Politics Election category, Page 3
Threats pile up as Indiana Republicans confront pressure from Trump on redistricting
Spencer Deery’s son was getting ready for school when someone tried to provoke police into swarming his home by reporting a fake emergency. Linda Rogers said there were threats at her home and the golf course that her family has run for generations. Jean Leising faced a pipe bomb scare...
New Orleans leaders blast immigration crackdown, pointing to video of agents chasing U.S. citizen
NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans’ mayor-elect said Friday that a federal immigration crackdown launched this week is already causing harm as encounters between masked agents and residents, including some caught on video, has prompted public backlash in the blue city. Frustrated city officials pointed to the case of Jacelynn Guzman,...
Shapiro pushes back on federal policy change, urges continuation of hepatitis B vaccines at birth
Gov Josh Shapiro is again pushing back on a Trump administration reversal on vaccine guidance, this time involving the hepatitis B vaccine given at birth. In a press release, the Shapiro administration said it was standing with medical experts “to ensure parents can protect children from lifelong liver disease by...
Supreme Court will decide whether Trump’s birthright citizenship order violates the Constitution
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed on Friday to take up the constitutionality of President Donald Trump’s order on birthright citizenship declaring that children born to parents who are in the United States illegally or temporarily are not American citizens. The justices will hear Trump’s appeal of a lower-court ruling...
Social Security Administration plans to cut field office visits by 50%. What it means for you
WASHINGTON — The Social Security Administration is hoping to cut visits to its field offices in half next year, a move that advocates for the agency fear signals more closures are coming. Field offices have long been community-based branches that serve as the public face of the SSA, which provide...
Public health experts pan vote to change hepatitis B vaccination guidance
Public health experts told TribLive on Friday they fear a federal panel’s advice to stop giving most babies hepatitis B shots immediately after birth will fuel infection rates and erode confidence in vaccines more broadly. The advisory committee voted 8-3 Friday that pregnant women who test negative for the virus...
Trump ventures deeper into anti-immigrant language by calling people from Somalia ‘garbage’
He said it four times in seven seconds: Somali immigrants in the United States are “garbage.” It was no mistake. In fact, President Donald Trump’s rhetorical attacks on immigrants have been building since he said Mexico was sending “rapists” across the border during his presidential campaign announcement a decade ago....
Supreme Court allows Texas to use a congressional map favorable to Republicans in 2026
WASHINGTON — A divided Supreme Court on Thursday came to the rescue of Texas Republicans, allowing next year’s elections to be held under the state’s congressional redistricting plan favorable to the GOP and pushed by President Donald Trump despite a lower-court ruling that the map likely discriminates on the basis...
Trump to visit Pa. pushing efforts to curb inflation as high prices squeeze Americans
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump plans to travel to Pennsylvania on Tuesday to highlight his efforts to reduce inflation even as fears mount about a worsening job market and amid signs that Americans are still feeling squeezed by high prices. A White House official said Trump would be making the...
CBS News to host prime-time ‘town hall’ with Erika Kirk, widow of activist Charlie Kirk
NEW YORK — Turning Point USA leader Erika Kirk will speak about the aftermath of her husband Charlie’s killing in a prime-time “town hall” event televised by CBS News on Dec. 13, the network said Thursday. The event will be moderated by Bari Weiss, the network’s new editor-in-chief and founder...
Gov. Josh Shapiro says Kamala Harris’ descriptions of him were false and intended to sell books
Gov. Josh Shapiro lashed out over former Vice President Kamala Harris’ portrayal of his interview to become her 2024 running mate, calling Harris’ retellings “complete and utter (expletive)” intended to sell books and “cover her (expletive),” according to The Atlantic. Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s first-term Democratic governor now seen as a likely...
Trump targets Minnesota’s Somali community with harsh words, policies
MINNEAPOLIS — Recent statements by President Donald Trump and top administration officials disparaging Minnesota’s large Somali community have focused renewed attention on the immigrants from the war-torn east African country and their descendants. Trump on Tuesday said he did not want Somalis in the U.S. because “they contribute nothing.” The...
