Emil Bove, a judge in Philadelphia’s federal appeals court and a staunch defender of President Donald Trump, faces an ethics complaint over his decision to attend the president’s rally in Pennsylvania earlier this week.
That code includes provisions that a judge “should avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all activities” and “should refrain from political activity,” the complaint noted.
“I believe Judge Bove has violated multiple Canons of the Code of Conduct, should be admonished for his behavior and should be subject to any other discipline under the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act that the Chief Judge and the Judicial Council deem fit,” Roth wrote in the complaint, questioning whether Bove’s attendance hindered his impartiality as a judge.
A spokesperson for the Third Circuit, where Bove has been serving since his contentious confirmation in July, declined to comment. White House communications director Steven Cheung wrote in a post on X that it is not unusual for a judge, like Bove, to be at a rally.
“Stop your pearl-clutching,” Cheung wrote in response to another user. “An American citizen is at an event listening to the President of the United States speak. In your world, you’d rather give rights to illegal criminals over Americans.”
Trump nominated Bove, who had worked as his personal criminal-defense attorney before the president chose him for a prestigious Justice Department role, in May to fill a vacant seat on the Philadelphia-based court. He was confirmed 50-49 by the U.S. Senate in July, with two Republicans voting with Democrats to oppose his appointment. The confirmation solidified Bove, whose career highlights have been defined by his loyalty to Trump, in a lifetime appointment on the bench.
Soon after coming into office in January, Trump tapped Bove to serve a key role in his administration’s plans to revamp the Justice Department. Bove oversaw swaths of firings and resignations, threatened consequences for officials who did not comply with the Trump administration’s immigration agenda, and secured the vexed dismissal of corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
He has also been the subject of whistleblower allegations. In June, a former high-ranking department lawyer accused Bove of saying U.S. officials should consider resisting court orders blocking deportations of alleged gang members.
Bove denied these allegations during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee by saying, “I did not suggest that there would be any need to consider ignoring court orders.”
In July, new whistleblower accounts emerged from organizations representing former Justice Department employees. One alleged that an employee was concerned about Bove “actively and deliberately undermining the rule of law” when it came to court orders in an immigration case.
Another whistleblower said they had evidence that Bove was not truthful to the Senate Judiciary Committee during his confirmation hearing.
As to what could happen to Bove next when it comes to the misconduct complaint, the chief judge of the Third Circuit could conduct a “limited inquiry” into the allegations, according to the U.S. Courts website. Then, after considering, the chief judge would dismiss or conclude the complaint or appoint a special committee of judges to investigate.
But in a rare interview with the Washington Post, published Thursday, Yass shared details on the key motivation behind his political spending: school vouchers, which supporters say will allow parents and students to choose their school. Yass’ unwavering support for vouchers and other school choice measures has led him to throw his dollars to Pennsylvania, other states, and to Trump, whose candidacy he once opposed.
And in 2026, he said he’ll continue to financially back pro-voucher candidates across the nation.
“I have come across what I think is a great way to relieve the suffering of tens of millions of kids,” Yass told The Washington Post. “To most people it’s like if you’re a libertarian billionaire, you must be Lex Luthor trying to do something nefarious. If I gave to a hospital, you wouldn’t be saying that.”
School vouchers, which are opposed by teacher unions and public school advocates, have been a high-profile issue in Pennsylvania’s state budget talks in years past, but they’ve failed to pass it. Yass poured money into that effort, but Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, who has embraced — though softened — his support for a voucher program, vetoed the measure from the state budget after it couldn’t pass a Democratic-controlled state House in 2023.
Yass told the Post that “It was a dramatic failure. We thought we had it.“
The billionaire saw better success in Texas where he contributed to help defeat anti-voucher Republicans in the primary, creating a more favorable atmosphere for passing the state’s $1 billion voucher program.
But these instances were hardly the beginning — or the end — of Yass’ involvement with politics. He gave $3.2 million in political contributions in Pennsylvania in 2018, and by last year, that had risen to $35 million, the Post reported.
