💃 Friday. Friday. Gotta Get Down On Friday. The weekend is here. Let’s celebrate.

PA Weather
☀️ Butler | Sunny, 88
🌧️ Paxtonia | Mostly Cloudy, Showers around, 85
☔ Ardmore | Showers, 83

PA Sports
⚾ Phillies (61-32) | LA Dodgers 5-1 | Fri-Sun vs. Oakland
⚾ Pirates (45-48) | Milwaukee 1-0 | Fri-Sun vs. Chicago White Sox
⚽ Union (4-9-9) | Sat vs. Toronto

👂 What We’re Hearing. “Particularly in these polarized times where a lot of folks feel like nothing’s getting done, here in Pennsylvania we are proving that we can make progress.” – Gov. Josh Shapiro

🎂 Happy Birthday. Cake and candles for Sen. Lisa Baker (Fri.) and U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio (Sat.).

🗞️ Today’s Headlines >> Your Inbox. Where can you find all the latest news on what’s happening in Keystone State politics? Sign up for the PoliticsPA Playbook. We’ll deliver all the latest headlines in an easy-to-read format every weekday at 8 AM. And it’s free. Add your name to the list and subscribe now.

Top Story

1. Is There A Path Forward For Biden, Democrats?

“As President Joe Biden looks to recover from a disastrous debate against former President Donald Trump, questions abound as to what could happen next.

Would Biden step aside and allow another candidate to carry the Democratic Party banner into battle in November? Who would … who could that candidate be? Would it be determined in the days after Biden steps aside … or would it take place at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago from August 19-22?” (PoliticsPA)

Related

‘It’s a Rorschach’: Did Biden Buy Himself Time or Speed Up His End? “President Joe Biden’s much-touted press conference was presidential and newsy Thursday night: less strident than last week’s ABC interview, more deliberate and open to Democrats’ concerns. It also had some traditional bumbly Biden moments. The political question moving forward: Which part will people remember?” (NOTUS)

As More Dems Ditch Joe Biden, Josh Shapiro Still Thinks The President Can Win. “Shapiro has been a strident Biden supporter and strong surrogate for him, even as his name has been thrown around as a potential candidate to replace Biden on the Democratic ticket and run against former President Donald Trump in November.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Biden Campaign Calls PA, Michigan and Wisconsin As “Clearest Pathway” To Victory. “The Biden-Harris campaign made clear once again what everyone else knows. The “Blue Wall” states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin are critical to the campaign and the “clearest pathway” to victory.” (PoliticsPA)

Will Pennsylvania Decide the 2024 Election? “Biden can’t win re-election without Pennsylvania. This is why, as Axios reported, the Trump campaign still views Pennsylvania as the toughest to win among the seven swing states. But to Democratic elders — such as campaign veteran James Carville, whose career was launched by his management of a successful 1986 gubernatorial campaign in Pennsylvania — there is no path to victory for Biden.” (UnHerd)

Trump, Jill Biden Make Stops In PA This Weekend Ahead of Republican National Convention. “Both Trump and Biden will be in western Pennsylvania on Saturday with the former president holding a rally in Butler County and the First Lady speaking at an Italian Sons and Daughters of America dinner in Pittsburgh.” (PennLive)

State

2. Shapiro Signs $47.6B State Budget

“Pennsylvania lawmakers ground through a flurry of votes Thursday to approve a budget deal, nearly two weeks into the new fiscal year after being slowed by disagreements during closed-door negotiations over Democrats’ push for more public schools aid.

The $47.6 billion plan for the fiscal year that started July 1 represents a 6% increase over last year’s approved spending, with most of the new money going toward public schools and human services to boost pay for direct care workers.

