Pennsylvania
Josh Shapiro emerges as potential Kamala Harris VP: A look at his record as PA's top law enforcement official
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is on the list of potential running mates for Kamala Harris if she becomes the Democrat nominee on the 2024 ticket.
Shapiro has built a reputation for himself in the key swing state of Pennsylvania, drawing harsh criticism from Republicans in the state while garnering strong support from Democrats. Pennsylvania Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano, a Trump-backed candidate who ran against Shapiro for the governorship in 2022, said Shapiro never “finished a job” he was elected to do.
“He is always looking to move up the political ladder at the expense of the very people that voted for him,” Mastriano said, noting that homicides and murders increased more than 37% between 2017 and 2021, when Shapiro was the commonwealth’s top law enforcement officer. Philadelphia has long held one of the highest murder rates per capita in the country.
Shapiro “was too interested in being [g]overnor to perform his job as Attorney General,” Mastriano said.
“This is a pattern with him dating back to his time as a Montgomery County commissioner,” he added. “He was so interested in placating the Democratic Party, instead of fighting crime and protecting the citizens of Pennsylvania from the influx of fentanyl, he instead was suing the Little Sisters of the Poor back in 2020. Now he is championing for allowing biological males in women’s sports and locker rooms.”
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Police investigate the scene where a Philadelphia police officer was shot on Jan. 26, 2024. (Elizabeth Robertson/Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)
Doug Mastriano, Republican gubernatorial candidate for Pennsylvania, greets attendees at a campaign rally in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 5, 2022. (Dustin Franz/Bloomberg)
Fred Trecce, former Philadelphia federal prosecutor, praised Shapiro’s performance.
“He did a yeoman’s job. He did a good job. He took some tough cases,” Trecce told Fox News Digital. “He had a couple of issues where they had a large case they had to let go because there were some issues about mishandling evidence. … It happened on his watch, but I’m not sure you can lay that at his feet. … He didn’t do anything wrong. I’m not sure he did anything a lot right, either. But he did what he needed to do to build himself a nice reputation, and ultimately, he was able to parlay [it] into being the governor.”
“I mean, they like him,” Trecce said of Pennsylvanians. “The general consensus among the people with whom I’ve spoken, which is completely unscientific, is that … he hasn’t made anybody angry.”
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Vice President Harris and Gov. Josh Shapiro speak to the press during a stop at the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia on July 13, 2024. (RYAN COLLERD/AFP)
Much of his career in the AG’s office, however, focused on holding companies that helped fuel the opioid crisis accountable, as Pennsylvania Democrat State Sen. Sharif Street told Fox News Digital.
“I think one of the things that both Gov. Shapiro worked on as attorney general and Vice President Harris worked on as attorney general, as well, was the opioid settlement[s],” Street said. “They went after the drug companies that were these big corporate interests that were mass-producing opioids like Percocet and OxyContin, flooding our communities with fentanyl, as well. And they took … them on and they made them pay for the harm that they’ve done.”
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Josh Shapiro, governor of Pennsylvania, speaks during a campaign event at the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple in Scranton on April 16, 2024. (Hannah Beier/Bloomberg)
2016
Shapiro, now 51, ran for Pennsylvania’s attorney general in 2016 after Kathleen Kane resigned after her convictions for perjury, obstruction of justice and other crimes. He has expressed opposition to the death penalty, effectively continuing former Gov. Tom Wolf’s moratorium on the practice.
Prior to winning the AG election, he worked for corporate law firm Stradley, Ronon, Stevens & Young in Philadelphia.
The same year he won the title of top prosecutor, he launched an investigation into thousands of sexual assault allegations made against more than 300 Catholic priests in Pennsylvania and across the United States. Shapiro publicized the lengthy grand jury investigation findings for the public to read.
2017
In 2017, Shapiro was sworn in and successfully arrested dozens of people involved in a drug trafficking scheme in Wilkes-Barre and Luzerane County known as the “million dollar heroin ring.” His investigation, which began in 2016, ultimately led to the arrests of 36 suspects accused of dealing heroin and crack cocaine.