Resurfaced Hegseth video intensifies clash over Democrats’ message on illegal military orders
U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio and other Democratic lawmakers under fire from the Trump administration for publishing a video saying service members are obligated to refuse illegal orders are further questioning the blowback in response to a 2016 video featuring current Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth. In the unearthed April 2016 video,...
Trump pardons Texas Democratic Rep. Cuellar in bribery and conspiracy case
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump pardoned Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar and his wife in a federal bribery and conspiracy case on Wednesday, citing what he called a “weaponized” justice system. Trump, who has argued that his own legal troubles were a partisan witch hunt, said on social media without...
Republican victory in Tennessee special election fails to dispel 2026 midterm concerns
Republicans held onto a reliably conservative U.S. House district in Tennessee’s special election, but only after a late burst of national spending and high-profile campaigning helped them secure a margin less than half of last year’s race. Even with that victory, the outcome contributed to a gloomy outlook for the...
Pete Hegseth faces deepening scrutiny from Congress over boat strikes
WASHINGTON — Pete Hegseth barely squeaked through a grueling Senate confirmation process to become secretary of defense earlier this year, facing lawmakers wary of the Fox News Channel host and skeptical of his capacity, temperament and fitness for the job. Just three months later, he quickly became embroiled in Signalgate...
Progressive group targets Senate Democrats for backing Trump’s judicial nominees
A progressive group is targeting two Senate Democrats and an independent senator who voted to confirm some of President Donald Trump’s judicial nominees, promising to spend more than $1 million in hopes of pushing congressional Democrats to take a stronger stand against the Republican president. In a weeklong advertising campaign...
Trump-backed Republican Matt Van Epps wins U.S. House special election in Tennessee
NASHVILLE — Republican Matt Van Epps won a nationally watched special election in Tennessee for a seat in the U.S. House on Tuesday, maintaining his party’s grip on the district with help from President Donald Trump. A military veteran and former state general services commissioner from Nashville, Van Epps defeated...
Chances dwindling for renewal of health care subsidies, risking premium spikes for millions
WASHINGTON — Hopes for an extension of health care subsidies were diminishing in Congress this week as Republicans and Democrats largely abandoned the idea of bipartisan talks on the issue, increasing the odds that millions of Americans could see sharp premium spikes starting Jan. 1. Democrats who agreed earlier this...
Trump dismisses affordability concerns as Democratic ‘con job’
President Trump on Tuesday dismissed concerns about affordability as a Democratic “con job” in a remarkable shift after recently latching onto the buzzword encapsulating widespread consumer worries about the cost of living. Trump branded affordability as a “hoax” in a speech to his Cabinet in which he also downplayed the...
Legislation from Summer Lee, Democratic colleagues would combat discriminatory AI
Artificial intelligence is transforming the world, one algorithm at a time. U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, wants to make sure those algorithms don’t violate people’s civil rights. Lee and three of her Democratic colleagues in the House are introducing a bill that would aim to prevent companies from using discriminatory...
Trump administration says it will withhold SNAP from Democrat-led states if they don’t provide data
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s administration said Tuesday that it will move to withhold SNAP food aid from recipients in most Democratic-controlled states starting next week unless those states provide information about those receiving the assistance. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday that the action is...
Michael, Susan Dell donate $6.25 billion to encourage families to claim ‘Trump Accounts’
NEW YORK — Billionaires Michael and Susan Dell pledged $6.25 billion Tuesday to provide 25 million American children 10 and under an incentive to claim the new investment accounts for children created as part of President Donald Trump’s tax and spending legislation. The historic gift has little precedent, with few...
Trump says he doesn’t want Somalis in the U.S.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he did not want Somali immigrants in the U.S., saying residents of the war-ravaged eastern African country are too reliant on U.S. social safety net and add little to the United States. Trump’s contemptuous description of the entire immigrant community is the...
State budget was 135 days late, but Pa. lawmakers got their pay raise on time
Pennsylvania lawmakers just received a 3.25% pay increase on Dec. 1, raising their base salary to $113,575. Only New York and California’s legislators make more. The national average for state lawmakers was $47,904, less than half of what the commonwealth’s lawmakers made, per the National Conference of State Legislatures. The...
