https://washingtonsun.com/pennsylvania Pennsylvania en-US Sun, 06 Sep 2026 18:31:43 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/senate/fetterman-rejects-report-senate-duties Jenna Monnin The Pennsylvania senator defended his record after The Wall Street Journal published text messages of him seemingly shirking key Senate duties. Sun, 06 Sep 2026 18:31:43 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/senate/fetterman-rejects-report-senate-duties Sen. John Fetterman hit back on Sunday against allegations from former staffers that he was shirking his responsibilities, downplaying the bombshell report as “smears” against him.

Fetterman told CNN in a statement that he rejected accusations detailed in The Wall Street Journal that the Pennsylvania Democrat neglected committee duties, dodged face time with constituents and complained about attending police officers’ funerals.

“Per usual — lies, half-truths, innuendos, smears and anonymous,” Fetterman told CNN.

“No matter how many smears or stories, I’m proud to continue to deliver for Pennsylvania,” he added.

The Journal’s report, posted Thursday night, cited text messages between Fetterman and his staffers in which he was reluctant to attend a funeral for fallen police officers and skipped meeting with Pennsylvania constituents.

The senator told CNN the messages were “stripped of any context and circumstances.”

Fetterman said that he made a “dumb joke” and he wished to “sincerely apologize” for a text exchange where he told a staffer he wasn’t concerned about Medicaid cuts raised by officials with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

The senator said he had met with officials from the hospital and remained committed to advocating for it.

Fetterman’s statements have created a rift with parts of the Democratic Party, which he openly threatened to leave earlier this year if it “officially become[s] the anti-Israel party.”

The senator's willingness to break with his party on key votes — including supporting Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s confirmation — has also prompted criticism from his Democratic colleagues.

In response to the messages in which Fetterman reportedly called a three-hour-long funeral service for fallen police officers in Pennsylvania a “nonstarter,” the senator said he shared his condolences with the families.

“On the day of that tragedy, we privately ordered flowers to be delivered for their families and expressed my condolences publicly,” he told CNN, citing a post on X expressing his grief. “In June of this year, I privately attended a Tunnel to Towers fundraiser in York for the families. I met with their chief and the family members directly to express my personal condolences.”

Fetterman also addressed the time he skipped a meeting with three paralyzed veterans on health care legislation but appeared on Fox News shortly after.

“It was my intention to meet with the group,” Fetterman told CNN. “Prior to the meeting I was at home throwing up, so I asked my staff to continue with the meeting which they did. Hours later, I felt well enough to continue the day as scheduled.”

Ex-staffers have raised concerns about Fetterman before the Journal’s report. The Democrat has been open about his mental and physical health struggles, and was hospitalized for depression in 2023 during his first year in office.

New York Magazine reported in May 2025 that Fetterman’s former chief of staff, Adam Jentleson, flagged concerns about the senator to his physician in a 1,600-word email.

Some of Fetterman’s former staff created an account on X and threatened to drop more information on Sept. 14 when the Senate returns to session “to show Pennsylvanians exactly who their Senator is.”

Though Jentleson said he’s not involved in the account, he encouraged the staffers to share their stories with media outlets not through anonymous posts on X.

“There are many crazy things about this story, but one is that this is an entirely new group of staff who have rotated in and apparently find themselves horrified at Fetterman’s behavior,” Jentleson wrote Thursday on X in response to the Journal’s report.

This story has been updated with further information about Fetterman’s comments to CNN and the Journal’s reporting. ]]> https://washingtonsun.com/democrats/fetterman-democrats-criticize-bombshell-article Gavin J. Quinton, Igor Bobic The Pennsylvania Democrat was uninterested in the typical day-to-day responsibilities of the job, a former senior aide confirmed to NOTUS. Fri, 04 Sep 2026 17:40:10 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/democrats/fetterman-democrats-criticize-bombshell-article Sen. John Fetterman was criticized by his Democratic peers Friday morning after a cutting Wall Street Journal article showed him shirking his committee duties, dodging face time with constituents and complaining about attending a set of police funerals.

Other members of the Pennsylvania delegation denounced the behavior, with some promising to oust Fetterman if he decides to run for reelection in 2028.

“John Fetterman is a disgrace,” Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pennsylvania) wrote on X. “Our state deserves better than a lazy trust fund baby who is too lazy to do the job.”

Once touted by progressives as a hoodie-wearing populist darling, Fetterman’s popularity with Democrats has soured this year, particularly after he joined Republicans on Iran war powers votes and indicated he could leave the party if leadership makes opposition to Israel central to its platform.