Josh Shapiro, governor of Pennsylvania, speaks during a campaign event at the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple in Scranton on April 16, 2024. (Hannah Beier/Bloomberg)
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“This ring of drug dealers was selling thousands of dollars’ worth of heroin and crack cocaine every day for more than a year – infecting Wilkes-Barre and the surrounding communities until we put a stop to it,” Shapiro said at the time. “The people of Luzerne County are fed up with the peddling of this poison in their communities. We hear you and today, we took 36 more dealers off the streets of Northeastern Pennsylvania.”
2018
The next year, Shapiro took over prosecution for a Penn State hazing death case in Contre County.
Shaprio ultimately got a 21-year-old member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity involved in the 2017 hazing death of Penn State student Tim Piazza to plead guilty to four counts of hazing and five counts relating to unlawful acts involving liquor.
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In March 2018, he also got the former Bedford County District Attorney to plead guilty to 11 counts related to political corruption for protecting drug dealers from criminal prosecution.
President Biden and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro visit a coffee shop in Harrisburg on July 7, 2024. (SAUL LOEB/AFP)
2019
Shapiro and New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal sued the Trump administration and won a nationwide injunction blocking then-President Trump from implementing religious and moral exemptions that would allow companies to opt out of providing insurance to female employees for no-cost birth control.
“Women need contraception for their health because contraception is medicine, pure and simple. Families rely on the Affordable Care Act’s guarantee to afford care; before the ACA, families spent thousands of dollars in co-pays,” Shaprio said at the time. “Congress hasn’t changed that law, and the President can’t simply ignore it with an illegal rule. I will not allow the federal government – under the direction of the Trump Administration – to undermine the rights of women and violate the rule of law.”
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2020
Initially, during the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020, when approximately a third of Pennsylvania businesses shuttered under local mandates, Shapiro encouraged Pennsylvanians to report neighbors and businesses in violation of lockdowns, as Reason magazine notes.
“See a #COVID19 health and safety violation? Report it!”
His office stood by former Gov. Tom Wolf’s lockdown rules and went to state and federal court to pursue business owners who were not following guidelines.
However, in a 2022 interview with the Associated Press, Shapiro shared that he thinks the lockdowns that shuttered schools and businesses were “an area where … folks got it wrong.”
After the death of George Floyd later on in 2020, Shapiro worked with Wolf to help pass a statewide police misconduct database.
“After George Floyd and Walter Wallace … at that time, we had Republicans controlling the House and the Senate. With his leadership as attorney general, speaking up, he helped us get important reforms and make sure that all police officers had to be properly trained,” Street said.
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As governor, much of Shapiro’s focus has been on improving police recruitment and retention.
Vice President Harris hugs then-Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro at Pittsburgh International Airport on June 21, 2021. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP)
“Governor Shapiro believes Pennsylvanians deserve to be safe and feel safe in this communities, and he is working to build safer communities by supporting the work of law enforcement and first responders, investing in our communities, promoting anti-violence initiatives, and pursuing smart reforms to keep people safe across the Commonwealth,” his website currently states.
Also in 2020, Shapiro worked with Wolf on a 10-year contract between Highmark patients and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center to ensure that Highmark patients could receive care from UPMC doctors after the networks split. After the split, patients covered by Highmark insurance would have lost access to care at 11 hospitals before Shapiro got them to reach an agreement.
2021
In 2021, Shapiro and other attorneys general from 47 states secured a $573 million settlement with McKinsey & Company, a consulting firm that helped fuel the opioid crisis by promoting certain drugs and profiting off the drug addiction that boosted sales of those drugs.
Josh Shapiro (Rachel Wisniewski/Bloomberg)
He also worked with 45 other AGs to reach a $120 million opioid settlement agreement with Johnson & Johnson and DePuy.
2022
The following year, Shapiro targeted those fueling the opioid crisis again, announcing that he finalized agreements with CVS and Walgreens for Pennsylvania to receive more than $450 million in opioid settlement funds.
