????  It’s Thursday, y’all. Thanksgiving’s just a week away

????️  In Today’s PoliticsPA Playbook. Bresnahan Sold Stock In Several Medicaid Providers Before Voting For Cuts. PA’s 2026 Legislative Battle Begins Taking Shape. PA Treasury Forgives Interest On Loans Given During State Budget Impasse. Cheaper Thanksgiving Dinner.

????  Your Morning Pick-Me-Up. Peppermint Twist. Joey Dee and the Starlighters

PA Weather
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PA Sports
????  Sixers (8-6) | Toronto 112-121 | Thu at Milwaukee
????  Flyers (9-6-3) | Thu at St. Louis
????  Penguins (10-5-4) | Fri vs. Minnesota

????️  Voices of Reason. In this Voices of Reason Election Special, we’re breaking down what the 2025 elections in Pennsylvania and New Jersey reveal about the political landscape heading into 2026 and beyond. We’re exploring the major takeaways from PA and NJ’s 2025 results—what worked for candidates, what didn’t, which issues moved voters, and what these trends signal for the year ahead.

????  The PoliticsPA Playbook is compiled by Steve Ulrich. To read in your browser, click here. Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe for free.

Top Story

1.   Bresnahan Sold Stock In Several Medicaid Providers Before Voting For Cuts

“A week before he voted to significantly cut Medicaid, Rep. Rob Bresnahan dumped six figures’ worth of stock in a quartet of companies that manage nearly half of all Medicaid enrollees in the country, according to public disclosure documents reviewed by NBC News.

Bresnahan, who became one of the most prolific stock traders in Congress after he took office this year, offloaded up to $130,000 worth of stock in Centene, Elevance Health, UnitedHealth and CVS Health on May 15, the periodic transaction reports he filed with the House clerk in June show. Taken together, those four companies oversee roughly half of all Medicaid managed care organizations, according to the KFF, a health policy research organization.” | NBC News

Elsewhere

‘This Is a Fist Fight’: Lawmakers Pursue Stock-Ban Bill as Pressure on Leadership Grows. “Banning members of Congress and their families from trading individual stocks is one of the few issues many Republicans and Democrats agree on. But passing a stock-ban bill into law won’t be so simple.” | NOTUS

Stock Trading By Members Of Congress Could Be Banned In Bipartisan Push. “At least 25 bills have been introduced this Congress to further limit lawmakers and their family members from trading individual stocks, and representatives across the aisle renewed pressure Wednesday on U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson to take up the issue.” | Pennsylvania Capital-Star

PA Congressional Delegation Speaks Out On Epstein Files Release. “The Senate made it official. Congress has told the U.S. Justice Department to release its files on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. All 17 members of the Pennsylvania U.S. House delegation voted for the measure, which passed the chamber overwhelmingly, 427-1. What did the Pennsylvania delegation say about its vote?” | PoliticsPA

PA Lawmakers Outraged At Federal Attempt To Prevent States From Regulating AI. “A bipartisan pair of Pennsylvania lawmakers — one of them Allegheny County Rep. Natalie Mihalek — reacted with outrage Wednesday morning to word of a new federal attempt to rapidly enact a prohibition to keep states from regulating artificial intelligence.” | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

State

2.  PA’s 2026 Legislative Battle Begins Taking Shape As Democrats Defend A One-Vote Edge In The House

“Whether to attempt the big leap from private life to state representative has become a pressing question for aspiring lawmakers, as the 2026 election approaches in a battleground state with a House split by the narrowest of margins at 102-101.

Some of the seats that will be open are already known and more are likely to become known soon. The holiday season before the February-March candidate signature-gathering period is often when people announce a decision to leave the Legislature, or when they privately commit to seeking election to it.” | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Elsewhere

A New PA Tax Credit Could Put Up To $805 In Your Pocket. “Nearly 1 million Pennsylvanians are expected to qualify for a new state tax credit that is meant to ease the burden of making ends meet.” | Philadelphia Inquirer

Garrity Bashes Bipartisan Budget Deal As Shapiro Links Her With Mastriano. “The four-month state budget standoff may be over, but lingering questions on billions of dollars in spending and political back-and-forth over the end of the impasse are spilling into the 2026 governor’s race.” | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

PA Bill Prohibiting Hair-Based Discrimination Is Bound For Shapiro’s Desk. “A bill banning discrimination based on hair texture and style is headed to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s desk after sailing through the state Senate this week, hailed as a victory for Black women in Pennsylvania who have faced prejudice toward the way they wear their hair.” | PennLive

Shapiro Says Fed Database Allowed Man With Alleged Terror Ties To Get PA License. “Gov. Josh Shapiro told reporters in Bristol Borough on Wednesday that federal officials would need to explain how a suspected terrorist was able to obtain a commercial drivers license in Pennsylvania, not his administration.” | Bucks County Courier Times

Around The Commonwealth

3.   PA Treasury Forgives Interest On Loans Given During State Budget Impasse

“State Treasurer Stacy Garrity announced Wednesday that interest will be forgiven on loans her office awarded to counties and human service providers that were impacted by the budget impasse.

Loans totaling more than $42.2 million were given to 62 organizations, including two rape and domestic violence crisis centers, 13 Head Start agencies and 46 Pre-K Counts providers.” | Pennsylvania Capital-Star

Elsewhere

PA Lawmakers Approve Mostly Flat Funding For State-Subsidized Universities. “The allocation, which has caused some controversy in years past, was comparatively subdued this time around. The bill totals nearly $647 million in assistance for Penn State, Pitt, Temple, Lincoln, and Penn’s veterinary and disease research program.” | PennLive

Democrats Think This Year’s School Board Elections Could Be Good News for the Midterms. “Democrats are arguing that little-noticed school board elections in Pennsylvania and other states could indicate that voters are ready to separate national politics from local races.” | NOTUS

York County Residents Face Proposed 14% Tax Hike In Newly Introduced Budget Plan. “York County taxpayers face a 14% increase in their property taxes in the 2026 budget introduced by elected commissioners, who declined to answer questions after Wednesday’s meeting.” | York Dispatch

Editorial

4.  What Do You Think?

• The Beginning Of The Fetterman Republicans | Frank Miele 
• Just Say No: City Council Should Send Mayor Back To Budget Drawing Board | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
• Books By Shapiro And Fetterman Are As Different As They Are | John Baer
• The Founders Didn’t Imagine A President Like Trump | Tom Moran
• Why Won’t Lawmakers Consider A Gift Ban? | TribLIVE

1 Thing

5.  Thanksgiving May Be A Little Cheaper This Year

“The average “classic holiday feast for 10” will run $55.18 this Thanksgiving, per the American Farm Bureau Federation’s new annual survey. That’s about $5.52 per person, and down about 5% from last year — the third straight year of declines.

Yes, but: “Three years of declines don’t fully erase dramatic increases that led to a record-high cost of $64.05 in 2022,” AFBF says.” | Axios

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Frosty out there this AM. See you tomorrow.