News & Brews April 17, 2025
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‘Third-party expert’ to review security at governor’s mansion
According to the Pennsylvania State Police, a “third party expert” will conduct a security review of the governor’s residence after an alleged arsonist managed to scale the fence surrounding the mansion, gain access to the home, set it on fire, and leave without being caught. But per the state police, it’s not a given that the findings will be disclosed beyond the governor’s office. Spotlight PA reports, however, that according to a former U.S. Secret Service supervisory agent, the findings should be made public or else there is a risk that “the perception right from the start is that the books are going to be cooked and the outcomes won’t be honest and transparent.” Meanwhile, House lawmakers plan to let the investigation play out before holding any hearings, while Senate lawmakers are “discussing internally” the next steps.
Report: Pa. counties releasing illegal immigrants
A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), which acknowledges it opposes high immigration, found that from Fiscal Year 2023 through February 2025, Pennsylvania disregarded 486 requests from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain illegal immigrants long enough for ICE to take them into custody. The report cites 12 Pa. counties for declining requests. The Delaware Valley Journal looks particularly at SEPA counties, noting “[c]ounty officials were quick to push back,” claiming cooperation with ICE, but the author of the CIS report said, “These county leaders can claim all day long that they are not sanctuaries because they have never passed such a resolution saying so publicly. But the fact is the jails in their counties are releasing criminal aliens repeatedly instead of allowing ICE to remove them from the country. This undermines public safety.”
Editorial: ‘Trump’s mixes messages on U.S. Steel not helpful’
Last week, hope for the future of the Nippon Steel-U.S. Steel sale flamed anew, as President Trump ordered the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to conduct a new review of the proposed sale. But since that order, Trump has again expressed he’s not a fan of seeing Japan-based Nippon Steel take over U.S. Steel. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Editorial Board, which supports the sale, writes, “We are now in the 16th month of this saga, which has dragged on far too long. Nippon Steel was always the best and only option to preserve steelmaking in Western Pennsylvania, and the counterarguments — whether from the USW [United Steelworkers] or Cleveland-Cliffs or two presidents — have never amounted to anything more than grandstanding. No more. Just let the deal get done.”
Gov’t union spending in 2023-24 Pa. election cycle
During the 2023-24 election cycle in Pennsylvania, government union political action committees spent $18 million, including $14.2 million in direct contributions to candidates and political groups, according to an analysis from the Commonwealth Foundation. Of the direct donations to candidates, “94.8 percent went to Democrats.” Beyond this, “Government unions directed $15.4 million in membership dues to politics, with most expenditures supporting left-wing organizations.” These unions often claim membership dues can’t be used to back political candidates. But in reality, government unions “direct millions in membership dues to politics in other ways, including lobbying efforts, get-out-the-vote campaigns, political mailers, and by contributing to PACs, Super PACs, and other political organizations.”
After admitting to trying to steal an election, officials remain in office
Back in February, I shared the story of elected officials in Millbourne (Delaware County) who had been charged with trying to steal an election. Now, the Inquirer reports, “Two weeks after two Millbourne officials pleaded guilty to federal charges in a brazen scheme to steal a 2021 mayoral election, they are still sitting on the tiny Delaware County borough’s council and are poised to vote to appoint new members to the board.” What’s more, they said they’re not yet planning to resign.