The Journal article cited more than a dozen of Fetterman’s former staffers and colleagues, as well as verified internal texts in which the senator demonstrated a lack of interest in participating in the basic duties associated with his position.

Ex-staffers told the newspaper he chose conservative media hits and pro-Israel activism over routine Senate work. During one stretch, the senator reportedly skipped 11 of 12 full hearings between a handful of board appointments, and later instructed his staff to ensure he was marked “present” at hearings even when he stayed for a minute or less.

A former senior aide described Fetterman as uninterested in the typical day-to-day responsibilities of the job — preferring instead to scroll on his phone, reading X and Apple News for mentions of his name.

“This is the behavior that makes me the most angry,” the aide told NOTUS. “You can have policy disagreements, but at least do the 101 basics of being a representative in a representative government.”

“We fought tooth and nail for him to go to hearings, to go to markups, to go to constituent meetings. His unwillingness to do the work is a disservice to Pennsylvanians and a disservice to the institution of the Senate,” the aide added.

A group of former Fetterman staffers “who are disgusted with what he’s become” created an X account on Friday intended to share stories about the senator. NOTUS verified the authenticity of the account's ownership.

“Between the laziness, disrespect, and willingness to carry water for a foreign government, it shows us something we already know: this man has no sense of duty. He is not up for the high office he was elected to — and we in Pennsylvania will do something about it in 2028,” Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Pennsylvania) wrote Friday morning on X.

The article highlighted additional concerns about his interactions with local constituents: In June, three paralyzed military veterans traveled from rural Pennsylvania to meet with Fetterman about health care legislation. The senator canceled on them, instructing staff to say he had a stomach bug, before appearing for a live interview on Fox News that day. And last September, he reportedly dismissed children's hospital officials who were visiting D.C. to discuss vaccines and Medicaid cuts, quipping that they just wanted "free trips” to the capital.

When Pennsylvania state Rep. Liz Hanbidge traveled to Washington for a scheduled meeting on homelessness and working-class issues, Fetterman skipped it for a meeting with former NCAA basketball coach and pro-Israel advocate Bruce Pearl.

Internal communications showed that Fetterman refused to attend a three-hour funeral for fallen local police officers in Pennsylvania, declaring the length of the service a "nonstarter."

Former Rep. Conor Lamb, who lost to Fetterman by over 30 percentage points in the 2022 Senate primary and could launch a new campaign for 2028, said the senator should submit his resignation papers.

“John, if there is a decent bone left in your body, just quit. It’s an insult to decent people in our state for you to treat them and the office this way,” he wrote on X.

Fetterman had already isolated himself from most party allies by the time President Donald Trump retook office.

He took a meeting with Trump at Mar-a-lago in January 2025 before his inauguration. And in March 2025, when aides informed him that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was organizing a special conference call for Democrats, Fetterman wrote in texts, “I truly don’t care,” the Journal reported.

Democratic political strategist J.J. Abbott called the Journal story “deeply disturbing.”

“My take: those of us who can’t do anything about John’s behavior — criticizing him ain’t gonna do it — should ignore him,” he wrote on X. “All else is going right for PA Dems to win power in Harrisburg and DC. Let’s focus on winning and not giving him what he wants.”

Fetterman’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This story was updated to include additional details from a former senior aide.]]> https://washingtonsun.com/healthcare/rfk-cdc-scrubs-two-pennsylvania-measles-deaths-from-website Angie Orellana Hernandez The two deaths had been scrutinized by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who suggested they had been wrongly classified or even fabricated. Tue, 01 Sep 2026 17:56:15 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/healthcare/rfk-cdc-scrubs-two-pennsylvania-measles-deaths-from-website The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention removed two measles deaths in Pennsylvania from a national database just days after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. publicly disputed whether state officials had properly classified the cases.

The two deaths had been reflected in the CDC’s national count before being scrubbed over the weekend. The CDC said in a note posted to its website that it was reviewing “additional information regarding the circumstances and causes of death.”

Currently available information “does not establish whether measles caused or contributed to the deaths or whether the individuals died from other causes while infected with measles,” the note says. The message mirrors the questions raised by Kennedy on Aug. 26 during a public spat with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.

Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic who has downplayed the severity of measles outbreaks during his tenure, questioned whether the contagious disease played an active role in the deaths. He also suggested the deaths may have been “fabricated” by one of Shapiro’s staffers.

A spokesperson for the Health and Human Services department said the two deaths have not been confirmed “based on the information currently available to CDC.”

