Politics Election category, Page 303
CBO: Trump’s budget would add trillions more to deficit, and that doesn’t even include coronavirus spendingVideo
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration’s fiscal 2021 budget request would add $5.4 trillion more to the cumulative 10-year deficit than the White House originally estimated, according to a Congressional Budget Office analysis released Monday. That would mean increased deficits during the next decade to roughly $11 trillion, though neither the...
Coronavirus makes it harder for political campaigns to ask for money
WASHINGTON — White House candidates aren’t usually bashful about asking supporters for money. But as the coronavirus upends everyday life, inundating hospitals, tanking financial markets and putting 3.3 million Americans out of work, President Donald Trump and his likely Democratic rival, Joe Biden, suddenly find themselves navigating perilous terrain. What...
Ex-Sen. Tom Coburn, conservative political maverick, dies
OKLAHOMA CITY — Former U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma family doctor who earned a reputation as a conservative political maverick as he railed against federal earmarks and subsidies for the rich, has died. He was 72. Coburn, who also delivered more than 4,000 babies while an obstetrician in Muskogee,...
Shop sells ‘hundreds’ of doughnuts starring Dr. Fauci’s face
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — An upstate New York doughnut shop is featuring the likeness of the doctor leading the country’s battle with coronavirus on its sweet treats. Donuts Delite in Rochester began selling hundreds of doughnuts with Dr. Anthony Fauci’s face, surrounded by white frosting and topped off with patriotic sprinkles....
UK’s Johnson virus positive as new outbreaks appear in US
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson became the first leader of a major country to test positive for the coronavirus while disturbing new outbreaks appeared in the United States, deaths surged in Italy and Spain and the world warily trudged through the pandemic that has sickened more than a half-million people....
Congressman Mike Kelly of Butler tests positive for covid-19
U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly said Friday that he has tested positive for covid-19. The Republican from Butler, 71, said his symptoms are not severe and that he will continue to work from home until they subside completely. “My symptoms remain mild, and I will serve the 16th District from home...
GOP’s Massie outrages House, Trump by seeking to stall vote
WASHINGTON — Rep. Thomas Massie has always gone his own way in Congress, ever since he first ran for office inspired by a fellow libertarian-leaning Kentuckian, Rand Paul. Now in his fourth term, the Republican from northern Kentucky has frequently voted no on issues large and small, even against the...
House passes $2.2T rescue package, rushes it to TrumpVideo
WASHINGTON — Acting with unity and resolve unseen since the 9/11 attacks, the House of Representatives gave near-unanimous approval Friday to historic legislation designed to prevent the economy from collapsing and rush resources to overburdened health care providers and struggling families during the deepening coronavirus epidemic. The unprecedented $2.2 trillion...
Trump says feds developing new guidelines for virus risk
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday that federal officials are developing guidelines to rate counties by risk of virus spread, as he aims to begin to ease nationwide guidelines meant to stem the coronavirus outbreak. In a letter to the nation’s governors, Trump said the new guidelines are meant...
Trump camp threatens local TV stations over Democratic ad
President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign is threatening legal action against local TV stations in Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin if they don’t pull a Democratic anti-Trump commercial that uses clips of the president talking about the coronavirus outbreak. The campaign says the ad is false. Priorities USA Action Fund,...
Highlights of Congress’ $2.2 trillion virus relief packageVideo
WASHINGTON — What’s exactly in the massive $2.2 trillion package to rush aid to businesses, workers and a health care system slammed by the coronavirus pandemic? The package, written by Trump administration officials and Democratic and Republican Senate leaders, was released late Wednesday night and unanimously approved by the Senate....
Senate passes coronavirus rescue package on unanimous voteVideo
WASHINGTON — The Senate late Wednesday passed an unparalleled $2.2 trillion economic rescue package steering aid to businesses, workers and health care systems engulfed by the coronavirus pandemic. The unanimous vote came despite misgivings on both sides about whether it goes too far or not far enough and capped days...