Though now known as a major backer of GOP candidates, he has supported Democrats who he believes can help champion the school choice message. The first major beneficiary of Yass’ contributions was State. Sen. Anthony Williams (D., Philadelphia) who unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2010 and Philadelphia mayor in 2015.
And in 2007, Yass conversed with then-Sen. Barack Obama, who received a $2,300 donation from Yass for his 2008presidential campaign, the Post reported. Yass believed that Obama would support school choice if elected, but his administration ended up opposing voucher programs for children in the D.C. school system.
According to the Post, this may have been an indication to Yass that Democrats would not be an ally for the school choice cause.
His allegiance to school choice also appears to have made him switch his perspective of Trump from an opponent — who spent millions of dollars to back GOP primaryopponentsin 2024 — to a supporter.
The billionaire owed his change of thought on Trump to the president being “a true champion” of school choice, Yass told the post, crediting him for the passage of the Texas voucher bill and a new federal tax credit for donations to scholarship organizations.
His support for the president also coincides with Yass having business in front of the Trump administration. Yass’ trading firm is a top stakeholder in ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company. Trump is mulling the fate of the popular social media app in the United States and Yass could benefit from a deal supported by Trump to keep TikTok operational here.
Montgomery County immigration advocates renewed calls for more municipalities to approve policies that would limit police and local government cooperationwith U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as President Donald Trump’s administration ramps up enforcement.
Advocates have been calling for welcoming policies across the county for months but advocates estimated that as of Wednesday, only six of Montgomery County’s 62 municipalities had enacted policies. Even those, they argued, were lackluster.
“ICE has created a crisis in our neighborhoods, and we cannot afford silence, mixed signals, or leadership that only reacts once harm has already happened,” said Stephanie Vincent, a leader of Montco Community Watch.
Ambler, Springfield, West Norriton, Abington, Norristown, and Cheltenham had approved policies, advocates said, though they are mostly internal policies that advocates say don’t do enough to protect immigrants.
Stephanie Vincent, the leader of Montco Community Watch, speaks at a news conference about ICE activity in Montgomery County at Ascension Church in West Norriton Thursday.
The sense of urgency was palpable Thursday as ICE dramatically expands its presence and visibility, both in the Philadelphia region and across the United States.
Montco Community Watch has documented at least 97 detentions and 30 suspected ICE detentions in Montgomery County, and “there are likely more detentions that we have not heard about,” Vincent said.
The group was joined Thursday by representatives for Indivisible Greater Jenkintown, a progressive advocacy group, and the Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition at Ascension Church. Advocates said that strong welcoming policies,sometimes referred to as sanctuary policies, would outline that police will not honor ICE detainer requests without a judicial warrant, that local government resources will not be spent on ICE, and that communities will feel safe to access resources without fear of federal agents.
Advocates had been working since the summer to encourage municipalities across Montgomery County to approve policies limiting cooperation with ICE. The county, particularly the Norristown area, had become a hot spot for ICE enforcement in the early months of the Trump administration.
In July, video of a raid at a West Norriton grocery store appeared to show local police assisting the federal agency; the township said federal authorities had sought assistance to retain order while they served a warrant for tax evasion.
Super Gigante International Food Market, 1930 W. Main St., in West Norriton on July 16.
Advocates pushed county leaders to enact a welcoming resolution, but officials consistently reiterated that they lacked any control over local police forces.
Despite months of requests, Montgomery County has not passed a formal ordinance or resolution declaring itself a welcoming county. The county’s Democratic commissioners have cited limits to their power, concern about creating a false sense of security, and a preference for internal policy changes.
Advocates said Thursday that they strongly prefer limitations on local collaboration with ICE to be enshrined in ordinances rather than enacted throughinternal policies or statements, which canlack transparency and accountability and are not alwaysenforceable.
“None of [the six municipalities’ policies] are complete and the most visible problem on all of them is a lack of any accountability,” said Rabbi Elyse Wechterman, of Indivisible Greater Jenkintown.
