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Your Morning Pick-Me-Up. Everybody Needs Someone to Love. The Blues Brothers

PA Weather
☁️ Canonsburg | Cloudy, 36
☁️ Carlisle | Mostly Cloudy, 42
☁️ Coplay | Mostly Cloudy, 47

PA Sports
Flyers (27-27-8) | Thu vs. Winnipeg
Penguins (24-30-10) | Fri vs. Vegas
Sixers (21-40) | Thu vs. Boston
PIAA Wrestling Championships at Giant Center in Hershey.

What’s Happening Today. The House Appropriations Committee holds hearings with the Auditor General and Governor’s offices. The Senate talks with the Governor’s office.

Social Media. Join us on Twitter and Bluesky at @PoliticsPA

Top Story

1. With Canada and Mexico As PA’s Top Trade Partner, Shapiro Says Trump’s Tariff Plan ‘Makes No Sense’

“Gov. Josh Shapiro criticized President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on almost all imports from Mexico and Canada as picking “a fight with our friends” and warned that they will result in higher prices for Pennsylvania residents.

“It makes no sense,” Shapiro said. “I don’t know why he did it. But we’re going to see a real effect of his policies, and the effect is going to be higher prices for Pennsylvanians.”” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Elsewhere

Trump Administration Plans to Cut 80,000 Employees From Veterans Affairs, According to Internal Memo. “The VA’s chief of staff, Christopher Syrek, told top-level officials at the agency that it had an objective to cut enough employees to return to 2019 staffing levels of just under 400,000.” (AP)

Lessons From History: House Incumbents From the Non-Presidential Party Rarely Lose Reelection in Midterms. “Even if House Democrats were to take a public relations hit from a federal government shutdown—again, this is all hypothetical—there is a longer-term trend that very well could insulate them in their next election: Opposition party incumbents rarely lose in midterms.” (Center For Politics)

How the States Have Shifted: Statewide Cook PVI from 1997 to 2025. “The seven-state Electoral College battleground of 2024 became such a cliche that it’s hard to believe that states other than Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin ever mattered. But, you don’t need to go that far back in history to be reminded that it wasn’t always this way. States’ partisan leanings are ever-evolving, sometimes in incongruous ways.” (Cook Political Report)

State

2. Pennsylvania to Spend $10 Million On New Voter Registration System

“Pennsylvania is spending more than $10 million to replace its electronic voter registration database with an election management system that will also provide election night results and handle campaign finance filings and lobbyist registration.

Secretary of State Al Schmidt announced Wednesday the Civix system should be fully in use by the time of the next presidential election in 2028, replacing the existing Statewide Uniform Registry of Electors, or SURE system.” (AP)

Elsewhere

Can PA Handle Elections Better? Forum Offers Suggestions. “State and county officials speaking at a bipartisan forum here Wednesday on protecting the sanctity of the vote reeled off a number of changes they’d like state policymakers to consider.” (PennLive)

Shapiro Signs Executive Order to Assist Federal Workers Looking For Work With Commonwealth. “In response to the recent actions by the Department of Government Efficiency, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro signed an Executive Order to help fill critical vacancies in the Commonwealth workforce with experienced former federal employees.” (PoliticsPA)

Treasurer Talks Long-Term Fiscal Outlook. “State Treasurer Stacy Garrity enjoyed bipartisan praise for several of the initiatives her office has undertaken during the department’s hearing before the House Appropriations Committee.” (The Center Square)

Top Republicans Say Biden Administration’s Medicaid Change Could Cost Pennsylvania Billions. “Top Republican state senators including Kim Ward of Westmoreland County want the administration of President Donald Trump to reverse a Biden administration decision on Medicaid that the senators say could cost the state $2 billion.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Around The Commonwealth

3. This City Helped the US Back Ukraine. Now Its Role is Uncertain

“US President Donald Trump’s pause on military aid and intelligence sharing for Ukraine has left the war-torn country’s residents uncertain about their futures and rattled America’s European allies. But it also hit far closer to home in Scranton, Pennsylvania, a city about 4,700 miles (7,560km) away from Kyiv that has played its own small role in the conflict.” (BBC News)

• Trump to Revoke Legal Status For 240,000 Ukrainians As US Steps Up Deportations. (Reuters)

Elsewhere

Breaking the Bubble: What the 2024 Election Revealed about Swarthmore’s Political Landscape. “Swarthmore College is overwhelmingly liberal and regarded to be a politically active campus. Placed on a hill and considerably wealthier than the average population, the college can be considered insulated from broader political currents shaping Pennsylvania and the nation. However, the 2024 election made the stakes hard to ignore.” (Swarthmore College Phoenix)

No Republican is Running For Philadelphia DA This Year, Party Leaders Say. “Republicans are notably unhappy with Larry Krasner. Yet party leaders say they put out a call for candidates and got no takers.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Delco District Attorney Charges Millbourne Borough Official With Election Fraud. “DA Jack Stollsteimer alleges Millbourne Borough Vice President Mohammed Nurul Hasan falsely registered people and cast ballots on their behalf in his losing mayoral bid.” (WHYY)

As Lackawanna County Commissioners Accept McGloin Resignation, Gaughan Rips Succession Process. “The Lackawanna County commissioners formally accepted Commissioner Matt McGloin’s resignation Wednesday, clearing the way for judges to appoint his replacement.” (WVIA)

Editorial

4. Speak Your Mind

• The Trump Tariff Roller Coaster. (Wall Street Journal)
• Trump Administration Decisions Have Real Impacts On Real People. (Greensburg Tribune-Review)
• Welcome to a Real-Life Twilight Zone. (Mary C. Curtis)
• What to Make of Trump’s `Rally’ to Congress? A Divisive Speech to a Divided Country. (John Baer)
• After 13 Years of Neglect, It’s Time to Solve Pennsylvania’s Brain Injury Funding Crisis. (Richard Edley)
• How Northern Pennsylvania Is Being Left Behind. (Seth Higgins)
• Are Republicans Already Tired of Winning? (Kyle Sammin)
• How to Win Campaigns Without Mentioning the T Word. (Adam C. Erickson)
• Trump is Surrendering a Century’s Worth of U.S. Global Power in a Matter of Weeks. (Matt K. Lewis)

1 Thing

5. Newest Gen Z Plight: Concert Tickets

“Gen Z is already facing more economic challenges than previous generations—and now, the New York Times is reporting that some young concertgoers are going into debt to see their favorite musicians.

According to the concert trade publication Pollstar, the average cost of a concert ticket for a Top 100 tour in 1996 was $25.81, or ~$52 when adjusted for inflation. Last year, the average ticket price for the Top 100 tours skyrocketed to $135.92.

Two surveys showed Gen Z and millennials are more likely to spend more and travel farther to a live event than today’s older generations. Another survey revealed that 86% of 1,000 Gen Z respondents overspent on live events, citing FOMO as their No. 1 reason.”

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