“CDC has a responsibility to ensure its reporting accurately and transparently reflects what is known and what remains unconfirmed,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “The information currently posted reflects the best available information and our commitment to transparency and telling the American people the truth—a foundational principle of the Trump Administration.”

The fatalities, flagged to the CDC by Pennsylvania on Aug. 25, are the state’s first reported measles-related deaths in 35 years. Pennsylvania has recorded almost 500 measles cases this year, according to the state Department of Health, one of the highest numbers in the country.

One of the two people who died was a newborn who state health officials said had tested positive for measles and died from a ruptured spleen. Both deaths occurred in Pennsylvania’s Lancaster County.

The deaths aggravated Shapiro, who said in a news conference Aug. 26 that there were “real-life consequences to spreading misinformation.”

“Kennedy’s actions to dismantle public health agencies and his language that undermines confidence in vetted medical guidance are contributing to these kinds of outbreaks,” Shapiro wrote on X later in the day. “Just a few years ago, Secretary Kennedy was in Lancaster downplaying the severity of measles and saying that the cure was ‘chicken soup and vitamin A.’”]]> https://washingtonsun.com/us-news/josh-shapiro-trade-barbs-rfk-jr-measles-outbreak Torrie Herrington Kennedy questioned if the two deaths in Pennsylvania “actually happened.” Wed, 26 Aug 2026 21:33:51 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/us-news/josh-shapiro-trade-barbs-rfk-jr-measles-outbreak Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have clashed publicly after two unvaccinated residents in the state died from measles, the first such deaths in Pennsylvania in decades.

At a news conference Tuesday, Shapiro arrived late, saying he was on a phone call with Kennedy — a call he described as “blunt.”

Shapiro, a Democrat, said he “made very clear that [Kennedy’s] actions and the rhetoric that’s coming from this administration are having a negative impact on communities across America, particularly right here in Pennsylvania.”

“There's real-life consequences to spreading misinformation,” the governor added. “There’s real-life consequences to scaring people and not relying on actual doctors, actual medical professionals, to provide unbiased information to parents so that we can make reasonable decisions for our kids.”

Kennedy said Wednesday that Shapiro’s office was unwilling to provide workers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with any details about the deaths. He also praised how the U.S. was handling the recent increase in measles cases.

Kennedy also went as far as questioning if the deaths in Lancaster County even happened.

“‘The press is all covering this [as] if those measles deaths actually happened, and nobody is doing any critical inquiry to find out,” he said. “We’re trying to find out whether those deaths actually happened, and we can’t figure that out.”

In Pennsylvania alone, 393 measles cases in 28 counties have been confirmed this year; 86 of those cases came in the past week. Shapiro said every confirmed case has occurred in people who are not fully vaccinated.

Kennedy also said Wednesday that Shapiro admitted to him during the Tuesday phone call that the drop in vaccinations took place while Joe Biden was president — a point Kennedy also made on X.

Shapiro denied this, also in a post on X, stating that Kennedy’s statements are “inaccurate and misleading and he is making claims that have been debunked repeatedly by actual scientists and doctors.”

“Kennedy’s actions to dismantle public health agencies and his language that undermines confidence in vetted medical guidance are contributing to these kinds of outbreaks,” Shapiro wrote. “Just a few years ago, Secretary Kennedy was in Lancaster downplaying the severity of measles and saying that the cure was ‘chicken soup and vitamin A.'"]]> https://washingtonsun.com/money/rob-bresnahan-advertisement-complaint-pennsylvania Avani Kalra The Pennsylvania Republican denies a taxpayer-funded congressional message that landed in Google’s political campaign ad database was ever an election advertisement. Fri, 21 Aug 2026 19:13:19 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/money/rob-bresnahan-advertisement-complaint-pennsylvania A constituent of Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Rob Bresnahan has filed a complaint with the independent Office of Congressional Conduct alleging that the congressman broke a federal law and violated House rules by airing an official communication as part of his campaign.

Adriane Heine, of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, is asking the office to investigate a taxpayer-funded promotional video that Bresnahan’s congressional office aired in July. She accuses Bresnahan’s campaign of also distributing the video as a political advertisement, according to the complaint, which NOTUS reviewed.

The Bresnahan campaign said an error was made when the congressman’s campaign and congressional offices were verifying their respective Google ad accounts after prolonged inactivity. This caused the video in question to appear as a political campaign ad within a public Google database of advertisements. A vendor for the campaign, Arena Mail and Digital, later worked to resolve the issue with Google.

The video describes the congressman’s Local Farmers Feeding Our Communities Act, a bill to help farmers sell and distribute their food. It contains a link to Bresnahan’s official website and a disclaimer that the video was made using funds authorized by the U.S. House of Representatives.

