News & Brews May 9, 2025
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Who’s defending—or not defending—Fetterman?
POLITICO reports that after the now widely-circulated NY Magazine storycriticizing U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, “Few fellow Democrats have rushed to … [his] defense.” And among Dems, “private chatter about primary challenges to Fetterman has ramped up … [and] some Pennsylvania Democrats have begun to quietly review the rules about what would happen if he stepped down and whispered about potential replacements.” For his part, Fetterman says he’s staying for his full term. Meanwhile, GOP U.S Sen. Dave McCormick defended Fetterman, saying, he “is authentic and a fighter, and these disgraceful attacks against him are not the John that I know and respect.” And Gov. Josh Shapiro, in typical fashion of trying to play all sides, dodged the issue, saying, “I think the best judge of Sen. Fetterman’s health is Sen. Fetterman and his family, and I’ll leave it to them to discuss that.”
Dems & unions forfeit one of their tired arguments against school choice
Democrats and unions like to rail against school choice on the (imagined) grounds that taxpayer dollars should not be used for private, religious education. But wait, recently Gov. Josh Shapiro handed out $5 million in taxpayer dollars to a private, religious school. And Democrats applauded it while unions raised no objections. Our president and CEO, Matt Brouillette, explains how with one grant, Democrats and unions just opened the door to school choice in Pennsylvania.
Philly GOP to run write-in campaign for Democrat
Philadelphia Republicans are not officially fielding a candidate for district attorney in the May 20 primary. But that doesn’t mean they’re not backing one. The Inquirer reports, “Philadelphia Republicans are organizing a write-in campaign that could allow Democratic district attorney candidate Patrick Dugan to run as the GOP nominee in November if he loses in the Democratic primary to incumbent Larry Krasner.” If Dugan receives at least 1,000 GOP primary votes, he would become the party’s nominee in November. The story continues, “Many Philly political observers believe Dugan faces an uphill battle in the Democratic primary. Republicans are hoping Dugan could prevail in the general election if he could combine the city’s GOP electorate and independents with his Democratic base.” The Dugan campaign has said, however, that he would not accept the GOP nomination.
UPenn facing investigation over foreign funding
The Inquirer reports that yesterday, the U.S. Department of Education announced it was initiating an investigation into the University of Pennsylvania’s “foreign funding after discovering inaccurate and untimely foreign financial disclosures.” The story explains, “Colleges that receive federal funds by law must disclose gifts and contracts from foreign sources worth $250,000 or more.” Importantly, this is “not the first time Penn has been asked about foreign donations. Former President Amy Gutmann faced questions about Penn’s donations from China during her nomination hearing to become the U.S. ambassador to Germany in 2021.”
New pope is a Villanova grad
The Vatican has a new tie to the Philly area. Pope Leo XIV—formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost—is a 1977 graduate of Villanova University. And according to a former teacher, “it appears he was a faithful attender of class.” Of course, Philly sports fans also had to weigh in with their thoughts. Among them: “A pope that has been to Wawa.”