Politics Election category, Page 231
Texas Senate passes elections bill after more than 7 hours of debate
AUSTIN — The Texas Senate advanced a massive elections bill Sunday morning, after an hourslong, overnight debate in which Democrats blasted the GOP majority for releasing just hours earlier a new version of the legislation that expanded its restrictions and penalties. Discussion on the sweeping voting legislation kicked off just...
Trump looms large in Pennsylvania’s GOP primaries in 2022
HARRISBURG — With Pennsylvania’s wide-open races for governor and U.S. Senate taking shape, Republican candidates with strong ties to Donald Trump are running and considered strong contenders for the party’s nominations — a powerful sign of the former president’s enduring popularity within the GOP. Within a few days of each...
Pressure for Senate rules change after GOP blocks Jan. 6 probe
WASHINGTON — As Republicans blocked a bill Friday to establish a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, pressure mounted on Democrats to end the practice of requiring 60 votes to move legislation through the Senate if they have any hope of advancing their priorities and President Joe Biden’s...
Ex-Speaker Ryan to GOP: Reject Trump, ‘2nd-rate imitations’
Emerging from two years of relative silence, former House Speaker Paul Ryan has joined the fight against Donald Trump, urging fellow conservatives to reject the former president’s divisive politics and those Republican leaders who emulate him. Ryan made his remarks during a Thursday evening address at the Ronald Reagan Presidential...
Idaho lieutenant governor bans mask mandates while governor awayVideo
BOISE — With the governor out of the state, Idaho’s lieutenant governor issued an executive order Thursday banning mask mandates in schools and public buildings, saying the face-covering directives threatened people’s freedom. Republican Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin is acting governor while Gov. Brad Little is at the Republican Governors Association...
GOP offers $928B on infrastructure, funded with covid aidVideo
WASHINGTON — Republican senators outlined a $928 billion infrastructure proposal Thursday that would tap unused coronavirus aid, a counteroffer to President Joe Biden’s more sweeping plan as the two sides struggle to negotiate a bipartisan compromise and remain far apart on how to pay for the massive spending. The Republican...
GOP set to block Jan. 6 commission, stoking Senate filibuster fight
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans are ready to deploy the filibuster to block a commission on the Jan. 6 insurrection, shattering hopes for a bipartisan probe of the deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol and reviving pressure on Democrats to do away with the procedural tactic that critics say has lost...
Wisconsin GOP leader hires retired police to probe election
MADISON — One of Wisconsin’s top Republican lawmakers said Wednesday he is hiring retired police officers to investigate the presidential election won by President Joe Biden in the battleground state. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos is joining Republicans across the country in their continued push for repeated examinations of ballots. Assembly...
Child sex abuse survivors, supporters pressure Pa. Senate leader Kim Ward to bring bill to vote
Survivors of clergy child sexual abuse turned up the heat this week on state Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward, depositing a pouch of silver coins on the Hempfield Republican’s desk and labeling her a “Judas.” Ward’s failure to schedule a Senate vote on a bill that would provide a day...
Mother of Capitol Police officer who died after Jan. 6 urges 1/6 commissionVideo
WASHINGTON — Republicans are poised to block legislation that would create a commission on the Jan. 6 insurrection, despite both a bipartisan effort to salvage the bill and a last-minute push by the mother of a Capitol Police officer who collapsed and died after the siege. Senate Majority Leader Chuck...
Manhattan DA convenes grand jury to weigh criminal charges against Trump, report says
NEW YORK — New York prosecutors have convened a special grand jury to consider evidence in a criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump’s business dealings, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Tuesday. The development signals that the Manhattan district attorney’s office was moving toward...
Pennsylvania firm drops out of Arizona GOP’s 2020 election recount
PHOENIX — A subcontractor working on a Republican-led audit of the 2020 election results in Arizona’s largest county has dropped out of the project. Wake Technology Solutions Inc. was leading the hand-recount part of the audit but decided not to renew its contract, audit officials said Tuesday. The recount is...