Julio Rodriguez, from the Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition, added that a lack of clear boundaries between local policies and federal agents creates more confusion and worry in the community.
“It reinforces that fact the people just don’t know what’s happening,” Rodriguez said.
Staff writer Jeff Gammage contributed to this article.
President Donald Trump will visit Northeast Pennsylvania on Tuesday to promote his economic agenda, including efforts to lower inflation, the White House confirmed to The Inquirer on Thursday.
The trip will kick off what is expected to be anationaltour of Trump touting his economic policies ahead of the 2026 midterms, when Democrats and Republicans will battle for control of Congress.
The specific location for Trump’s visit has not yet been made public, but Northeast Pennsylvania will be a major battleground in next year’s midterms.
Democrats believe that they can oust freshman Republican U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan, of Lackawanna County, threatening the GOP’s slim House majority. Democrats are also specifically targeting the districts of U.S. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, of Bucks County; Ryan Mackenzie, of Lehigh County; and Scott Perry, of York County.
Trump endorsed Bresnahan and most of Pennsylvania’s GOP delegation on his social media platform, Truth Social, last month. Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti, a Democrat, is mounting a campaign to unseat Bresnahan, who won by roughly a percentage point last election.
Affordability — which Trump called a “fake narrative” used by Democrats — has been a top issue for voters, including during November’s blue wave when Democrats won local contests throughout Pennsylvania, in addition to the gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey.
Pennsylvania’s richest man contributed an undisclosed amount to President Donald Trump’s presidential transition, which raised slightly more than $14 million.
Jeffrey Yass, a billionaire GOP megadonor, appeared on a list of 46 individuals — obtained by the New York Times and published Wednesday — who helped bankroll Trump’s transition. The publication of the list came a full year after Trump publicly promised to disclose the donors.
The transition team said it spent $13.7 million, according to the Times.
Yass’ name appearing on the list of donors was not shocking, as the billionaire has frequently used his financial capital to support Republican candidates both in Pennsylvania and nationally.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who cochaired Trump’s transition team and is Haverford College’s largest donor, also donated to the transition.
“President Trump greatly appreciates his supporters and donors; however, unlike politicians of the past, he is not bought by anyone and does what’s in the best interest of the country,” Danielle Alvarez, a spokesperson for the Trump transition, said in a statement to the Times. “Any suggestion otherwise is simply false.”
There had been a back-and-forth as to whether the Trump transition team would release the names of the donors, and transition officials refused to sign an agreement that caps individual donations at $5,000 and prohibits foreign donations. The agreement with the General Services Administration would have required the publication of names of contributors and donation amount within 30 days of the inauguration.
Prior administrations, including the first Trump administration, had signed this agreement.
Bucks County’s 2026 proposal for a $516 million operating budget does not include tax increases for residents, but they are not off the table as county commissioners look to combat a projected $16.4 million deficit.
“There’s no question” that a tax increase is a possibility, Democratic Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia told The Inquirer on Wednesday, noting the budget proposal is currently a “work in progress.”
“The biggest thing that I’m going to be looking at, besides cutting and seeing what we can do, is if we were to have to increase taxes, to make it, you know, pennies, as small as we can, so that it’s not impacting people,” said Ellis-Marseglia, the board’s vice chair.
The county’s expenses are projected to increase by 3.2% — more than $16.2 million, according to the budget proposal released Wednesday.
The increase is driven by requests for required upgrades and replacements of public safety resources, funding for capital improvement projects, and financial support for the county’s library system and Bucks County Community College, according to a county news release.
Revenue is projected to drop by a little more than $531,000, or roughly 0.1%, according to the proposal.
“Bucks County residents deserve stability, fiscal security and a high level of service from their County government,” said Jeannette Weaver, the county’s chief financial officer, in the news release. “Over the next few weeks, we will continue working with our many departments and row officers to present a budget that meets those demands.”
