News & Brews February 10, 2025
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Plot twist in U.S. Steel-Nippon Steel deal
Reuters reports that according to Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, Nippon Steel “is considering proposing a bold change in plan from its previous approach of seeking to buy U.S. Steel.” The change, details of which are lacking, involves significant investments by Nippon in U.S. Steel, rather than a “mere acquisition…. It was unclear if the investment referred to a new deal structure or what the details of the transaction would be, but Trump said on Friday he would meet with the head of Nippon Steel this week and he would be involved ‘to mediate and arbitrate.’”
Rothman elected Pa. GOP chair
State Sen. Greg Rothman (Cumberland, Dauphin, and Perry counties) was elected chair of the Pa. Republican Party over the weekend, defeating businessman Bill Bachenberg 248-120. Rothman will succeed Lawrence Tabas, who opted not to run for re-election. Current Vice-Chair Bernie Comfort was re-elected to the role.
‘A message to Josh Shapiro on school choice’
Rev. Joshua C. Robertson of The Rock Church and Black Pastors United for Education in Harrisburg writes in the Wall Street Journal, “Three years ago, on the campaign trail, [Gov.] Shapiro promised not to be in denial about the education crisis. He even endorsed some school-choice measures. Since then, however, he hasn’t responded to congregations like mine pleading for his engagement with and passion for the 250,000 underperforming children in Pennsylvania.” Robertson hopes Shapiro will “dismiss party politics and courageously lead” on school choice. We share Rev. Robertson’s hope. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen Shapiro courageously lead on anything as governor, so if he did suddenly do it, it would be a first.
Skill game operators balk at Shapiro’s tax plan
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that while skill game operators in the commonwealth “say they’ve been anticipating Pennsylvania might soon take a tax bite from their revenue,” Gov. Shapiro’s plan to take a huge 52% of it would be crushing to their business. “It would kill all of us,” one operator said. “We would never be able to stay open. If it was 10% or 15%, that would be reasonable.” Shapiro thinks his plan “could generate $8 billion in state revenue over five years — through a 5% tax benefiting the lottery fund with the remaining 47% going to the state general fund.” Of course, Shapiro tends to make rosy revenue predictions based on revenues (i.e. taxes) that aren’t in law yet. So, there’s that.
These Pa. politicos were at the Super Bowl
While most Pa. politicians who were cheering for the Eagles did so from within the Keystone State, a few headed to New Orleans. This includes newly elected U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, who, along with his wife Dina, was one of President Trump’s guests for the big game. And, of course, Gov. Josh Shapiro was also there, his ticket being paid for by a dark money group that’s gifted Shapiro thousands of dollars’ worth of sporting event tickets. As for Philly, well, amid the ‘mostly peaceful’ celebrations, some folks tried to flip a police car and others took the contents of a truck and set them on fire. Despite some predictions, however, the city did not burn down by morning. Meanwhile, a Philly area doctor explains why Eagles fans are so ‘crazy.’