News & Brews March 6, 2026
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Shapiro joins tariff lawsuit against Trump
Marking the 21st time since Trump took office last year that Gov. Shapiro has filed or joined a lawsuit against the president, Shapiro is again challenging Trump. This time, he’s joined a new lawsuit challenging the president’s latest plan to impose 15% global tariffs. This latest lawsuit is being led by attorneys general in Oregon, Arizona, California, and New York.
School choice a focus of budget hearing
At yesterday’s state Senate Appropriations Committee budget hearing with the Department of Education, Republican lawmakers urged the Shapiro administration to opt into the new federal school choice program that would expand educational opportunities for students and families. Lawmakers also shared concerns about Shapiro’s continued efforts to cut funding for Pennsylvania’s cyber charter schools. Click here for a summary of these and other takeaways from the hearing.
<1% of Pa. workers earn minimum wage
As debate continues to swirl about raising Pennsylvania’s government-mandated minimum wage, the Inquirer reports that “less than 1% of all Pennsylvania workers” actually make the minimum wage, a drop of about 42% over the last five years. “That’s due in part to increasing wages across the state … as well as a lower number of hourly wage earners and a shrinking workforce overall. Pennsylvania’s median wage rose to $20.95 per hour last year — roughly a $1 increase from 2024.” The story notes, however, that several hundred thousand workers make between the current minimum wage and the proposed $15 minimum.
‘No arguments left against school choice’
”For years antichoice lawmakers insisted that rural families don’t want education options,” writes American Federation for Children CEO Tommy Schultz in the Wall Street Journal. “Tuesday’s elections [in Texas] proved them wrong.” In primary races throughout the state, “candidates who championed Gov. Greg Abbott’s Texas Education Freedom Account program won.” In fact, “In 2027 there won’t be an anti-school-choice Republican in the Legislature.” Schultz concludes, “The rural myth is dead. The lesson for every statehouse in America is now impossible to ignore: School choice wins. Oppose it, and voters will show you the door.”
Shapiro campaign spent nearly $800K on private planes in 2025
Another story on last year’s fundraising by Gov. Josh Shapiro and state Treasurer Stacy Garrity notes that Shapiro spent about 1 million on travel last year. “Of that, almost $800,000 … went to private planes. That includes $84,000 to Virginia-based Advanced Aviation Team, whose website brags that it provides ‘presidential-level service in private aviation.’ Shapiro’s campaign also spent on hotel stays in 20-plus locations around the state and country — from Aspen to San Francisco to Scranton — and about $30,000 on meals.” All this as he holds a 15-1 fundraising lead over Garrity.