"To be clear, this was an official ad paid for with official funds and approved through the franking process,” Hannah Pope, Bresnahan’s spokesperson, said in a statement to NOTUS. “A clerical error by the vendor and Google resulted in an initial mislabeling of the piece as connected to the campaign, which was later rectified."

Bresnahan, like all federal lawmakers, may use taxpayer funds to communicate with their constituents for “official business” in a practice known on Capitol Hill as “franking.” But “official communications should not be used for political or personal business” and “no campaign content or electioneering” is allowed, according to House guidance.

The Bresnahan video is no longer shown on Google under the campaign account, titled “Rob for PA.” Currently, it appears on two other official accounts: “U.S. House of Representatives Congressman Rob Bresnahan” and “Congressman Rob Bresnahan.”

The Bresnahan campaign sent NOTUS an email exchange between Google and the vendor in which the vendor attempts to resolve the link between the “Rob for PA” account and the official congressional account that indicates the Bresnahan campaign had an error within their registration information. Google did not immediately reply to a request for comment from NOTUS.

A number of Bresnahan advertisements bearing the congressional office’s official logo and URL also appeared on ad tracking site AdImpact as “election” ads for Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District. A spokesperson for AdImpact told NOTUS that the website made an error.

“Ultimately, this was our clerical error,” John Link, senior vice president at AdImpact, told NOTUS. “This has nothing to do with PA-8. … That data is updated and reflected.”

Molly Vroom, the director of ad operations at The Franking Group, further told NOTUS that the issue was the result of an oversight in the advertisement’s verification process. The group, a digital mail and advertising firm, worked with Bresnahan on the official communication. 

“As soon as it was identified, our team worked with Google to correct the issue and ensure the ad campaign was properly reported moving forward,” Vroom said. “Put simply, this was a clerical reporting error that has absolutely nothing to do with Congressman Bresnahan.”

Heine told NOTUS that she’s nevertheless proceeding with her complaint against Bresnahan.

“It sounds like someone is covering their tracks,” Heine said. “They got called out on it, so they had to backpedal. But it doesn’t make up for the fact that they did this in an unethical way, originally.”

Pope, Bresnahan’s spokesperson, disagreed.

“Make no mistake, this is a politically motivated complaint, based on completely inaccurate information,” she said.

Bresnahan is locked in one of the nation’s most competitive House races. He faces Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti, a Democrat, in a race the Cook Political Report has deemed a “toss up.” Heine has supported Cognetti and contributed money to her campaign, according to Federal Election Commission records.

Cognetti’s campaign said in a statement that Bresnahan is the “poster child of corruption.”

“Rob has spent his time in office serving himself at the expense of Northeastern Pennsylvanians,” Cognetti spokesperson Emma Mustion said.

Bresnahan previously came under scrutiny for his once-prolific stock trading. The multimillionaire made more than 650 individual stock trades in 2025, federal records show, but he has since stopped trading individual stocks.

“I wanted it to come to the forefront so that we as voters, or people that he represents, would be aware of it,” Heine told NOTUS. “His constituents need to hold him accountable for his moves. So it’s very important to watch what he’s doing with our money. It’s our money.”

The Office of Congressional Conduct, previously known as the Office of Congressional Ethics, is an independent, nonpartisan body tasked with investigating allegations of misconduct against House lawmakers, officers and staff.

The office cannot issue binding rulings and penalties itself, although it may refer its findings to the House Ethics Committee for further consideration. Its investigations often take months, and it’s unlikely the office will fully process Heine’s complaint before the November election. Under the panel’s rules there is a so-called “blackout period” when it cannot launch an investigation, 60 days before an election.

This story has been updated to include a Federal Election Commission campaign contribution record.]]> https://washingtonsun.com/money/bethlehem-steel-comeback-government-lobbying Taylor Giorno Domestic steel production is increasing, and a company using the once-storied name is looking for help in Washington. Wed, 12 Aug 2026 16:39:53 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/money/bethlehem-steel-comeback-government-lobbying In 2003, a steel giant finally crumbled.

Once the second-largest steel manufacturer in the United States, Bethlehem Steel had filed for bankruptcy two years earlier. The cause of death was attributed, in part, to cheaper imports that ate into the domestic steel market.

But now, two brothers are resurrecting the Bethlehem Steel name, and they’re turning to K Street’s professional influencers for help.

The new Bethlehem Steel hired two sets of federal lobbyists this spring: a team of lobbyists at K&L Gates that includes former Rep. Michael Doyle (D-Pennsylvania), and another at Steptoe LLP that includes Kevin Garvey, a former senior trade official during President Donald Trump's first term.