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“No amount of money will bring back the lives we lost, but today’s agreement with CVS and Walgreens will help to ensure Pennsylvanians suffering from opioid addiction get the treatment and recovery resources they need,” Shapiro said in a statement. “My office is determined to hold accountable the greedy companies that created and jet-fueled the opioid epidemic. Today’s action sends a message to drug distributors and pharmaceutical companies that we’re here to always fight for the people we serve.”
2023
Shapiro won Pennsylvania’s gubernatorial race in 2023.
In perhaps the most controversial event to hit Shapiro since he became AG in 2016, his office agreed to pay $295,000 in September to quietly settle a sexual assault case brought against a close and trusted adviser, Mike Vereb, as Spotlight PA reported at the time, citing documents obtained through a records request.
In an interview with Politico last year, Shapiro did not address the accusations outright but pointed to his record defending victims of sexual assault.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is seen at the Celebration of Freedom ceremony during Wawa Welcome America on July 4, 2023, in Philadelphia. (Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images)
“I have a long and extensive track record of standing up for victims of sexual abuse, harassment. I led, I think, the most comprehensive investigation on behalf of victims of clergy sex abuse, prosecuted hundreds of sexual predators,” he told the outlet. “I have done extensive work with victims, listening to their stories, investigating their stories, and standing up for them. So I’ll take a back seat to no one when it comes to standing up for victims.”
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Trecce says Shapiro “did not stick his hand in the hornet’s nest of any case that one might end up getting stung by.”
“He’s not despised by conservatives,” and he’s well-liked among Democrats, Trecce said.
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Street said Shapiro has “throughout his career has brought people together.”
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Pennsylvania
Sen. John Fetterman receives no support for re-election from Pennsylvania House Democrats: report
Pennsylvania Democrats are reluctant to support Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., for re-election, according to a new report.
Punchbowl News spoke to several Pennsylvania congressional members on Monday about whether they’d be willing to endorse Fetterman for another term in 2028 despite the backlash he’s been facing for opposing the Democratic Party.
“Want a sense of how tenuous Sen. John Fetterman’s (D-Pa.) position is with Pennsylvania Democrats? Not a single Pennsylvania House Democrat in the delegation will say Fetterman should run for re-election as a Democrat,” the report said.
Though the House members did not explicitly reject the idea of Fetterman running again, they avoided answering whether they believed Fetterman should seek a second term as a Democrat, often focusing instead on the 2026 midterm elections.
“My focus right now is on 2026, but I would just say I’d be very surprised if he ran in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate,” Rep. Brendan Boyle said.
Rep. Chris Deluzio also answered that he would see what happens after 2026, though Punchbowl News acknowledged both he and Boyle are rumored to be launching their own Senate bids in 2028.
Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon added that she was interested in “getting through 2026 first.”
“I’ll hold my tongue so I don’t get in trouble,” Scanlon said.
Rep. Summer Lee told Punchbowl News the decision was “up to him” whether Fetterman should run, though she added that he would do so “at his own peril.”
Others were more vocal about their disagreements with Fetterman, though they stopped short of rejecting the idea of Fetterman running again.
“My concern is entirely about him and his health, and I’ll let 2028 take care of itself,” Rep. Madeleine Dean said.
“I disagree with many of his votes.”
“It’s no secret that I’ve been disappointed with some of his votes and that I’m confused by it,” Rep. Chrissy Houlahan added.
“But I’m not responsible for deciding whether he runs again.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Fetterman’s office and the other Pennsylvania Democrats mentioned in the report for comment.
Fetterman has publicly spoken out against his party on several issues, particularly its growing hostility against Israel.
The Pennsylvania senator has also supported President Donald Trump in his ongoing war against Iran and strict border policies.
Though strategists have suggested Fetterman could switch parties because of his bipartisan stance, he previously ruled out leaving the Democratic Party last year.
“I’m not going to switch. I’m just going to be an independent voice in the Democratic Party. I’m not going to be afraid of people,” Fetterman said.
“CBS Mornings” exclusively revealed Pennsylvania high school teacher Leon Smith as the 2026 National Teacher of the Year, which is selected by the Council of Chief State School Officers’ National Teacher of the Year program.
