Politics Election category, Page 170
Rep. Matt Gaetz says no charges for him in sex trafficking caseVideo
WASHINGTON — Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Republican known for his strong support of former President Donald Trump and membership in the arch-conservative Freedom Caucus in the House, said Wednesday that the Justice Department has ended a sex trafficking case with no charges against him. The lawmaker who represents much of...
Split Pennsylvania House set for raucous return next week
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s top House Republican on Wednesday warned of chaos when legislators reconvene next week, six weeks after representatives elected a Democrat as House speaker and left Harrisburg without conducting any other business. Republican Minority Leader Bryan Cutler of Lancaster County, who quit as state House speaker at the...
Government will hit debt limit as soon as July, CBO says
WASHINGTON — The federal government will run out of cash to pay all its bills sometime between July and September unless the statutory debt limit is lifted, the Congressional Budget Office warned Wednesday. The report by the nonpartisan budget scorekeeper could put pressure on a divided Congress to reach a...
FAA head defends safety of U.S. air travel after close calls
The head of the Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday he has taken steps to avoid a repeat of the technology failure last month that briefly halted all flights nationwide from taking off. Acting FAA administrator Billy Nolen said he has formed a team to review efforts to keep air travel...
U.S. envoy confident Japan will ban LGBTQ discrimination
TOKYO — U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday said he has “full confidence” that the Japanese government will take the necessary steps to ban discrimination against LGBTQ people. Sexual minorities have been campaigning for the government to adopt an anti-discrimination law after an aide to Prime Minister Fumio...
California Sen. Dianne Feinstein says she will retire at the end of her current term
LOS ANGELES — Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, whose groundbreaking political career shattered gender barriers from San Francisco’s City Hall to the corridors of Capitol Hill, said Tuesday she won’t seek reelection in 2024. The senator, who turns 90 in June, is the oldest member of Congress and has faced questions...
AP source: Biden to name Brainard to head Economic Council
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden plans on Tuesday to name Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard as the new director of his National Economic Council, making the Ph.D. economist a key point person for coordinating policy, talking with business leaders and negotiating with Congress. Biden also plans to nominate longtime...
Nikki Haley announces presidential campaign, challenging Trump
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador, announced her candidacy for president on Tuesday, becoming the first major challenger to former President Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination. The announcement, delivered in a video, marks an about-face for the ex-Trump Cabinet official,...
Gov. Ron DeSantis ponders ending AP classes for Florida studentsVideo
TALLAHASSEE — The feud between Gov. Ron DeSantis and the College Board over Florida rejecting the AP African American studies course escalated Monday with DeSantis threatening to drop the organization’s Advanced Placement classes from Florida high schools. “So this College Board, nobody elected them to anything. They’re just kind of...
Judge to release parts of Georgia special grand jury report
ATLANTA — A Georgia judge on Monday ordered the partial release later this week of a report by a special grand jury that investigated efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn his 2020 election loss. The report’s introduction and conclusion, as well as a section in...
Haley faces ‘high-wire act’ in 2024 bid against Trump
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Few have navigated the turbulent politics of the Trump era like Nikki Haley. In early 2016, the then-South Carolina governor said she was “embarrassed” by candidate Donald Trump and decried his reluctance to condemn white supremacists. Nine months later, she agreed to join his Cabinet, serving as...
5 ways Pa.’s marijuana laws could change in 2023
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — As the legislative session picks up, Pennsylvania lawmakers are considering a host of changes to the state’s cannabis laws...
Biden hosts GOP, Dem governors at White House for dinner
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden, hosting both Republican and Democratic governors for a black-tie affair at the White House, raised his glass for a toast. Standing under a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, he told the people in the room to remember who they were. “We’re the United States of America....
Jill Biden not shy about her ‘Philly girl’ sports fandom
WASHINGTON — Jill Biden won’t let even a White House gala get between her and the Philadelphia Eagles. After a late night entertaining governors with President Joe Biden at a black-tie dinner on Saturday, the first lady was heading for the Super Bowl in Arizona on Sunday with hopes of...
White House says no Biden interview prior to Super Bowl
NEW YORK — President Joe Biden apparently won’t be giving a pregame interview for the Super Bowl, which is being broadcast by Fox on Sunday. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday that Biden had been “looking forward” to an interview with the little-known streaming service Fox Soul, but...
Mike Pence subpoenaed by special counsel probing Trump
Former Vice President Mike Pence has been subpoenaed by the special counsel overseeing investigations into efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election, according to a person with direct knowledge of the event. The subpoena to Pence as part of the...
New measure introduced to expel Rep. George Santos from HouseVideo
Rep. George Santos is facing a new push for his expulsion from Congress over his serial lying. The New York Republican was targeted Thursday by Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., who unveiled a measure to boot Santos from the House. New York Democratic Reps. Ritchie Torres and Dan Goldman also joined...
Focused on 2024, Biden sees opportunity in GOP-held Florida
TAMPA, Florida — With an eye toward the 2024 campaign, President Joe Biden on Thursday ventured to Florida, a state defined by its growing retiree population and status as the unofficial headquarters of the modern-day Republican Party. The president sees a chance to use Social Security and Medicare to drive...
Biden warns of GOP plans for Medicare, Social Security cuts
WASHINGTON — When President Joe Biden suggested that Republicans want to slash Medicare and Social Security, the GOP howls of protest during his State of the Union address showcased a striking apparent turnaround for the party that built a brand for years trying to do just that. Biden is not...
Tennessee House speaker mulls rejecting U.S. education money
NASHVILLE — One of Tennessee’s most influential Republican lawmakers says the state should stop accepting the nearly $1.8 billion of federal K-12 education dollars that help provide support for low-income students, English learners and students with disabilities. House Speaker Cameron Sexton told The Associated Press that he has introduced a...
Biden’s fentanyl position sparks criticism from 2 sides
President Joe Biden’s calls in his State of the Union speech for strong criminal penalties in response to soaring deaths linked to the potent opioid fentanyl are being rebuked by harm reduction advocates who say that approach could make the problem worse, even as some in Congress jeered the comments...
Republican county executive candidate Joe Rockey pitches a ‘middle ground’ platform
Allegheny County Republicans have struggled in elections as of late, and one county executive candidate is hoping to turn the tide with a pitch that is inclusive to a broad swath of voters. Retired PNC chief risk officer Joe Rockey announced his campaign for Allegheny County executive at the Wyndham...
Ex-Twitter execs deny pressure to block Hunter Biden story
WASHINGTON — Former Twitter executives conceded Wednesday they made a mistake by blocking a story about Hunter Biden, the president’s son, from the social media platform in the run-up to the 2020 election, but adamantly denied Republican assertions they were pressured by Democrats and law enforcement to suppress the story....
In new role, Bernie Sanders demands answers from Starbucks CEO
WASHINGTON — As Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders settles into his new role as chairman of a committee that oversees health and labor issues, he says some corporations “should be nervous.” And the longtime liberal crusader’s first target is Howard Schultz, the interim CEO of Starbucks who has aggressively fought his...
Arkansas Gov. Sanders slams Biden for ‘woke fantasies’
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders painted a dystopian portrait of the country in her rebuttal to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address Tuesday night, leaning heavily into Republican culture war issues and accusing Biden of pursuing “woke fantasies.” Speaking from the governor’s mansion in...