Bethlehem Steel’s resurgence comes amid major changes in the domestic steel industry, including the recent merger of U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel and higher tariffs on steel imports that are steering business toward domestic producers.

“There's increasing demand for American-made steel, and then what we saw with Nippon and U.S. Steel is those steelmakers that have a presence in America are much more valuable,” Brandon Farris, an executive vice president at the Steel Manufacturers Association, told NOTUS In a phone interview.

Bethlehem Steel declined interview requests through K&L Gates.
K&LGates (6240x4160, AR: 1.50)“We’re working to revitalize that company and bring it back and to be the sort of tip of the spear of the reinvigoration of American manufacturing,” James Ganley, who “re-founded” Bethlehem Steel with his brother, Micheál Ganely, told the independent media company RocaNews in December. “The rest of American manufacturing is dependent on a company like this being able to come back.”

Government documents give some clues about the new Bethlehem Steel’s emergence.

Bethlehem Steel Corporation was incorporated by A Registered Agent, Inc. in October 2024 in Delaware, according to the company’s certificate of incorporation.

At that point, Trump was still a few weeks away from winning the 2024 election.

But one policy from his first term had already planted seeds for the regrowth of the domestic steel industry, according to Farris.

In 2018, the Trump administration slapped a 25% tariff on imported steel, making it more expensive to import foreign steel and nudging buyers toward domestic steel.

In June 2025, months into his second term, Trump increased steel tariffs to 50%. Steel product imports have since declined from 13.3 million metric tons for the calendar year ending June 2025 to 10.3 million metric tons for the year ending June 2026, according to Census Bureau data.

Meanwhile, domestic steel production was up 5.7% between Jan. 1 and Aug. 8 this year, or nearly 5.1 million metric tons, compared to the same period 2025, according to the most recent data published by the American Iron and Steel Institute.

“We have another 4 million tons that's expected to come online over the next two years,” said Farris, citing data tracked internally by the Steel Manufacturers Association.

Declan Ganley, CEO of Rivada Networks, announced in an X post last February — around two weeks after Trump was sworn in for a second term — that his sons had “secured the name Bethlehem Steel” and “want to make it the Tesla of steel.”

Micheál Ganley, a former nominations counsel for the Senate Judiciary Committee under the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, signed the amended statement of incorporation in November 2025.

Micheál and James Ganley also stood up a branch of the business in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, last October, according to state incorporation records. Micheál is the CEO while James is president, according to their LinkedIn pages.

It’s not whether the company has begun large-scale commercial steel production. Its hired lobbyists have so far sought funding opportunities while connecting with government officials on capacity issues, according to federal lobbying records.

Bethlehem Steel paid K&L Gates $60,000 between April 1 and June 30 to lobby on “funding opportunities and incentives for project” during the second quarter, the records indicate. The lobbyists disclosed lobbying the Senate, Export-Import Bank of the United States, Department of Energy, Office of Management & Budget, U.S. Trade Representative and the Department of Commerce.

Steptoe reported receiving less than $5,000 to lobby the Department of Commerce on ”industrial capacity and procurement issues,” according to the firm’s second quarter filing.

Neither Micheál nor James Ganley responded to a list of questions from NOTUS, including what specific project they were working on or the status of the business.

“Not knowing exactly what Bethlehem's looking for, I can tell you the equipment piece, writing off the equipment, is something that's big for every one of our members making investments,” Farris told NOTUS.

He also said “the credit for building a new manufacturing facility is also something that our members are looking into heavily.”

Bethlehem Steel’s lobbying operation remains relatively modest compared to other steel giants. The top three domestic steel producers last year were Nucor, Cleveland Cliffs and U.S. Steel, according to the International Trade Administration.

Nucor spent $510,000 on federal lobbying during the second quarter of 2026. The company also hired Miller Strategies, run by prominent Republican lobbyist Jeff Miller, in June to lobby on “issues related to steel production.”

Cleveland Cliffs spent $630,000 during the second quarter of 2026 to lobby on a range of issues including “maintenance and strengthening of Section 232 steel and auto/auto parts tariffs,” according to federal lobbying records. Cleveland Cliffs has significantly increased its lobbying spending from $630,000 during the first six months of 2025 to nearly $1.3 million through the same period in 2026.