Smith, a social studies teacher at Haverford High School in Havertown, Pennsylvania, said the honor “just means everything.”
“It’s just such an honor to be able to represent teachers all over the country and really stand on the shoulders of so many others that have come before me that have done just such great work,” Smith said in an interview with “CBS Mornings” on Tuesday.
Smith, who teaches AP U.S. history and AP African American studies, was previously named the 2025 Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year.
In a video, students at Haverford High School and colleagues described Smith as passionate, caring, charismatic and engaging.
“He is everything you want in a teacher,” principal Pete Donaghy said in the video. “He relates African American studies or U.S. history to his students.”
Smith reflected on the difference teachers can make in the lives of their students. For him, his favorite teacher was his first grade teacher, Ms. Mason.
“Just how she made me feel,” Smith said. “So I just think that’s the power of a teacher, that it’s not always the content but it’s how you make the students feel is what they remember.”
Smith said he thinks it’s crucial to let students “know that you care.”
“And also just being able to see things in students that they cannot see in themselves.”
Smith is also a longtime basketball coach, coaching the freshman team at Haverford High School.
“I was one of his players and he made sure that I felt seen,” a former player told “CBS Mornings.” “He made me feel like I actually had a purpose.”
Smith’s love for basketball started when he was young. His favorite player ever is Julius Erving, known as Dr. J., who Smith said made him “fall in love” with the game.
Erving surprised Smith on “CBS Mornings” by congratulating him in person on being named the National Teacher of the Year.
“When I got the notification about Leon, I realized that his school Haverford is literally right around the corner from a house that I lived in for 11 years,” Erving said. “So there was a connection … I said, ‘Well, let’s go and be on the show. Go see some people. Spread some joy. Spread some love.’”
Erving recalled a teacher who had an impact on his life.
“The most significant was Mr. Ray Wilson, who actually taught special ed in my high school, but he was also my basketball coach,” Erving said, describing Wilson as a lifelong mentor.
“He lived until he was in his 80s, and he was always there. He was always my first call anytime anything came up. Big or small, I could always call him, anytime, day or night. That was special.”
Smith called meeting Erving an honor and said he’s thankful for a moment that he’ll never forget.
A Pennsylvania court ruling is reshaping abortion access in the state, striking down a decades-old ban on using Medicaid to pay for abortions and declaring that the Pennsylvania Constitution guarantees a right to abortion.
The decision came Monday from the state’s Commonwealth Court. In a 4-3 vote, judges ruled in favor of abortion rights in Pennsylvania and invalidated the state’s restriction on Medicaid-funded abortions.
Local abortion-rights advocates praised the ruling as a major step toward protecting access for low-income residents. Adrienne Daily, co-founder of Johnstown for Choice, said, “Everybody should have the right to that. If you restrict the coverage, you’re obviously discriminating against those that have lower income.”
Opponents of abortion rights called the decision a dramatic expansion of the court’s power and warned it will force taxpayers to pay for procedures they oppose. Michael Geer, president of the Pennsylvania Family Institute, said, “Taxpayers now in Pennsylvania will have no choice under this court ruling to fund abortions. And there are many, many millions of Pennsylvanians who think abortion is wrong. It’s the taking of an innocent human life and to force taxpayers who conscientiously object to abortion to then fund it is just plain wrong.”
Abortion-rights advocates pushed back, arguing abortion access is healthcare and a personal decision. Daily said, “This is a family issue. This is a personal issue. This is a bodily autonomy issue.”
Pro-life leaders also warned the ruling could have broader implications for other abortion-related laws. Geer said, “It is sweeping and there’s no question it’s judicial overreach.” He added, “If this ruling stands, it will invite attacks on every remaining pro-life safeguard that has been put into law by lawmakers at the behest to the people of Pennsylvania over decades.”
The case could still be appealed to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. That decision lies with Republican Attorney General Dave Sunday. His office has not provided a response, but the Associated Press reported a spokesperson said the office is reviewing the decision and did not say whether it will appeal.
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