“It will likely mean that this county will have to consider a tax increase because we need to meet the needs of” residents, Bob Harvie, who chairs the Bucks County commissioners and is running for Congress, told The Inquirer earlier this month.
Counties were formulating their budget proposals as Pennsylvania was grappling with its state budget impasse and the federal government underwent its longest shutdown in history.
“We are facing the same thing everybody is facing,” Ellis-Marseglia said. “But inflation is everywhere. Energy costs are up. Everybody’s having a tough time. So, of course, so is county government, trying to make ends meet.”
The Bucks CountyBoard of Commissioners will hold a public hearing on Dec. 4 at 2 p.m. for residents to ask questions and provide comments. The commissioners will vote on the final budget on Dec. 17.
Gov. Josh Shapiro signed the CROWN Act into law Tuesday, a landmark bill that prohibits discrimination based on a person’s hair type, texture, or style.
The act, which stands for Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair, applies to every Pennsylvanian, but is especially impactful to Black men and, particularly, women who have been discouraged from or marginalized by wearing natural or protective styles at school or in their places of work.
At the Island Design Natural Hair StudioTuesday, where Shapiro signed the bill into law, studio owner Lorraine Ruley said her clients have asked to change their hairstyles because of their workplace or upcoming job interviews. In one instance, Ruley said she had a client who asked to cut their locks because their workplacedeemed it “unprofessional.”
“The experience has been really heartbreaking, but I thank God for the opportunity to be here,” Ruley said. “And I just want to say natural hair rock.”
At the West Philly salon, Shapiro was flanked by primestate sponsor of the CROWN Act, state Rep. La’Tasha D. Mayes (D., Allegheny), and prime cosponsor House Speaker Joanna McClinton (D., Phila), who were overjoyed that their years of fighting for these protections were finally paying off and supported in a bipartisan fashion. The Pennsylvania Senate passed the bill 44-3 last week after it was stuck in committee for years.
Gov. Josh Shapiro (front center) holds up the signed CROWN Act during a news conference at Island Design Natural Hair Studio, in West Philadelphia Tuesday.
“This is going to help people by making sure that wherever you work, or wherever you’re applying for a job, they can’t look at your hair and size you up, not based on your qualifications and all of the professional development you have and all of your education,” McClinton said. “They will not look at your hair and decide you can’t work here.”
Shapiro said the bill is about delivering “real freedom” for Pennsylvanians to protect them against hair discrimination that may at times be subtle.
Pennsylvania is the 28th state to pass anti-hair discrimination laws. New Jersey signed the CROWN Act into law in 2019. And both Philadelphia and Pittsburgh passed ordinances in 2020 to ban such discrimination, but this law will ensure protections for all Pennsylvanians.Incidents of discrimination can be reported to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission.
For some Black women, the price of trying to conform to a prejudiced setting could come at a risk to their health. There have been some concerns in recent years that frequent use of chemical straighteners, which some women use to more permanently straighten their hair, could increase the risk of cancers of the reproductive system.
“With an undeniable correlation between the use of chemical relaxers and the increased likelihood of developing uterine fibroids and cancer, the cost of conformity is simply too expensive,” said Adjoa B. Asamoah, a Washington, D.C.-based Temple graduate and architect of the CROWN Act, at the bill signing Tuesday.
The state House passed the bill once again in March, and McClinton worked with Republican Senate president pro tempore Kim Ward to get the bill to the Senate.
When asked about the prospects of a bill similar to the CROWN Act becoming federal law, especially under the Trump administration, which has railed against diversity, equity, and inclusion practices, Asamoah said she is hopeful that it will become the law of the land andshe “will not rest” until it does. Asamoah added that the bill is crafted carefully to “withstand any judicial scrutiny.”
Shapiro, for his part, said: “This is law. I don’t care what Donald Trump says. We make the laws here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and we will protect the Crown Act.” Those gathered clapped and interjected with affirmations.
And it became clear at the beginning of Tuesday’s bill signing event that the salon likes itwhen Shapiro wades into national political discourse.