U.S. Steel spent $270,000 during the second quarter of 2026 to lobby on a range of issues, including “U.S. manufacturing strategy” and national security issues, according to its most recent lobbying disclosure. The steel giant spent $1 million during the same period last year as it pushed the Trump administration to approve its merger with Nippon Steel, which was finalized in June 2025.]]> https://washingtonsun.com/pennsylvania/ryan-mackenzie-donation-pardon-donald-trump Avani Kalra The Republican congressman from Pennsylvania received a contribution from Adam Kidan three days before Trump pardoned him. Thu, 30 Jul 2026 20:01:27 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/pennsylvania/ryan-mackenzie-donation-pardon-donald-trump Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-Pennsylvania) returned a donation to a man convicted of fraud in connection with the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal following reporting that President Donald Trump pardoned him just three days after the contribution.

NOTUS reported Wednesday that Adam Kidan donated $2,600 to Mackenzie’s leadership PAC on June 30, according to Federal Election Commission records. Trump had traveled to Mackenzie’s district on June 23 to campaign alongside the congressman. Trump pardoned Kidan on July 3.

Mackenzie’s returned donation was first reported by The Morning Call.

Mackenzie spokesperson Arnaud Armstrong told NOTUS in a statement: "The suggestion that any contribution was related to a pardon is ridiculous and has absolutely zero basis in any fact. Regardless, as someone who has been a leader on reforming government, Congressman Mackenzie is returning the moderate contribution to avoid even an appearance of impropriety."

Armstrong previously told NOTUS that Mackenzie “has never advocated for a pardon from the President on anyone’s behalf.”

Kidan donated to Mackenzie’s leadership PAC, a fundraising vehicle often used to contribute money to other like-minded candidates and political committees, and it is the most recent donation Kidan has made, according to FEC records.
AdamKidan (1860x2816, AR: 0.66)Mackenzie, who represents Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, is facing off against Democrat Bob Brooks in one of the most contested House races in the country, which the Cook Political Report ranks a “toss up.”

Kidan served more than two years in prison beginning in 2006 after pleading guilty to conspiracy and wire fraud. He is a notable campaign donor in Pennsylvania and throughout the nation, contributing to Republicans locked in other contested Pennsylvania races, such as Reps. Rob Bresnahan, Brian Fitzpatrick and Scott Perry.

He has donated millions of dollars to Republican causes over the years and gave more than $200,000 to Trump-affiliated committees ahead of the 2024 election cycle, federal records show.

Kidan and Abramoff were ordered to pay $217 million in restitution as part of their sentencing. It remains unclear whether Kidan paid the full amount, and Trump’s pardon is likely to erase any remaining obligations.

This article has been updated to include comment from the Rep. Ryan Mackenzie's campaign.]]> https://washingtonsun.com/pennsylvania/paige-cognetti-pac-contribution-pledge-rob-bresnahan Avani Kalra The Democratic candidate in a hot Pennsylvania congressional race has accepted money from political groups that are themselves funded by corporate PACs. Thu, 30 Jul 2026 09:03:00 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/pennsylvania/paige-cognetti-pac-contribution-pledge-rob-bresnahan Paige Cognetti, the mayor of Scranton, Pennsylvania, who Democrats hope will unseat Republican Rep. Rob Bresnahan this November, has repeatedly pledged not to take money from corporate political action committees as a candidate or lawmaker.

“No Corporate PAC Money. As a candidate and member of Congress I will reject the influence of special interests,” Cognetti wrote on her campaign website.

But federal campaign finance filings show Cognetti has accepted donations from numerous political committees that themselves are awash in cash from corporate PACs, including money from defense contractor Boeing, banking giant JPMorgan Chase and insurance company UnitedHealthcare.

Many of the non-corporate political committees supporting Cognetti are leadership PACs operated by Democratic federal lawmakers to boost their party’s congressional candidates.

During her 2026 campaign to represent Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District, Cognetti has, for example, taken $5,000 from Blue Hen Federal PAC, a committee sponsored by Sen. Chris Coons (D-Delaware).

Coons’ committee has received hundreds of thousands of dollars this election cycle from a who’s who of corporate and trade association PACs tied to companies such as Visa, FedEx, Pfizer, Northrop Grumman, Eli Lilly,Google, McKinsey and Fox News parent Fox Corp., among several dozen others.

Cognetti’s campaign has also received $4,000 from the campaign committee of House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, which itself is partly bankrolled by numerous corporate PACs, including those sponsored by Delta Air Lines, Verizon, Allstate Insurance and law and lobbying firm Alston & Bird.

Cognetti took money from dozens of these leadership PACs that report significant corporate contributions — including the PACs of Rep. Ted Lieu, the House Democratic Caucus vice chair, and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker.

