🏇 Good morning! Kentucky Derby weekend is upon us.
📰 PA Policy Playbook Headlines. Thompson receives the farm bill across the finish line. SCOTUS limits Voting Rights Act, but impact on Pennsylvania likely circumscribed. Allentown’s House of Representatives primaries reveal a split in the Democratic Party. Craft breweries are producing less beer in Pennsylvania
🎶 Your morning, pick me up. Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It. Will Smith
Weather in Pennsylvania
☔ Washington | Chance of Precipitation, 58
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☀️ Devon | Sunny, 64
Sports PA
⚾ Pirates (16-17) | Saint Louis 5-10 | Friday-Sunday vs. Cincinnati
⚾ Phillies (12-19) | San Francisco 3-2, 6-5 (10) | Friday-Sunday in Miami
🏀 Sixes (3-3) | Boston 106-93 | I was based in Boston
🏒 Flyers (0-0) | I was sitting in Carolina
⚽ Union (1-1-8) | I was based in Nashville
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The most essential story
1. Thompson receives the farm bill across the finish line
“The House passed the Agriculture, Food, and Homeland Security Act of 2026 (H.R. 7567) on a final vote of 224 to 200 after months of uncertainty about whether Republican leaders would be able to provide enough support to pass the legislation.
The bill reauthorizes key USDA programs through 2031. The bill updates agricultural policy to strengthen supply chains, expand producers’ access to credit, and improve crop insurance. By investing in broadband networks and infrastructure in rural areas, the program addresses contemporary challenges, supporting our farmers, breeders and foresters.” | PolitykaPA
Elsewhere
Pennsylvania shifts network costs to data centers. “Pennsylvania, the epicenter of the data center boom, is finalizing a new framework that will allow energy-intensive facilities to pay more for the electric grid. On Thursday, the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission by a 5-0 majority adopted a new rate model for heavy-duty customers, essentially establishing new guidelines for how the commonwealth’s utilities can ensure the public doesn’t pay for data center infrastructure. ” | POLICY
Something liberals and conservatives agree on: hating data centers. “Americans are dissatisfied with these projects, polls show, and the sentiment is deeply bipartisan. How will this change our politics?” | New York Times
Fetterman’s stock purchase is subject to scrutiny over the timing and role of the Senate committee. “Senator John Fetterman’s recent stock purchase raises eyebrows because of its timing and the fact that the company reportedly received billions in federal funding overseen by his committee.” | PennLive
Meuser lashes out at TMZ reporter over DHS funding questions: ‘Talk to the f***ing Democrats’. “Rep. Dan Meuser yelled at a TMZ reporter who peppered him with questions about Congress’s inability to pass a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the impending recess.” | Hill
A bipartisan pair of senators is introducing the Prediction Markets Act. “Sens. Dave McCormick, D-Pa., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., introduced legislation on Thursday that would update federal commodity regulations for prediction markets as the Trump administration seeks to assert its jurisdiction over them.” | Traffic lights
Country
2. U.S. Supreme Court limits Voting Rights Act, but impact in Pennsylvania likely circumscribed
“The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in a Louisiana voting rights case will make it more difficult to challenge political maps as racially discriminatory, but the ruling will likely have limited impact on statewide district maps in Pennsylvania, where the state constitution provides stronger protections against gerry gerrymandering.” | Vote for Pennsylvania
Elsewhere
Pennsylvania leaders criticize Supreme Court’s voting decision. “The Voting Rights Act has proven effective in giving more and more Black Americans a louder voice in our democracy and greater representation in our democracy,” Gov. Josh Shapiro said Thursday. “And you don’t have to be a lawyer to understand that yesterday the Supreme Court just gutted it all.” | Philadelphia Tribune
Shapiro’s office doubles down: The governor personally confirms that he has never browsed the Internet on state-owned devices. “Governor Josh Shapiro’s office has now filed a third affidavit with the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records alleging that the governor has never browsed the Internet on a state-owned device – this time claiming that Shapiro himself personally confirmed this through his chief of staff.” | Wide + Freedom
Davis says Pennsylvania will never be a right-to-work state. “Speaking at the Pennsylvania Conference of Teamsters’ annual meeting in Hershey earlier this week, Democratic Lt. Gov. Austin Davis made a promise to his members as he and his boss, Josh Shapiro, seek a second term in November.” | Central Square
Fetterman tells DHS secretary he continues to oppose the creation of ICE detention centers in two Pennsylvania counties. “After originally sharing his opposition to detention centers in Schuylkill and Berks counties with former Secretary of Homeland Security Krisi Noem, Senator John Fetterman has reiterated his position to new Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, a former Senate colleague whose nomination Fetterman supported.” | PennLive
Around the Republic of Poland
3. How the 2026 primary for the Allentown House seat exposes the split in the Democratic Party
“A hotly contested Democratic primary in the heart of Allentown is exposing the divide between Democratic Party leadership and the more progressive wing of the party.
In a race that has major implications for Democratic power in Harrisburg, Democratic state Rep. Ana Tiburcio — trying to keep her 22nd District seat, which she won in a special election in February — faces a primary challenge from Ce-Ce Gerlach, an Allentown City Council member and former school board member. | Morning call
Elsewhere
PA-07: Brooks presents his “Put Out the Fire” show.. “With just over two weeks left until Pennsylvania’s May 19 primary, 7th Congressional District Democratic candidate Bob Brooks is laying out his agenda for what he will do for Lehigh Valley voters in Washington, D.C., if elected.” | PoliticsPA
‘I’m the only person who’s ever been elected official’: PA-07 primary school Dem Lamont McClure breaks records. “The former Northampton County executive highlights his Carbon County roots and his unique position as the only locally elected politician.” | City and state
PA-07 Democrats deal with deficit spending and federal business shutdowns. “Former federal prosecutor Ryan Crosswell, former Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure and Carol Obando-Derstine answered our questions about addressing the national debt and their willingness to engage in a government shutdown if elected.” | LehighValley News
Rivera announces that he will not seek re-election as Berks commissioner. “Berks County Commissioner Michael Rivera announced Thursday that he will not run for a third term in 2027.” | Reading the Eagle
Editorial
4. What do you think about it?
- Trump has no idea what his Supreme Court just unleashed | Greg Sargent
- Pennsylvania Treasurer Blocks $1 Million to Secure Josh Shapiro’s Home One Year After Attack | Salena Zito
- SCOTUS ruling on voting rights is the Trump administration’s latest attempt to decimate Black political power | Solomon Jones
- Trump needs guidance from Democratic Congress | Bernard S. Sharfman
- John Fetterman, the White House ballroom and his departure from reality | Adriana E. Ramírez
- Leadership is not about strength | Rogette Harris
1 item
5. Craft breweries are producing less beer in Pennsylvania
“Pennsylvania’s craft beer industry suffered last year as production declined.
Breaking news: Production among Pennsylvania craft breweries in 2025 is down about 28% from the previous year, according to the Brewers Association.
The industry’s economic impact on the state also declined by 6.5% in 2025, to $4.8 billion.
Current situation: There were 538 craft breweries operating statewide last year, five more than in 2024. That includes Pennsylvania-based Yuengling, which retained its title as the nation’s largest craft brewery in 2025. | Axios Philadelphia
Thank you for starting your weekend with us.
May is coming. See you on Monday.
