June 6: Do You Want to Know a Secret?

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What We’re Hearing. Speaker Mike Johnson did not tell House Intelligence Committee chair Mike Turner that he was appointing Rep. Scott Perry to the secretive panel.

Happy Birthday. Cake and candles for Reps. Madeleine Dean and Arvind Venkat.

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Top Story

1. Johnson Taps Perry For House Intelligence Committee

“Speaker of the House Mike Johnson announced two new members to serve on the prestigious House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday.

Rep. Scott Perry (R-10) was selected along with Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) to the panel, which has oversight over the intelligence community and access to highly sensitive information.

The House Freedom Caucus was pushing Johnson to select Perry, its former leader, to the committee. As a select committee, Johnson has the ability to make his own selection, but given his precarious hold on the majority, some may see the move as a nod to the right flank of the Republican party.” (PoliticsPA)

Related

FAU: Presidential Race Too Close to Call; Casey Holds Advantage Over McCormick. “The group surveyed three battleground states – Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin – and its results indicated that the race for the White House between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump is too close to call in all three.” (PoliticsPA)

Trump Seeks To Court Young Male Voters In New TikTok Gambit. “Donald Trump plans to post a stream of short-form videos on TikTok targeting young men with messages on inflation and other economic issues, two campaign advisers told Reuters, giving the first glimpse of the Republican presidential candidate’s strategy for the popular app as the 2024 race intensifies.” (Reuters)

Retirement Anxiety Brings Battleground Blues For Biden In States Like Pennsylvania. “Overall, the U.S. economy is humming, the data shows, a situation that typically favors a sitting president in an election year. But financial anxiety among voters in battleground states is complicating the 2024 picture.” (NBC News)

Trump’s Conviction Prompts Election-Year Debate Among Democrats: How Much To Focus On The Verdict? “In battleground Pennsylvania, a state that could decide control of Congress and the presidency this fall, Democrats are far from certain that Trump’s criminal record matters to voters at all.” (AP)

U.S. Senate GOP Prevents Contraception Access Bill From Moving Ahead. “The 51-39 procedural vote required at least 60 senators to move forward, but fell short after GOP lawmakers said the measure was too broad as well as unnecessary. ‘The need for this bill is not hypothetical,’ Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey said.” (Penn Capital-Star)

State

2. F&M Poll: Perry, Stelson In Statistical Tie In PA-10

“The race for the 10th Congressional District seat is in a statistical tie, according to the latest poll from Franklin & Marshall College’s Center for Opinion Research.

Six-term Republican incumbent Rep. Scott Perry has a single percentage-point edge over Democratic challenger Janelle Stelson, 45-44%, with 11 percent reporting they are undecided.

Prior to the Trump NYC verdict, Perry held a seven-point advantage, 49-42%, but flush with the knowledge of the jury’s decision, Stelson reversed those numbers and led, 47-39%.” (PoliticsPA)

Related

Bill Prohibiting Use of Hand-Held Devices While Driving Signed Into Law by Shapiro. “Pennsylvania became the 29th state to ban distracted driving today as Gov. Josh Shapiro signed “Paul Miller’s Law” into being.” (PoliticsPA)

Bill to Allow Ready-To-Drink Cocktails to Be Sold Alongside Beer, Wine Passes PA Senate. “The Pennsylvania Senate on Wednesday passed SB 688, sponsored by Sen. Mike Regan, which would allow low alcohol-by-volume (ABV) spirits ready-to-drink cocktails (RTDs) to be sold from certain retail outlets that already sell beer and wine products.” (PennLive)

Pennsylvania Representative’s Bill Would Allow Cameras In The Courtroom. “State Rep. Jamie Flick wants transparency in the county common pleas courtrooms and thinks cameras would provide it. Flick, a Republican, plans to introduce a bill that would allow live video recording and still photography.” (WVIA)

Womer Savages Thompson’s Farm Bill. “In a Facebook post Wednesday, the Democratic candidate for Congress in the 15th District savaged the Farm Bill his incumbent opponent is shepherding toward a House floor vote.” (Indiana Gazette)

Around The Commonwealth

3. Council Green-Lights Parker’s Budget Plans For Philly

“Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s approach to her administration’s first city budget was to focus on investing in the popular public safety and cleaning programs she campaigned on and to avoid drama during negotiations with City Council.

In the end, the mayor got what she wanted.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Related

PA County’s Decision Not To Do Forensic Audit Of 2020 General Election Is Affirmed. “A Commonwealth Court panel has affirmed the decision of a Lycoming County judge that two voters are not entitled to a forensic audit of the November 2020 presidential election in the county.” (PennLive)

Pittsburgh Leaders Unveil Downtown Revitalization Plan Ahead of NFL Draft. “Pittsburgh leaders on Wednesday proposed transformations at Point State Park and Market Square as part of a revitalization plan ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft.” (Tribune-Review)

Rep. Byron Donalds Draws Backlash For Expressing Nostalgia For Jim Crow Era During Philly Event. “Democrats accused Donalds of praising Jim Crow-era policies. We have a recording of what he said.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

NCAA Settlement May Pressure Schools To Pay Out Millions To Top Athletes. Will Pitt Keep Up? “A pending NCAA settlement would allow colleges to spend up to $20 million a year on athlete compensation. This victory for college athletes, however, raises thorny questions around gender equity and the distribution of funds between athletes and programs.” (Public Source)

Editorial

4. What’s On Your Mind

• Honoring America’s Military Sacrifices, on D-Day and Today. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• Why The Supreme Court Must Reject Donald Trump’s Argument That Presidents Can Get Away With Anything. (Susan Sullivan)
• Is Pittsburgh Still Stronger Than Hate? (Selena Zito)
• A Ships Act To Secure America’s Naval Power. (Dave McCormick)
• Who’s The Real Threat To Democracy? (Ruth Ann Dailey)
• Measuring the Trump Conviction Factor in the 2024 Race. (Byron York)
• Return Money to Pennsylvania Taxpayers; Don’t Spend More. (Colin McNickle)
• Trump’s Attempted White House Return Faces Headwinds of History. (Mark Powell)
• What Volunteering As A Poll Worker Taught Me About Politics. (Elizabeth Kopple)
• Why is MGT Screaming At Dr. Fauci? Can We Ever Debate With Civility Again? (Mike Kelly)

1 Thing

5. ‘As Lonely as a Man Can Get’: The True Story of D-Day, as Told by Paratroopers

“Eighty years ago, hours before the Allied forces launched a million personnel across the English Channel to fight Hitler’s Third Reich in Fortress Europe, U.S. and British paratroopers painted their faces black, shaved their heads, handed letters to loved ones out the windows of their planes and took to the sky.

Some would never again feel the ground beneath their feet. Some would drown in the flooded fields below them. One would have his cigarettes shot out of his pants mid-air. But all of them, together, would triumph in perhaps the greatest undertaking in all of human history, defeating fascism in Europe and changing the world forever. (When the Sea Came Alive: An Oral History of D-Day)

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