A majority of Latino adultsdisapprove of President Donald Trump’s job performance and his policies on immigration and the economy, according to a new Pew Research Center report that offers insight on the shifting opinions of a key voter demographic that Trump made inroads with in 2024.
The study, published Monday, offers a glimpse into how a majority of Latino adults nationwidehave a negative view of Trump’s performance and policies that were important to them during the 2024 election. However, a majority of Latinos who voted for Trump in 2024 remain supportive of the president.
Pew Research Center based its analysis on two nationwide surveys conducted this fall. The center surveyed almost 5,000 Latino adults from Oct. 6 to Oct. 16 as part of itsNational Survey of Latinos. A prior survey of U.S. adults, including 629 Hispanic respondents, was conducted from Sept. 22 to 28.
The report includes the opinions of Latino residents in the United States, including people both eligible and ineligible to vote. A strong majority of Latino voters who supported former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024 are critical of Trump’s performance, according to the report.
Among the highlights of the survey, 70% of Latino adults disapprove of Trump’s handling of the presidency, 65% disapprove of the Trump administration’s immigration policies, and 61% say the president’s economic initiatives “have made economic conditions worse,” according to the report.
Additionally, approximately four in five Latinos say that Trump’s policies “harm Hispanics, a higher share than during his first term.”
Latinos are among the fastest growing demographic groups in the United States and were a key voting bloc during the 2024 presidential election. Though Trump significantly improved his support among Latino voters in 2024, he did not win the demographic overall. In Pennsylvania, some Latino voters set aside his incendiary rhetoric about their community in favor of his promises to help the economy.
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It remains to be seen how the pessimism with Trump reflected in the report will impact the 2026 midterms, said Luis Noé-Bustamante, a research associate at the Pew Research Center and an author of the report.
But Latino voters swung back to Democrats during the elections earlier this month, including for Democratic Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill, whose margins over Republican Jack Ciattarelli ranged from 57 to 71 percentage points in majority Latino municipalities, according to data from Nov. 5.
“Similar to how the economy and affordability was a top issue among Latinos in the lead up to the 2024 election, it continues to be a priority among them and something in which they continue to have generally pessimistic views,” Noé-Bustamante said. “But that could change. Conditions on the ground could change and of course that could shift opinions of the president and his administration.”
In the Pew Research Center survey, about two-thirds of Latinos say their situation in the United States is worse today than it was a year ago, the first time in nearly two decades of the Pew Research Center Hispanic surveys.
Latinos have become increasingly concerned about their belonging in the United States, increasing from 48% in 2019 to 55% in 2025, according to the report. And when it comes to their personal finances, approximately one-in-three Latinos have struggled to pay for groceries, medical care, or their rent or mortgage in the last year. However, half believe their financial situation will improve over the next year and some have had beneficial financial experiences in the last year.
On immigration, slightly more than half — 52% — of Latino adults say they worry constantly about the prospect that they, or someone they are close to, could be deported amid the Trump administration’s surge of immigration enforcement. About 71% say the administration is “doing too much” when it comes to deporting immigrants who have not legally entered the U.S, according to the report.
Though a vast majority of Latinos have a critical perspective of Trump, Latinos who voted for Trump in 2024 have largely remained loyal to the president and his ideals, while Latino Republicans who did not vote for him have less favorable views of the president.
As an example, Trump has an 81% job approval rating among Latinos who voted for him, though this has declined from 93% at the beginning of his term.
Similarly, a smaller share of Latino Trump voters say their situation has worsened in the United States, that Trump’s policies are harmful to Hispanics, and that they’re worried about their belonging in the U.S.
Rape crisis centers in the Philadelphia region are sounding the alarm that the slight increase in funding in the recently passed state budget won’t be enough to sustain or improve crucial services for survivors of sexual assault.
The Pennsylvania Coalition to Advance Respect (PCAR), which funds rape crisis centers via the state allocation, estimates centers will only see an average increase of $5,300 from the state to support their work assisting victims of sexual violence.
