🐪  Hump Day! Another wet one around these parts

🎶  Your Morning Pick-Me-Up. Ain’t No Mountain High Enough. The great Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell

PA Weather
☂️ Brockway | Showers, 68
🌧️ Roaring Spring | Showers, 71
☔ Nesquehoning | Showers, 62

PA Sports
⚾ Phillies (24-17) | St. Louis ppd | Wed vs. St. Louis (2)
⚾ Pirates (14-29) | NY Mets 1-2 | Wed vs. NY Mets
⚽ Union (7-2-3) | Wed vs. LA Galaxy

PA Money | Futures (as of 7:51 a.m.)
💰 Dow 🔼 +36.00 | NASDAQ 🔼 +82.00 | S&P 🔼 +14.25

📅 What’s Happening Today. The House convenes at 11 a.m. The Senate is off until June 2.

🔊 What We’re Hearing. Sen. Dave McCormick will hold a telephone town hall tonight at 7 p.m. But you have to RSVP by 9 a.m. this morning

🗞️ The PoliticsPA Playbook is compiled by Steve Ulrich. To read in your browser, click here. Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe for free.

Top Story

1. Jill Biden Cut Off Shapiro During Post-Debate Warning About Campaign

“First lady Jill Biden pulled her husband away from Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro when he raised concerns about the state of then-President Joe Biden’s re-election camp

The Bidens met with Shapiro for a private conversation in Harrisburg on July 7, 2024, 10 days after the incumbent’s catastrophic debate performance against presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, according to the account in “Original Sin,” co-authored by Alex Thompson and Jake Tapper.

At one point, Biden asked Shapiro, “How do you think it’s going out there?” in reference to the campaign. In response, Thompson and Tapper wrote, the governor “decided to give it to him straight.”” (New York Post)

Elsewhere

2 More Fetterman Aides Leave Embattled Senator’s Office. “Two more aides left John Fetterman’s office in recent weeks, the latest in a stream of staff exits amid the Pennsylvania senator’s shifting political persona and questions about his health.” (Politico)

• Sen. Katie Britt Slams Democrats For Not Defending Fetterman. (Jewish Insider)

Rep. Smucker Makes Imprint on House GOP Tax Bill Looking to Extend Tax Cuts. “House Republicans are moving proposals across several congressional committees this week to reduce federal spending on programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – cuts intended to help fund President Donald Trump’s tax cut proposal and lower the country’s annual budget deficit.” (LNP)

Judge in Johnstown Becomes 1st In U.S. to Uphold Use of Alien Enemies Act to Deport Venezuelans. “A federal judge in Johnstown on Tuesday ruled the government may remove Venezuelan citizens thought to be members of a violent gang under the Alien Enemies Act — but only if they are given 21 days notice and “an opportunity to be heard.”” (Greensburg Tribune-Review)

PA Justices Ask in Oral Arguments: Is RGGI a Tax, a Fee, or Something Completely Different? “The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative could put fossil fuel-burning power plants out of business and significantly increase energy costs for consumers, electricity producers and Republican opponents of the program said Tuesday in state Supreme Court.” (Penn Capital-Star)

State

2. McClinton Gets Election Omnibus Bill Across House Finish Line

“It’s good to be in the majority.

Speaker of the House Joanna McClinton was able to get her omnibus election bill – The Voting Rights Protection Act – across the finish line on Tuesday afternoon, as House Bill 1396 passed along party lines, 102-101.

The legislation would improve the administration of the state’s elections while strengthening ballot access for Pennsylvania’s eligible voters.” (PoliticsPA)

Elsewhere

Democrats Were Prepared to Pass New Voter ID Requirements in Pennsylvania. Then Republicans Hit the Brakes. “The stalled vote on a voter ID bill, which was paired with a sweeping bill reforming the state election code, was intended to break a yearslong stalemate on election policy in the General Assembly.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

House Panel Votes to Repeal Closed Primaries in PA. “A week before the 2025 Pennsylvania municipal primary election, the House State Government Committee advanced a bill that would permit independents to vote in what have been closed primaries in the Commonwealth.” (PoliticsPA)

Senate Committee Rejects Bill That Would Have Legalized Recreational Marijuana in Pennsylvania. “A Republican-led Senate Committee on Tuesday rejected a bill to legalize recreational marijuana in Pennsylvania less than a week after it passed the Democratic-led House, and the Senate Republican leader subsequently cast doubt on whether the issue could move forward.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

PA GOP Seeks to Gain Control of State’s Highest Court, Where Final Decisions Are Made On Voting and Abortion. “State judicial elections typically garner little attention, but Pennsylvania’s 2025 state Supreme Court races are shaping up to be the next major political battleground.” (WHYY)

Around The Commonwealth

3. Why Pittsburgh Progressives Are Targeting Judge Elections This Year

“Reform groups in Allegheny County endorsed candidates with experience in public defense, social work, or civil rights in the May 20 primaries – part of a long game to shift local power.

The groups backing the “Slate of Eight,” such as the Pennsylvania Working Families Party and Pittsburgh’s Alliance for Police Accountability, hope that people with these types of experiences would, as judges, be attuned to the issues faced by criminal defendants, from high bail to poor jail conditions.” (Bolts)

Elsewhere

Moreno, West Both Attack Democrats and Their Policies In Debate a Week Before Primary. “Tony Moreno and Thomas West made some of their final pitches to Pittsburgh Republicans on Tuesday evening, saying the city’s long history of Democratic leadership had failed them on issues related to public safety, economic development, business innovation and other issues.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Primary 2025: Allentown Mayoral Race. “Incumbent Matt Tuerk is running for a second term and faces a Democratic primary challenge from Allentown City Council member Ed Zucal. There are no Republicans on the ballot.” (PoliticsPA)

2 Downtown Shootings Drive Final Harrisburg Mayor’s Debate. “A weekend of gun violence in Harrisburg’s struggling downtown seemed to symbolize everything that’s wrong in Pennsylvania’s capital city.” (PennLive)

Penn State Details Its Rationale For Campus Closures in 143-Page Report. “The seven Pennsylvania State University campuses recommended for closure face declines in enrollment and finances, low student housing occupancy, and a significant backlog in maintenance.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Editorial

4. Speak Your Mind

• The Arson Attack On Gov. Shapiro Is Yet Another Troubling Escalation of Political Violence. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• Harrisburg’s Mayoral Race Reveals a City Bitterly Divided by Politics. (PennLive)
• Trump Can Show Leadership By Taking a New Direction on Nippon Steel Deal. (Jack Yoest)
• PA Supreme Court Must Strike Down Shapiro’s Energy Tax. (André Béliveau)
• Confronting the Loss of Local News in Pennsylvania. (Tara Bradley-Steck)
• The Bright Spot of Trump’s Trade War Is In a Pennsylvania Factory. (Jasmine M. Green)
• All of Us Pay the Price For Underfunding Public Defense. (Leon A. Parker)

1 Thing

5. ESPN’s New All-Access Streaming App Will Cost $29.99 Per Month

“ESPN’s new streaming application, featuring everything the sports media arm of Disney has to offer, will cost $29.99 per month.

The service, which will take the ESPN name, as CNBC reported last week, will be heavily discounted when bundled with Disney’s other streaming services, Disney+ and Hulu. The three services, with ads, will cost $35.99 per month when purchased together.” (CNBC)

Thank you for starting your Wednesday with us.
And reading the PoliticsPA Playbook