Politics Election category, Page 15
Would-be Kavanaugh assassin sentenced to 8 years in prison
A California resident who admitted trying to assassinate U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2022 was sentenced Friday to eight years and one month in federal prison. Sophie Roske, who was charged under her birth name Nicholas Roske but now uses female pronouns, was sentenced at a hearing before...
Pittsburgh native Larry Hailsham Jr. named executive director of Pa. Democratic Party
Pittsburgh native Larry Hailsham Jr., a top aide to Gov. Josh Shapiro, has been named executive director of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party. State Democrats also announced this week that Shapiro donated $250,000 to the party as it gears up for pivotal elections in November and next year. Hailsham was appointed...
Biden ban on offshore drilling in vast areas was illegal, court rules
Former President Joe Biden exceeded his authority by withdrawing large areas along U.S. coastlines from future offshore oil and gas development, a federal judge in Louisiana ruled on Thursday. U.S. District Judge James Cain in Lake Charles, Louisiana, sided with Republican states and oil and gas industry groups that sued...
Trump freezes $2.1 billion in funds for Chicago in shutdown standoff
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s administration froze $2.1 billion in Chicago transit funding Friday, starving another strongly Democratic city of funds as the government shutdown entered its third day. Budget director Russ Vought said the money, earmarked for elevated train lines, had been put on hold to ensure it was...
U.S. Supreme Court to hear challenge to Hawaii handgun limits
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Friday to hear a challenge to a Hawaii law restricting the carrying of handguns on private property that is open to the public such as most businesses, giving the justices a chance to further expand gun rights. The justices took up an...
Experts say ‘partisan’ government agency messages on shutdown could violate federal law
The bright red box on the U.S. Housing and Urban Development website minces no words. “The Radical Left in Congress shut down the government,” it reads. A message in the rust-colored box at the top of the U.S. Department of Agriculture website is much the same. “Due to the Radical...
Trump eyes cuts to ‘Democrat Agencies’ in government shutdown
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he will meet with his budget director Russell Vought on Thursday to determine which “Democrat Agencies” to cut, as he looks to inflict pain on his political opposition in the second day of a government shutdown. “I can’t believe the Radical Left Democrats gave...
U.S. Supreme Court expands its ’emergency’ docket — and Trump’s power too
As she has done several times recently, liberal Justice Elena Kagan last week sounded the alarm after another bold emergency action by the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative majority again let President Donald Trump carry out one of his policies without taking the usual time or deliberation to review its legality....
Pa. House gun bill vote debate leads to expletive-fueled shouting match among lawmakers in Capitol
HARRISBURG — A fiery state House debate on a gun bill turned into a ugly shouting match on the floor Wednesday, that included expletives and a comment taken as a threatening racial epithet, according to lawmakers who witnessed the events. The fight over gun legislation was the most raucous in...
Federal agencies’ websites: A spectrum of reactions to the shutdown
Federal agencies and departments are discussing the recent government shutdown differently. Just take a look at their websites. The government stalled much of its operations at midnight Wednesday as Congress and the White House remain in a deadlock regarding the 2026 budget. It’s the first time since December 2018 —...
Many Americans ‘in limbo’ as federal government shuts down
Marsha Chapple doesn’t know how — or if — the government shutdown will impact her and the physically and mentally disabled adults she serves. Chapple, 56, of McKees Rocks, is a caregiver for Trinity Home Care, a Coraopolis-based company that receives federal funding. “I called in this morning, and we’re...
Trump budget boss on shutdown: Mass federal firings will begin in ‘a day or two’
WASHINGTON — Russell Vought, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, told House Republicans in a private call Wednesday that mass layoffs of federal workers will begin in “a day or two” if the government shutdown continues, according to a lawmaker on the call. Vought’s timeline for...
White House freezes funds for Democratic states in shutdown slap
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday froze $26 billion for Democratic-leaning states, following through on a threat to use the government shutdown to target Democratic priorities. The targeted programs included $18 billion for transit projects in New York, home to Congress’s top two Democrats, and $8 billion for...
Fetterman breaks with Democrats to support stopgap spending bill
For the second time in less than 24 hours, the U.S. Senate blocked a stopgap spending bill that would fund the government through late November. The proposal needed support from 60 senators to end a filibuster and advance to a final vote, but it fell short Wednesday with just 55...
What federal services are affected by the government shutdown?
With Congress and the White House remaining deadlocked over the 2026 federal budget, the U.S. government shut down much of its operations as of midnight Wednesday. The partial shutdown could be a long standoff, Reuters reported, which could lead to the loss of thousands of federal jobs. Agencies are warning...
White House withdraws E.J. Antoni’s nomination to lead BLS
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has withdrawn its nomination of conservative economist E.J. Antoni as head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the White House said on Tuesday. President Donald Trump nominated Antoni last month to lead the bureau, which is part of the Department of Labor and produces statistics...
Gainey pitches budget plan with no tax hike
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey’s administration on Tuesday proposed a penny-pinching budget that avoids a tax increase for 2026. Gainey’s $680 million operating budget — which funds basic city functions, like employee salaries, programming and utility bills — would increase spending from the roughly $666 million budgeted this year. That’s an...
Government shutdown begins with no end in sight, Trump and Democrats at stalemate
WASHINGTON — The U.S. government shut down much of its operations on Wednesday as deep partisan divisions prevented Congress and the White House from reaching a funding deal, setting off what could be a long, grueling standoff that could lead to the loss of thousands of federal jobs. There was...
Who gets blamed for a shutdown? Polls show nation is divided
With a government shutdown on the horizon, a series of polls released a day before the lights are set to go dark offer a divided picture of how Americans are viewing the crisis — and who they think is most to blame. In two national surveys released Tuesday, Americans were...
When was the last U.S. government shutdown? Here is a list
The federal government has entered a shutdown. TribLive has put together a collection of some of the federal government’s most recent shutdowns over the past 35 years. 2018-2019 The last shutdown happened during President Donald Trump’s first term when he insisted he would not sign any spending bill that did...
Trump posts deepfake video of Jeffries, Schumer with racist tropes as shutdown loomsVideo
President Donald Trump posted an expletive-laden, deepfake video with racist tropes about immigrants after talks with Democrats did not end in agreement to keep the federal government open. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries met with Trump and Republican leaders on Sept. 29, just over...
Services at national parks, support for Medicare and Medicaid would likely be reduced under federal shutdown
National Park Service officials are dusting off the contingency plan from the 2018 federal government shutdown, in anticipation of another closure starting Wednesday. In southwestern Pennsylvania, the two most-visible areas that could be affected are national parks such as the Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County and Fort Necessity...
Hegseth called for ‘no more beardos.’ What does that mean?
In a rare address to military commanders on Tuesday, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stressed the importance of grooming standards, even using the sometimes derogatory term “beardos.” “The era of unprofessional appearance is over. No more beardos,” Hegseth told the audience, which sat in silence, according to Reuters. What does...
Pa. Senate Republicans look to forgive interest on state loans to help counties, Head Starts
Republican leaders in the state Senate said Tuesday they plan to introduce legislation to forgive the interest payments on Treasury loans designed to help county governments and Head Start providers weather Pennsylvania’s budget impasse. “They should not be penalized because of what is happening here in Harrisburg,” state Senate President...
What would it take to avoid a U.S. government shutdown?
WASHINGTON — The Congress and President Donald Trump have little time and few options remaining to reach a funding deal to avoid triggering disruptions in a range of U.S. government services and the furlough of hundreds of thousands of civil servants beginning on Wednesday. What could stave off a government shutdown?...