“Paige is the only candidate in this race who does not accept donations from corporate PACs, supports a federal ban on corporate PAC donations, and will never be handed a corporate check in exchange for special access or political favors,” Emma Mustion, the campaign’s communications director, said. “The reason for her pledge is simple: Paige is independent and doesn’t work for anybody but the people of Northeastern Pennsylvania.”

Cognetti’s pledge to reject corporate PAC money has become a key feature of her campaign, and is cited in endorsements from advocacy groups such as End Citizens United and lawmakers including Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Arizona).

Campaign finance and other money matters are key issues in the race between Cognetti and Bresnahan. Cognetti has repeatedly hit Bresnahan, who accepts direct corporate PAC money, for his once-prolific stock trading — the multimillionaire with his own helicopter made more than 650 individual stock trades during 2025, according to federal records.

Among them, he traded stock in companies that manage Medicaid just before the House took its first vote on Republicans’ sweeping tax cut bill that slashed the program. He has also personally invested in artificial intelligence companies before advocating for data centers.

NOTUS previously reported that Bresnahan abruptly stopped trading stocks earlier this year. At the time, a spokesperson said a financial institution managed Bresnahan’s stock trades.

“Only a slick politician like Paige Cognetti would make a promise to reject corporate PAC money a centerpiece of her campaign only to find a loophole to accept it,” Samantha Bullock, a spokesperson for Bresnahan’s campaign, said in a statement to NOTUS.
RobBresnahan1 (4667x3116, AR: 1.50)Federal records show Cognetti had $3.4 million cash on hand, besting Bresnahan’s $2.6 million war chest, as of June 30. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the race between Bresnahan and Cognetti as a toss-up. National Republicans and Democrats alike consider the race critical to winning a House majority in 2027.

Cognetti, for her part, continues to run on an anti-corruption platform that includes banning members of Congress from trading individual stocks, instituting term limits for federal lawmakers, withholding lawmakers’ pay throughout government shutdowns and prohibiting members of Congress from making bets in prediction markets.

Other candidates have been criticized in the past for accepting similar contributions. Democrat Abigail Spanberger, now the governor of Virginia, campaigned on rejecting corporate PAC money while running for Congress in 2022 — and was slammed at the time for taking money from leadership PACs.]]> https://washingtonsun.com/pennsylvania/donald-trump-pardon-adam-kidan-ryan-mackenzie Avani Kalra Rep. Ryan Mackenzie’s campaign says the lawmaker, who met with Trump days before, played no role in the pardon. Wed, 29 Jul 2026 09:34:00 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/pennsylvania/donald-trump-pardon-adam-kidan-ryan-mackenzie President Donald Trump recently pardoned a major Republican donor three days after the man — a key figure in the Jack Abramoff fraud and lobbying scandal — made a political donation to Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-Pennsylvania), who’s facing one of the nation’s most contested House races.

The megadonor, Adam Kidan, donated $2,600 to Mackenzie's leadership PAC on June 30, according to Federal Election Commission records. Trump traveled to Mackenzie’s eastern Pennsylvania district on June 23 to campaign with him. The president pardoned Kidan on July 3.

Mackenzie’s office told NOTUS that the Republican congressman did not speak with the White House or Trump about the pardon, but it declined to answer questions about whether the congressman intends to keep Kidan’s donation.

“Congressman Mackenzie has never advocated for a pardon from the President on anyone’s behalf,” Mackenzie spokesperson Arnaud Armstrong said in a statement.

Kidan did not respond to NOTUS’ requests for comment.

Following publication of this article, the White House said in a statement to NOTUS that Trump takes his power to issue pardons seriously, that he is "the final decision maker" on pardons and that a team of “elite lawyers” evaluates every request before it reaches the president. 

“That’s why we have a rigorous review process involving the Department of Justice and the White House Counsel’s Office,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “The President finds it detestable that anyone would even attempt to profit off pardons.” 

The White House did not respond to questions about Mackenzie and Kidan.

Mackenzie faces Democratic challenger Bob Brooks to represent Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District in what the Cook Political Report ranks as a “toss-up” race.

In an email to NOTUS, Brooks campaign manager Jenna Kaufman said: “Three days after a convicted fraudster cut Ryan Mackenzie a massive campaign check, that same fraudster walked away with a presidential pardon. That is corruption in plain sight.”

Kidan, who served about two-and-a-half years in prison in 2006 after pleading guilty to conspiracy and wire fraud, has donated millions to Republican causes over the years. He gave around $270,000 to Trump-affiliated committees during the 2024 election cycle, according to federal records, and has hosted fundraisers at Mar-a-Lago.
AdamKidan (1860x2816, AR: 0.66)He has also contributed to a number of Republican campaigns throughout the 2026 midterms, including donations in 2025 to three swing-district House members from Pennsylvania: Rob Bresnahan, Brian Fitzpatrick and Scott Perry. He has also supported Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity’s bid for governor in the state.