The Philadelphia Center Against Sexual Violence had to lay off most of its staff and reduce services due to the nearly five-month state budget impasse. And while leaders in the region appreciate the funding — the first increase for rape crisis centers in years — it’s only a fraction of what Philly’s only rape crisis center says it needs to survive.
“Even with the budget now passed, the funding increase is minimal compared to the overwhelming need,” said LaQuisha Anthony, senior manager of advocacy at the center, in a news release last week. The center is known as WOAR, the initials of its former name, Women Organized Against Rape.
Now advocates in Philadelphia and the suburbs are turning their focus to next year’s budget, pushing for an $8 million increase in state funding to rape crisis centers, which, among other services, offer victim advocacy, legal services, and crisis hotlines. A surge in funding will help provide stability for survivors and adequately compensate staff who dedicate their lives to this work.
“An $8 million increase would help ensure that every survivor across the Commonwealth, urban, suburban, and rural, has access to care, advocacy, and prevention,” said Joyce Lukima, coalition director and chief operating officer at PCAR, in a statement.
More than $12 million of a $50.1 billion state budget was allocated to rape crisis this year, a $250,000 increase from last year. Lukima said this $250,000 will be split among 47 rape crisis centers in the state.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, which oversees rape crisis center funding, highlighted Gov. Josh Shapiro’s history of support for survivors of sexual violence.
Gov. Josh Shapiro signs the fiscal year 2025-26 budget surrounded by General Assembly members on Nov. 12 at the Capitol in Harrisburg. The state budget had been due June 30, and Pennsylvania is the final state in the country to approve a funding deal.
“The final budget reflects the realities of working with one of the only divided legislatures in the entire country – but Gov. Shapiro will continue to fight for survivors and the Commonwealth’s rape crisis centers,” said Ali Fogarty, the DHS spokesperson.
Victim services centers in the suburbs, which also offer rape crisis services, are echoing WOAR and PCAR’s message, highlighting the urgent need for greater funding. These suburban centers receive funding from additional sources because they support victims of other crimes.
“For now, we’re doing OK, but another year of no increase in funding while the cost of living is going up has a significant impact on our staff as well as our organization,” said Penelope Ettinger, executive director of Network of Victim Assistance – Bucks County.
Trying to stay afloat
While Pennsylvania lawmakers were failing to come to an agreement on a far overdue state budget last month, rape crisis centers in Philadelphia and the suburbs were trying to make ends meet and provide services to survivors of sexual violence.
For instance, the Victim Services Center of Montgomery County had to use a line of credit, delay bill payments, institute a hiring freeze, increase the number of interns, and commit to “triaging services,” said Mary Onama, executive director.
“If they hadn’t passed the budget the time that they did, by December or January, we would have had to close, because we couldn’t go much longer,” Onama added.
At the Crime Victims’ Center of Chester County, it “added a layer of stress to an already very stressful job,” though the center did not have to reduce services, said Christine Zaccarelli, the organization’s CEO.
WOAR’s release last week said the closure of therapy and counseling services left “106 individuals wait-listed, 33 group clients waiting for services to resume, and eight child clients referred elsewhere for care.”
The center has been serving Philadelphia since 1971 and was one of the first rape crisis centers in the United States, according to the organization. Between January and October, the center said it responded to 3,820 calls on its crisis hotline.
The dysfunctional approval of the state budget, though, will have lingering effects on WOAR, warning in the news release that without a “long-term, sustainable investment,” the center won’t be able to meet a rising demand for resources.
The Bridge Loan, from the Pa. Treasury Department, provided WOAR funding owed for July through September, but it still wasn’t enough to return WOAR to full capacity, said Demetrius Archer, PCAR’s communications director. The center also brought back two employees this month, but it’s still in need of community support and is hoping to bring back more staff when possible.
“When services are underfunded, survivors and entire communities feel the impact,” said Fontan in the news release. “In a city as large and diverse as Philadelphia, every minute counts when someone is in crisis. Survivors deserve to know that when they reach out for help, someone will be there to answer.”