GOP leaders condemn Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene over Holocaust commentsVideo
WASHINGTON — Republican leaders forcefully condemned GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Tuesday, calling her comments comparing covid-19 safety measures like mask-wearing to the treatment of Jews in Nazi Germany “appalling.” “Marjorie is wrong, and her intentional decision to compare the horrors of the Holocaust with wearing masks is appalling,”...
Florida law seeks to rein in large social media companies
TALLAHASSEE — Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill on Monday that seeks to punish social media platforms that remove “conservative ideas” from their sites, though it is not clear if it would pass constitutional muster because it might violate the First Amendment. The new law will enable the...
Biden aide rules out ‘inaction’ as GOP balks on spending planVideo
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden “will not let inaction be the final answer” on his infrastructure spending plan, and will change course if it becomes clear a bipartisan outcome is impossible, said a top White House adviser. Senate Republicans on Friday panned Biden’s trimmed-down $1.7 trillion infrastructure proposal, saying the...
Lawmakers report receiving fewer gifts during pandemic as push for ban continues
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan 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. Every May, state legislators and other public officials are required to file reports detailing, among other items, whether they received pricey...
CNN cuts ties with Rick Santorum over disparaging comments
NEW YORK — CNN is cutting ties with former Pennsylvania senator and current TV analyst Rick Santorum over disparaging comments he made about Native American culture. On CNN, Santorum was a senior political commentator who was often tasked with giving the Republican point of view during campaign coverage. His parting...
Experts say Pa.’s 2021 primary was typical, but GOP lawmakers are seizing on issues
This article is made possible through Votebeat, a nonpartisan reporting project covering local election integrity and voting access. This article is available for reprint under the terms of Votebeat’s republishing policy. HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s primary hardly resembled the election of six months ago, when local officials were furiously counting millions...
White House, GOP infrastructure talks hit crucial stage
WASHINGTON — Negotiations between the White House and Senate Republicans over President Joe Biden’s $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan are hitting a crucial stage ahead of talks Friday after the latest GOP offer left some dismay in the administration that there wasn’t more movement off the Republicans’ initial $568 billion proposal....
Sewickley lawyer joins Pennsylvania’s 2022 Republican gubernatorial primaryVideo
Make it three and counting in the 2022 Pennsylvania gubernatorial primary after Sewickley lawyer Jason Richey threw his hat into the ring Thursday. Richey, 49, joins a growing field of Republicans, including former Rep. Lou Barletta and Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Gale. State Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin County, is expected...
GOP not budging on infrastructure offer in Biden talks
WASHINGTON— Senate Republicans have not substantially budged off their initial $568 billion infrastructure proposal despite overtures from the White House to work toward a compromise as President Joe Biden tries to strike a bipartisan agreement on his sweeping $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan. The lack of any sizable movement beyond the...
Republicans rebel against mask requirement in House chamberVideo
WASHINGTON — Republicans are rebelling against the requirement that they wear a mask on the House floor, stoking tensions with majority Democrats who are refusing to change the rules following updated guidance from federal health officials. Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., led an effort Wednesday to get the Office of...
35 Republicans buck Trump, back commission of Jan. 6 Capitol riotVideo
WASHINGTON — Thirty-five House Republicans joined Democrats Wednesday in voting to create a bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, risking the wrath of former President Donald Trump and flouting GOP leaders who condemned the proposal as unfairly partisan and unneeded. The Republican mavericks were led...
Pa. voters backed curtailing Gov. Tom Wolf’s emergency powers in a win for Republican lawmakers
Spotlight PA is an independent, non-partisan 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 — Pennsylvania voters have approved two ballot questions that would curtail the governor’s emergency powers, a victory for Republican lawmakers...
Voters back bid to ban race discrimination in Pennsylvania constitution
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania voters are backing a proposal to amend the state constitution to outlaw discrimination based on race and ethnicity, a question added to Tuesday’s primary ballot amid worries over whether federal judges appointed by former President Donald Trump will roll back civil rights protections. The proposal had about...