The plan also devotes more money to making college more affordable in a state that’s rated as among the worst in the nation in affordability and hundreds of millions to compete for huge new projects like multibillion-dollar microchip plants.” (AP)

Related

Shapiro Signs PA Budget Deal With Big Increases To Education, Few Tax Changes. “Lawmakers in both the state Senate and House of Representatives worked at a rapid pace Thursday to vote through the necessary legislation, often keeping their remarks brief and moving to suspend timetable rules in order to vote on bills shortly after they passed out of committee.” (PennLive)

Compromises on Education Spending, Tax Cuts, and Transit Headline PA’s $47.6B Budget. “Pennsylvania lawmakers have sent Gov. Josh Shapiro a $47.6 billion budget that increases public education spending, funnels new dollars into economic development, provides a one-time boost for transit systems, and creates a new college scholarship program.” (Spotlight PA)

PA Lawmakers Reach $47.6 Billion Budget Deal With Sweeping Changes To Public Education. “Overall, the state will increase spending by 6.2%, or $2.72 billion, over last fiscal year, according to the budget passed Thursday night.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Billion-Dollar Hike In PA School Spending Doesn’t Buy Universal Support. “Pennsylvania’s public schools are positioned to receive a $1.2 billion increase in the commonwealth’s new $47.6 billion budget, a boost met with lukewarm enthusiasm for falling short of what advocates sought and criticism from legislative conservatives for lacking a voucher plan.” (CNHI News)

Around The Commonwealth

3. John Dougherty Sentenced

“John J. Dougherty — a towering figure who for decades dominated the arenas of politics and organized labor in Philadelphia — was sentenced Thursday to six years in federal prison following convictions for bribery and embezzlement.

In announcing the punishment, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Schmehl acknowledged the immeasurable impact the former labor leader had had on the city over nearly 30 years at the helm of Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the state’s most powerful labor union.

Still, the judge told him: “Somewhere along that trip, you lost your way. You lost your integrity. … And for that you must pay the price.”” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Related

Local Governments Could Save Millions If Public Notice Requirements Change. Newspapers Oppose The Move. “As newspapers print less frequently in some communities and close in others, local government groups want the legislature to change a state law that requires municipalities to publish public notices in a community’s paper of record.” (Spotlight PA)

PA Senate Committee Subpoenas Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone Tax Records. “The NIZ has received more than $500 million in tax money for development projects since it was founded in 2011. As a result, downtown Allentown has undergone a major overhaul in the past decade and a half.” (CNHI News)

A Former CMU Prof. Is Involved In Project 2025, The Conservative Plan To Overhaul U.S. Government. “It’s not often that the work of a think tank, even one as prominent as the conservative Heritage Foundation, draws much attention. And even the name of Heritage’s proposed agenda for a second Trump administration — Project 2025 — may sound like the plot device in a bad spy novel.” (WESA Politics)

Could a Recent Supreme Court Decision Reduce Former Mayor Ed Pawlowski’s Prison Sentence in Corruption Case? “Pawlowski filed a motion last week in U.S. Eastern District Court asking a judge to modify his sentence or grant a new hearing in light of Snyder v. United States, a June Supreme Court decision that limited the scope of anti-bribery laws.” (Allentown Morning Call)

Editorial

4. What’s On Your Mind

• Milwaukee’s RNC Will Highlight The Clash Between Donald Trump and His Own Worst Instincts. (Will Bunch)
• Just Tell The Establishment ‘No’. (David Mills)
• Democrats Who Don’t Want Biden, Prepare For a Convention Fight. (Jim Geraghty)
• Don’t Let All The Political Madness Turn You Away From Democracy. (John Baer)
• Act of Desperation? Biden’s Team Checks Delegates for Loyalty. (Jonathan Martin)
• C’mon, Man. (Mark Leibovich)
• Why Can UK and France Move Faster Toward Political Change Than U.S.? (Lori Falce)
• PBMs Are Costing Pennsylvanians at the Pharmacy. (Rep. Jessica Benham)

1 Thing

5. Running of the Bull

“York County commuters are used to traffic delays along Interstate 83, but Wednesday brought a surreal sight: A Texas longhorn bull running loose near the northbound lanes at the Fishing Creek exit.

Police and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation authorities said the bull was first spotted in the median near Exit 36 as people tried to wrangle it back into a trailer. Police said the bull escaped from a trailer as it was being transported.” (York Dispatch)

Thanks for starting your morning with us.
Please invite your colleagues
to subscribe to the PoliticsPA Playbook