All eyes on Harrisburg
At Temple University’s campus Tuesday, student advocates bundled up in their coats, hats, and scarves and gathered at the Bell Tower to discuss an anti-sexual violence state bill they helped develop.
The Every Voice Bill, which primarily focuses on sexual violence prevention resources on college campuses, is even more important now that survivor services from WOAR are “unstable,” said Bella Kwok, a senior criminal justice major and president of Temple’s Student Activists Against Sexual Assault, in an interview prior to Tuesday’s event
“This bill would ensure that stability at least on an institutional level,” Kwok said.
Temple University students Emma Wentzel, left, and Bella Kwok speak at a podium on Polett Walk on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025, about campus sexual assault and a state bill they helped craft to strengthen protections against sexual violence at colleges.
Kwok is not the only one who is turning their attention to Harrisburg. PCAR and other rape crisis centers are continuing their push for next year’s budget to include an $8 million increase in the Pa. DHS line item for rape crisis.
As the first increase for rape crisis centers in a few years, the new budget’s funding gives advocates “hope,” even if the amount is “disappointing,” said Zaccarelli, of the Crime Victims’ Center of Chester County.
“Maybe our advocacy is making a little bit of a difference and shining a light on survivors and their needs and how important our centers are in the community,” Zaccarelli said.
Ettinger said that Bucks County’s state lawmakers have been supportive of NOVA Bucks, which had to place a hiring freeze on some positions and issue “significant” restrictions on spending due to the impasse, but that a lack of increased funding from the state is “very telling.”
“I believe that the fact that the state did not allocate a significant increase is very telling to what they believe, where they put it on the priority list,” Ettinger said.
For his part, Shapiro signed Act 122 in October 2024, which aimed to increase transparency by requiring a statewide electronic system to track evidence kits for sexual assaults, Fogarty, the DHS spokesperson said. And in December 2023, he signed Act 59, which aims to improve access to treatment for survivors of sexual assault.
It’s a “societal” problem, not a government problem, said Vincent Davalos, interim executive director of the Delaware County Victim Assistance Center.
“When we talk about sexual violence, the first thought is, of most people, is to say ‘Maybe this didn’t happen,” Davalos said. “And even if they do believe it happens… it’s just a really difficult topic for people to engage and talk about it plainly.”
This week, victim services leaders across Pennsylvania will gather in Harrisburg for an annual conference to address funding challenges among other concerns, Davalos said, noting that with more funding, his center could improve staff retention.
But this year, the newly passed state budget is likely to be top of mind.
“I think money is going to be a big topic,” Davalos said.
The longest ever federal government shutdown is now in the rearview mirror, but not for federal workers.
With their jobs back to normal, some local federal employees said worries created by the shutdown remain — one said their credit score suffered, others noted their Thanksgiving tables will be less festive. And for many, another shutdown in a matter of weeks is a real concern.
Federal employees — whether furloughed or required to work during the shutdown — missed paychecks during the 43-day lapse in federal appropriations, the longest ever in United States history. Workers sought out food pantries, delayed payments on bills, and tried to make ends meet for their families ahead of the holidays.
“I will be paycheck to paycheck for the next couple of months maybe, before I can start accumulating my savings again,” said a Philadelphia Veterans Benefits Administration employee, who was working without a paycheck during the shutdown.
The Inquirer agreed to withhold the names of federal employees interviewed due to their fear of retaliation for speaking out. Despite workers beginning to receive retroactive paychecks from the shutdown, they spoke of lingering financial damage and worries that yet another lapse in funding could happen in just a couple of months.
The bill to end the shutdown, signed into law by President Donald Trump on Nov. 12, funds the government through Jan. 30. It includes protections for federal employees such as reversing layoffs that took place during the shutdown, and ensures back pay for all government workers throughout that time, which had been put into question by the Trump administration. And certain government agencies, such as Veterans Affairs, the Department of Agriculture, and the Food and Drug Administration, have been allocated a year’s worth of funding.
