Gov. Shapiro blames GOP for budget standoff as top Senate Republican fires back

[FakeNoose]

Caption: Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland, right, with Gov. Josh Shapiro during his first budget address in Harrisburg. Photo: (AP)

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette link: https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-state/2023/07/06/josh-shapiro-pennsylvania-budget-senate-republicans-school-vouchers/stories/202307060125

HARRISBURG — A day after Republicans accused Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro of betraying their trust in negotiations toward an overdue state budget, Mr. Shapiro on Thursday pinned the blame for the still-unfinished process squarely on Senate Republicans.

“Senate Republicans did not close the deal with their House counterparts,” Mr. Shapiro said at a news conference in the Capitol, dissecting a budget negotiation process that typically involves the governor’s office and the majority party from each chamber of the Legislature.

Hours later, Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland, accused Mr. Shapiro of painting a misleading picture. “The truth is there was a deal regardless of what Gov. Shapiro says publicly and he knows there was a deal,” she said in a statement.

Republicans control the Senate by a 28-22 margin and Democrats control the House 102-101. Mr. Shapiro’s appearance — his first news conference since budget negotiations ramped up — came a day after Republicans’ generally favorable views of his five-month-old governorship were shattered. The cause they cited was Mr. Shapiro’s announcement Wednesday he would line-item veto a $100 million appropriation in a fiscal 2024 spending bill passed by the Senate and sent to the House.

- more at link -

We know the Governor got some pushback from the House Dems and it's mostly over the school vouchers. Former Governor Tom Wolf spent most of his 8 years horse trading with (or losing to) the Repukes. Come on Governor, it's time to show them who's the boss.