Pennsylvania Sens. Casey and Toomey happy with virus rescue bill
Pennsylvania Sens. Pat Toomey and Bob Casey didn’t see eye-to-eye in the days leading up to the U.S. Senate’s agreement on a historic $2 trillion emergency bill. But they are both glad the deal was struck shortly after midnight on Wednesday. The Senate passed the bill late Wednesday night, following...
Pennsylvania lawmakers vote to delay primary until June 2 over coronavirus
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania lawmakers voted Wednesday to delay the state’s primary election by five weeks to June 2, potentially past the spike of the state’s spreading coronavirus cases. The measure passed both chambers of the Republican-controlled state Legislature on Wednesday and Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, said he will sign...
Primary purgatory with no 12th Democratic debate on horizon
ATLANTA — There is no 12th Democratic presidential debate on the horizon now that the nominating process is in a holding pattern because of the coronavirus pandemic. One of the Democratic National Committee’s lead debate organizers, Xochitl Hinojosa, said the party has not set a date or secured a television...
Deal reached on historic $2 trillion virus rescue billVideo
WASHINGTON — The White House and Senate leaders of both parties announced agreement early Wednesday on an unprecedented $2 trillion emergency bill to rush sweeping aid to businesses, workers and a health care system slammed by the coronavirus pandemic. The urgently needed pandemic response measure is the largest economic rescue...
Mark Cuban unleashes on Twitter, imploring Congress to pass stimulus bill
Pittsburgh-area native and billionaire Mark Cuban unloaded on Congress in a profanity-laced Twitter tirade Tuesday, imploring Democrats and Republicans to come together on a stimulus deal to help save the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Mt. Lebanon entrepreneur and owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks unleashed after a tweet...
$2 trillion U.S. package may be at hand to ease economic pain of coronavirusVideo
WASHINGTON — Congressional and White House officials said Tuesday a deal appears to be at hand to provide sweeping aid to businesses and workers facing ruin from the coronavirus pandemic. Both Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the top Democrat, Sen. Chuck Schumer, said agreement appeared close on the nearly...
Trump says he intends to reopen country in weeks, not monthsVideo
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Monday that he wants to reopen the country for business in weeks, not months, and he claimed, without evidence, that continued closures could result in more deaths than the coronavirus pandemic. “We can’t have the cure be worse than the problem,” Trump told reporters...
Sens. Toomey and Casey split on party lines on financial rescue vote
Pennsylvania’s senators split on party lines Sunday night as Senate Democrats blocked a vote on a $1.8 trillion GOP-crafted coronavirus aid package, leaving party leaders desperately trying to negotiate a compromise Monday. U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Lehigh Valley, voted in favor of the package Senate Republicans crafted. He said he...
Tensions rise as $2 trillion virus aid stalls in Washington
WASHINGTON — Tensions flared Monday as Washington strained to respond to the worsening coronavirus outbreak, with Congress arguing over a nearly $2 trillion economic rescue package and an impatient President Donald Trump musing openly about letting the 15-day shutdown expire. As the U.S. braces for an onslaught of sick Americans,...
Fallout of ’08 bailout looms over Washington negotiations
WASHINGTON — In the fall of 2008, an unlikely alliance of lawmakers, regulators and Bush administration officials banded together to rescue an economy they feared was hours away from collapse. They also unwittingly reshaped American politics, unleashing a populist furor that lingers in both parties to this day. More than...
Pennsylvania eyes later primary as coronavirus outbreak continues
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania is confirming another big increase in coronavirus cases Sunday as lawmakers are drafting legislation to delay the state’s April 28 primary election and relax rules around how mail-in ballots can be processed in advance of polls closing. Pennsylvania House State Government Committee Chairman Garth Everett, R-Lycoming, said...
Sen. Rand Paul says he has tested positive for coronavirus
WASHINGTON— Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, becoming the first case of covid-19 in the Senate and raising fears about the further transmission of the virus among Republicans at the Capitol. Paul, an eye surgeon, went into quarantine Sunday after learning his results. He...
Senate fails to advance covid-19 rescue package
WASHINGTON — Top-level negotiations between Congress and the White House churned late into the night over a now nearly $2 trillion economic rescue package, as the coronavirus crisis deepened, the nation shut down and the first U.S. senator tested positive for the disease. As President Donald Trump took to the...
