eat the costs from those taxes
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Saturday ripped into Walmart, saying on social media that the retail giant should eat the additional costs created by his tariffs. As Trump has jacked up import taxes, he has tried to assure a skeptical public that foreign producers would pay for those taxes...
Some Bruceton jobs spared, but unions say HHS still pushing major cuts
Although some of the federal jobs at the Bruceton Research Center won’t be cut after all, the national unions representing the workers warned Friday that the Department of Health and Human Services is still moving forward with deep cuts to its workforce. Dozens of positions at the Bruceton center, located...
Podcast: Previewing the Pittsburgh mayoral race
The Pittsburgh mayoral primary next week on May 20 features competitive races on both side for the Democrat and Republican candidates. In the Democratic primary, incumbent Mayor Ed Gainey is seeking a second term but faces a challenge from Corey O’Connor, the Allegheny County Controller and a well-known figure in...
Election HQ: Voter guide for 2025 Primary Day in Western Pennsylvania
Primary election day in Pennsylvania is Tuesday, May 20. The biggest race in the area is for Pittsburgh mayor with the Democrat and Republican primaries being competitive. Pennsylvania has a closed primary system, which means voters not registered to a party cannot vote in the primary. Voters registered as Democrat...
Springsteen, Trump, Kid Rock trade political barbs
Bruce Springsteen’s songs have chronicled the working American’s hopes and dreams for 50 years. In that time, The Boss’ political bent has never been buried. Sure, some Reaganites may have misunderstood “Born in the U.S.A” as a patriotic anthem, but “American Skin (41 Shots)” clearly details the fears some have...
Trump’s ‘beautiful’ bill spans 1,116 pages. Here’s what’s inside it
WASHINGTON — House Republicans are advancing President Donald Trump’s big bill of tax breaks, spending cuts and beefed-up border security as Speaker Mike Johnson attempts to pass the package over unified Democratic opposition by Memorial Day. House committees have labored on the legislation, which runs a whopping 1,116 pages and...
Biden audio release pressures Democrats who would rather talk about Trump
PHOENIX — Joe Biden’s time in public office is now behind him, but his age and mental acuity have become a litmus test for the next leaders in his party. Audio was published Friday from portions of interviews Biden gave to federal prosecutors in 2023, the latest in a stream...
Conservatives block Trump’s big tax breaks bill in a stunning setback
WASHINGTON — In a massive setback, House Republicans failed Friday to push their big package of tax breaks and spending cuts through the Budget Committee, as a handful of conservatives joined all Democrats in a stunning vote against it. The hard-right lawmakers are insisting on steeper spending cuts to Medicaid...
U.S. Rep. Summer Lee reintroduces resolution for reparations
U.S. Rep. Summer Lee introduced a resolution Thursday that would effectively provide reparations to the descendants of Black American slaves amid a flurry of actions by President Donald Trump and a Republican-led Congress to remove what they term “woke” policies. Lee, a Swissvale Democrat who represents parts of Allegheny and...
Divisions emerge among House Republicans over how much to cut taxes and Medicaid in Trump’s bill
WASHINGTON — Cheers broke out early Wednesday as Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee signed off on the GOP tax breaks bill after a grueling round-the-clock session that pushed President Donald Trump’s package past overwhelming Democratic opposition. But there’s still more work to do. House Speaker Mike Johnson,...
Pa. House gives this sweet treat its chef’s kiss of approval as the state candy
When you represent “the sweetest place on Earth,” you fight for the Kiss over its dreaded rival, the Peep. Rep. Tom Mehaffie of Dauphin County is making a second run to cement the iconic Hershey’s Kiss as Pennsylvania’s official state candy. A bill sponsored by Mehaffie, who represents Derry Township,...
1st female mayor of Omaha concedes in race against likely first Black mayor
OMAHA, Neb. — Omaha’s first female mayor has conceded the mayoral race to a man who will likely become the community’s first Black mayor. Voters in Omaha were making history Tuesday by either reelecting the city’s first female mayor to a rare fourth term or electing the community’s first Black...
Trump marvels at wealth of his Arab hosts while he eyes White House and Air Force One upgrades
DOHA, Qatar — Donald Trump is the most powerful and famous person on the planet, at the helm of the biggest economy and the strongest military. But on his trip to the Middle East this week, the American president is sounding more than a little envious of his Arab hosts....
Lawmakers question Kennedy on staffing cuts, funding freezes and policy changes at health department
WASHINGTON — Republicans and Democrats alike on Wednesday questioned the deep staffing cuts, research funding freezes and drastic policy changes that U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made in a few short months at the helm of the nation’s health department. Kennedy, who was to...
Democrats are deeply pessimistic about the future of their party, an AP-NORC poll finds
NEW YORK — Six months after Donald Trump’s presidential victory, Democrats remain deeply pessimistic about the future of their party, although neither the Democratic Party nor the Republican Party is viewed favorably by a majority of U.S. adults. A new poll conducted earlier this month by The Associated Press-NORC Center...
Judge in Johnstown becomes 1st in U.S. to uphold use of Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans
A federal judge in Johnstown on Tuesday ruled the government may remove Venezuelan citizens thought to be members of a violent gang under the Alien Enemies Act — but only if they are given 21 days notice and “an opportunity to be heard.” The 43-page opinion, written by U.S. District...
Latest Pittsburgh mayoral debate focuses on GOP candidates vying to reverse 100-year-trend
Pittsburgh’s Republican candidates for mayor were grilled for a solid, commercial-free hour Tuesday night during a live debate on WTAE. Artificial intelligence, education, economic development, homelessness and public safety were some of the issues the candidates touched on as they explained why Pittsburgh needs to break from a century of...
Democrats endorse set of changes to Pennsylvania election rules, sending bill to state Senate
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania voters would get more than a week of early voting and county election officials would have more time to start processing mail-in ballots under an election law proposal that advanced out of the state House on Tuesday by a single vote, with all Republicans opposed. The wide-ranging...
Chuck Schumer vowing to hold up Justice Department nominees for answers about luxury plane from Qatar
WASHINGTON — Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday that he will hold up all Department of Justice nominations on the Senate floor until he gets more answers about the free Air Force One replacement that President Donald Trump says would be donated by Qatar. Trump said this week that...