In April, Kidan donated $7,231 to former Rep. Mike Rogers’ Senate bid in Michigan, $3,500 to Rep. Zach Nunn’s reelection in Iowa and $22,445 to Rep. Jim Jordan’s joint fundraising committee in Ohio, federal records show.

Kidan’s donation to Mackenzie’s leadership PAC is his most recent federal political contribution on record, FEC records indicate.

As part of his sentencing, Kidan and Abramoff were ordered to pay a total of $217 million in restitution. It’s unclear whether Kidan paid the full amount, and Trump’s pardon is likely to erase any remaining financial obligations.

This article has been updated to include comments from the White House.]]> https://washingtonsun.com/2026-election/pennsylvania-democrats-washington-swing-districts Kadia Goba Democrats are trying to nationalize their affordability message, bringing big names to swing districts. Mon, 27 Jul 2026 01:03:24 GMT https://washingtonsun.com/2026-election/pennsylvania-democrats-washington-swing-districts BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Some voters in Pennsylvania think Democrats have a Washington problem.

Which is why it was a little confusing that Democrat Bob Brooks, a former firefighter backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, was hardly the main attraction at his own campaign rally Sunday.

The congressional candidate addressed roughly 150 attendees at the United Steelworkers Union Hall here. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and then House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries followed Brooks — rather than serving as the warm-up to their featured candidate.

“I'm a little angry with the way they've inserted themselves in local races,” Ian Carlis of Upper Saucon Township told NOTUS. He said that in the Democratic primary, he’d supported Brooks’ opponent Ryan Crosswell. “Then the national people and Josh Shapiro inserted themselves in the race and turned it.”

Democrats are trying to make every competitive House race focus on affordability. The lineup at the rally illustrated a broader strategy, and one that comes with potential risks: National leaders want to have a big imprint on local elections, even as voters express skepticism over Washington’s input.

Brooks won a hotly contested primary in May for Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District and will now face Republican Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, who flipped the seat when Donald Trump was at the top of the ballot in 2024. The evenly divided district is rated a toss-up, according to The Cook Political Report.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has suffered several losses in primaries it has weighed in on, underscoring some of the frustration voters have with a national thumb on the scale.

Democrats aren’t the only ones who have a Washington problem. Four current House Republicans have lost their bids for statewide office this year. Rep. Dusty Johnson, who ran for governor of South Dakota, pointed to the attacks on career politicians as a “really potent argument” that he was unable to fight against.

In Pennsylvania on Sunday, some locals came to get a sense of how in sync national politicians are with their own needs and concerns.

“It's more so like, what are the headlines they're talking about?” said Meg Kane, 42, who described her party affiliation as “frustrated.” She also wanted to know “what they think are important” and how much that aligns with what voters see as important.

Local politicians also acknowledged that their national counterparts haven't always been in lockstep with their community.

“I think that Democrats at the national level have finally realized that we need to get the economic message out, and that really resonates here locally. Some of the other social issues need to take a back seat,” Lori McFarland, chair of the Lehigh County Democratic Committee, told NOTUS.

Carmen Bell, the second vice chair of the county party, said there’s “always some massaging” that can be done to the national message.

“Regardless of what the national message is, we could talk about being a big tent, but when we get into these small communities, we have to actually listen to the people who are there and say, ‘What's resonating with you?’”

Jeffries’ message, unsurprisingly, centered on affordability. But he also made some day-one promises, 100 days out from the November midterms.

“We're going to cut down on corrupt price gouging. We're going to clean up the mess at the United States Supreme Court. And we're going to ban the president, vice president and members of Congress from trading stocks,” he said before vowing action on two additional topics that have motivated Democrats.

“We can vote for an America that keeps our promise to our cherished seniors by protecting your Social Security and your Medicare. We can vote for America when we release all of the Epstein files.”

Jeffries’ highly charged speech did get the most reaction from the audience. And Brooks said he didn't mind being the warm-up act, either.

“I was very cool with introducing,” he said.

McFarland, the local party chair, argued that it isn’t national Democrats who are hurting the party’s message.

“I think the national level has gotten that message. I don't think these democratic socialists have,” she said. “And they're the ones that I think are throwing a wrench into a coordinated, unified message because they're more worried about some of those other social issues that we all embrace, but that's not our No. 1.”]]>