Politics Election category, Page 262
After criticism, Sen. Dianne Feinstein to step down as top Judiciary Democrat
WASHINGTON — California Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Monday she will step down from her role as the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, giving up the powerful spot after public criticism of her bipartisan outreach and her handling of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearings. Feinstein, 87,...
Biden taps ex-Fed chair Janet Yellen to lead TreasuryVideo
WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden has chosen former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen to serve as treasury secretary, a pivotal role in which she would help shape and direct his economic policies, according to a person familiar with the transition plans. Yellen, who is widely admired in the financial world,...
Biden to name longtime aide Antony Blinken as secretary of StateVideo
WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden intends to name his longtime adviser Antony Blinken as secretary of State, according to three people familiar with the matter, setting out to assemble his Cabinet even before Donald Trump concedes defeat. In addition, Jake Sullivan, formerly one of Hillary Clinton’s closest aides, is likely...
Trump campaign legal team distances itself from Sidney Powell
WASHINGTON — Perhaps Sidney Powell has gone too far for even Rudy Giuliani this time. The Trump campaign’s legal team moved to distance itself Sunday from the firebrand conservative attorney after a tumultuous several days in which Powell made multiple incorrect statements about the voting process, unspooled unsupported and complex...
Kelly Loeffler has negative covid-19 test 2 days after positiveVideo
ATLANTA — U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler’s latest coronavirus test came back negative, but her campaign said Sunday she will continue to quarantine at least until she gets another negative result. The Georgia Republican is facing a Jan. 5 runoff in the state’s twin U.S. Senate races. Loeffler took a rapid...
Trump’s legal team cried vote fraud, but courts found none
PHILADELPHIA — As they frantically searched for ways to salvage President Donald Trump’s failed reelection bid, his campaign pursued a dizzying game of legal hopscotch across six states that centered on the biggest prize of all: Pennsylvania. The strategy may have played well in front of television cameras and on...
President Trump’s legal team is a ‘national embarrassment,’ Chris Christie saysVideo
As the court losses continue to mount, President Donald Trump’s ally and informal adviser Chris Christie called the commander-in-chief’s legal team a “national embarrassment.” The former New Jersey governor said it was time for the president to face reality. “If you have got the evidence of fraud, present it,” Christie...
Trump team requests recount of Georgia presidential vote
President Trump’s legal team said Saturday that his campaign has requested a recount of votes in the Georgia presidential race after results showed Democrat Joe Biden winning the state. Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Friday certified the state’s election results, which had Biden beating Trump by 12,670 votes...
Ben Carson says he’s ‘out of the woods’ after battling covid-19
STERLING, Va. — Housing Secretary Ben Carson is crediting unapproved, experimental treatments with saving his life after he became “desperately ill” following his infection with the coronavirus. There is no medical evidence that the treatments Carson cited worked. A retired neurosurgeon, Carson said Friday that he believes he’s now “out...
Fetterman’s flags fly in the face of some Pa. lawmakers
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, Democrat John Fetterman, may have gotten under somebody’s skin. A provision slipped into lame-duck budget legislation Friday would ban flags not approved by lawmakers from flying at the state Capitol — such as the pro-marijuana legalization and LGBTQ- and transgender-rights flags that Fetterman hangs...
Spokesman: Trump’s eldest son tests positive for coronavirus
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of President Donald Trump, was quarantining Friday after learning he has been infected with the coronavirus, a spokesperson said. The younger Trump learned his diagnosis at the beginning of the week and has had no symptoms, said the spokesperson, who was granted...
Trump makes late-term bid to lower prescription drug costs
WASHINGTON — Trying to close out major unfinished business, the Trump administration issued regulations Friday that could lower the prices Americans pay for many prescription drugs. But in a time of political uncertainty, it’s hard to say whether the rules will withstand expected legal challenges from the pharmaceutical industry or...
White House paints Trump’s meeting with Michigan legislators as routine
WASHINGTON — The two Michigan state legislators headed to the White House on Friday to meet with President Donald Trump was nothing out of the ordinary, according to the administration. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Trump’s meeting with the state legislators was “not an advocacy meeting” and insisted...
Trump, allies make frantic steps to overturn Biden’s victory
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and his allies are taking increasingly frantic steps to subvert the results of the 2020 election, including summoning state legislators to the White House as part of a longshot bid to overturn Joe Biden’s victory. Among other last-ditch tactics: personally calling local election officials who...
New York AG probes Trump consulting payments that reduced his taxes
NEW YORK — New York’s attorney general has sent a subpoena to the Trump Organization for records related to consulting fees paid to Ivanka Trump as part of a broad civil investigation into the president’s business dealings, a law enforcement official said Thursday. The New York Times, citing anonymous sources,...
Ethics complaints target Georgia Sen. Loeffler after she solicited donations in U.S. CapitolVideo
ATLANTA — U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., is facing a pair of ethics complaints after she solicited campaign contributions for her runoff campaign during an on-camera interview at the U.S. Capitol. The Democratic Party of Georgia and the American Democracy Legal Fund both filed complaints with the Senate ethics committee...
Pa. lawmakers to use remaining $1.3B in coronavirus aid to prop up state budget
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 — Despite the pleas of restaurant owners, service providers and other industries, Republican leaders in the House have put forth...
Trump supporters plan ‘election integrity’ rally in Greensburg
Supporters of President Trump will rally Saturday outside the Westmoreland County Courthouse in Greensburg to protest the results of the election. The 2 p.m. event could overlap with a Black Lives Matter rally scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Tony Naples, co-organizer of the 1776 Rally For Election Integrity, said there will...
Trump’s election lawsuits plagued by elementary errorsVideo
When President Donald Trump sends lawyers to court, it seems he’s not sending his best. Fighting to challenge an election he lost to President-elect Joe Biden, Trump has launched a barrage of lawsuits across the country. Top Republicans have stood behind him and said they will wait for those cases...
Poll: More than half of Republicans say Joe Biden won because of a ‘rigged’ electionVideo
Over half of Republicans claim President Donald Trump won the presidential election “rightfully,” but it was taken from him because of voter fraud that aided President-elect Joe Biden, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Wednesday. The poll, taken Friday through Tuesday showed that 52% of Republicans said Trump...
S.C. Sen. Lindsey Graham facing ethics complaint over Georgia ballots question
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Three attorneys have filed an ethics complaint against U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, accusing the South Carolina Republican of pressuring a Georgia elections official to toss out legally cast absentee votes in the presidential race. In a complaint filed Wednesday with the Senate Select Committee on Ethics, Claire...
State House Republicans vote for election procedures study
HARRISBURG — Republicans in the state House on Wednesday pushed forward on party lines a proposal for a review of election procedures in Pennsylvania, although its author insisted he accepts voting results and is not trying to overturn them. GOP members of the State Government Committee all voted for the...
2 women, including Westmoreland’s Kim Ward, just made history in Pa. legislature
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 — One is a former health-care worker and political veteran from Westmoreland County. The other is an ex-public defender and...
Trump fires Chris Krebs, head of DHS election security agency
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Tuesday fired the director of the federal agency that vouched for the reliability of the 2020 election. Trump fired Christopher Krebs in a tweet, saying his recent statement defending the security of the election was “highly inaccurate.” The firing of Krebs, a Trump appointee...
Controversial Fed nominee Judy Shelton fails in Senate test vote
WASHINGTON — The nomination of Judy Shelton, President Donald Trump’s controversial pick for the Federal Reserve, is stalled in the Senate after Vice President-elect Kamala Harris returned to the chamber to cast a key vote in a tally Tuesday. Two key Republicans were absent because of covid-related concerns. The 47-50...
