Author
Pat Toomey & Brian Fitzpatrick: A tale of two Republicans | John L. Micek
The experience of two Republican lawmakers from Pennsylvania — a state that President Donald Trump won in 2016, and one that remains critical to his reelection chances — tells us a lot about the state of the GOP in 2019. First up, there’s U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, the Keystone State’s junior United States senator. If […]
Pennsylvania is a pretty good place to raise a baby, new report finds
Pennsylvania is making progress at encouraging strong families, and becoming a state where infants and toddlers can grow up in good health and encounter positive early learning experiences, a new report has found. The Keystone State is listed among 13 states, including neighboring New Jersey and Ohio, that are “improving outcomes” when it comes to raising […]
Casey, Pa. Dems want to know if Trump’s border wall declaration will hurt state military projects
Pennsylvania’s senior U.S. senator wants the Pentagon to come clean on how President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration on the border wall could potentially affect roughly $200 million worth of military construction projects in the Keystone State. Casey, joined by every Democratic member of the state’s U.S. House delegation, sent a letter to acting Defense Secretary […]
Pat Toomey plays ‘Hamlet’ on TV. The House is going to force him to choose | Thursday Morning Coffee
Good Thursday Morning, Fellow Seekers. Let’s take a moment to consider the case of U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey. If we know one thing about the Lehigh Valley Republican, it’s that he often plays it cagey, keeping his thoughts to himself, waiting until the last moment before he makes his opinion on a big issue public. Consider […]
How Pa.’s House delegation voted on that gun background check bill
The majority-Democrat U.S. House voted 240-190 Wednesday to approve the first, major piece of standalone gun-control legislation to come before the chamber in two decades. The bill, which requires universal background checks on all firearms purchases, now goes to the Senate for consideration. President Donald Trump has threatened to veto the legislation. Here’s how every […]
Gov. Tom Wolf didn’t have a fave superhero, but he did love “Classics Illustrated” — which explains so much
Gov. Tom Wolf held an Q&A session on Instagram on Wednesday. And while it lacked the intensity of … say … the Watergate hearings, there were a few surprise glimpses into the psyche of Pennsylvania’s chief executive. For one, the session did settle the “Debate We Didn’t Even Know We Were Having” over whether Wolf […]
Gov. Wolf’s campaign wants to raise $20k for Democrat in North Carolina congressional race
Now that it doesn’t have to worry about raising cash for re-election, Gov. Tom Wolf’s campaign apparatus is looking for other places to flex its fundraising muscles. Mission accomplished? In a Tuesday email blast, Wolf’s campaign asked supporters to help them raise $20,000 by Thursday at midnight so that Democrat Dan McCready’s campaign can meet […]
The U.S. House is going to vote on gun background checks. The pre-game among Pa. lawmakers is going how you’d expect
The majority-Democrat is expected to vote Wednesday on the first, major piece of gun-control legislation in two decades: A bill that would require universal background checks on all gun purchases. Writing in The Washington Post earlier this week, former U.S. Rep. Ryan Costello, R-Pa., observed that the bill, as currently written, would “require a background […]
Pa. U.S Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick just passed a key gut-check test. Here’s why | Wednesday Morning Coffee
Good Wednesday Morning, Fellow Seekers. Remember these words – they may be the most important words uttered by any sitting member of Congress during this very young session: “This is much bigger than any one issue, and any one President. This is about the Constitution, the separation of powers, and about setting precedents that apply […]
Here’s what Pa’s Congressional delegation has to say about the vote to nullify Trump’s emergency declaration
(*This piece has been updated to correctly identify the districts for U.S. Reps. Dwight Evans and Brendan Boyle) Surprising no one, the U.S. House voted 245-182 on partisan lines Tuesday to approve a resolution nullifying President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration to build a wall at the United States’ southern border with Mexico. The Washington Post […]
Did Jake Corman just signal a kinder, gentler #PaBudget season? | Tuesday Morning Coffee
The top Senate Republican sounds like he's looking for a deal already. Can he get one - and keep the rank-and-file happy?
In Washington Post op-ed, Pa.’s Ryan Costello’s urges Republicans to vote ‘yes’ on gun background checks bill
With the U.S. House poised to vote on a major piece of gun-control legislation, a former Republican congressman from suburban Philadelphia is urging his onetime GOP colleagues to get on board and support it. Pending legislation that would require mandatory background checks on all gun sales “is not only consistent with the Second Amendment; it’s […]