But after Jan. 30, if lawmakers once again fail to agree on keeping the government open, some federal workers could once again face a lapse in their pay.
“We’re bracing for Jan. 30,” said Philip Glover, national vice president of the American Federation of Government Employees District 3, the union that represents federal employees in Pennsylvania.
Philip Glover, AFGE District 3 national vice president, speaks at a news conference focused on federal workers amid the government shutdown, near the Liberty Bell on Oct. 7.
Federal workers have been “dealing with a layer cake of trauma,” said Max Stier, founding president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, a federal government management organization.
“This is not simply one incident, but it’s one on top of a bunch of them that this administration has put in their way,” Stier said.
The financial strain
At the Social Security Administration in Philadelphia a benefit authorizer said Monday that she and her coworkers had started getting their back pay, but she had already felt the impact of missing checks.
“We assumed we could just call and everybody would place everything on hold, and that was not the case,” said the Social Security employee.
The benefit authorizer had put her mortgage and car payments on hold, but some banks and utility companies weren’t as accommodating, and she accumulated overdraft fees from a credit union.
Her role required her to work through the shutdown without pay. (In Pennsylvania, furloughed workers may apply for unemployment benefits, but those who continue to work, even without pay, may not.) The benefit authorizer looked for additional work, unsure how long the shutdown would last. Some of her colleagues in Philadelphia picked up gigs with Uber, DoorDash, and Instacart, she said.
Union officials from AFGE gathered on Oct. 7 in front of Independence Hall to protest the government shutdown.
Another Philadelphia Social Security employee, who has been with the agency for 15 years, noted that some colleagues picked up night shifts at Amazon or work in home healthcare.
“People living paycheck to paycheck, they needed something to pay those bills that were absolutely essential that they had to pay,” the 15-year Social Security employee said.
For one federal employee from Central Jersey, 2025 already came with an unexpected career turn when they lost their job at U.S. Housing and Urban Development, as part of a mass layoff of probationary employees. They found a job at the U.S. Department of Commerce, in Virginia, which allowed them to support their mother and three kids back in New Jersey.
Wary of permanently moving to Virginia during such a volatile time in the federal workforce, the Commerce employee commutes eight hours by Amtrak twice a week and stays in a $200 per night hotel on workdays.
During the federal shutdown, the Commerce employee had to work without a paycheck. They used up their savings paying for the commute, hotel, and other expenses. Ultimately, they took out a bank loan to cover their expenses.
The government shutdown exemplifies a lack of stability in the workforce, the Commerce employee said. “To be honest, you feel unsafe all the time, and you feel like you’re not deserving that.”
National Park Service ranger Christopher Acosta talks with tourists outside the Liberty Bell Center on Nov. 13 after returning to work from the shutdown.
Worries remain ahead of the holiday season
The Philadelphia VBA employee, who worked without pay during the shutdown, received their back pay Monday. The single parent said they were one more missed paycheck away from turning to food pantries and living off credit cards.
“Usually I’m the one donating around this time,” the employee said last week. “I usually adopt a family and provide them with the meal and then their gifts and stuff from our local community churches and outreach programs.”
Thanksgiving is the time they “splurge,” but now the shutdown has made them contemplate their finances. “I haven’t even thought about the process of even having a Thanksgiving dinner on the table because I didn’t want to spend the money,” the VBA employee said. By Christmas, they hope to be caught up on payments.
It’s a similar story for one Philadelphia VA Medical Center employee who worked without pay through the shutdown. Speaking days before the shutdown’s end, the employee said their credit score had taken a hit. They reached out to creditors and got some of their payments deferred, but relief won’t set in until the employee can catch up on their water, electric, gas, mortgage, and car bills.
A “big feast” for Thanksgiving is off the table. “You can’t do that now because you don’t have the funds,” they said.
The Corporal Michael J. Crescenz Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Philadelphia.
‘Fear of what’s to come’
Throughout the funding impasse, Philadelphia’s federal workers turned to each other for assistance.
At the VBA, supervisors set up a small food pantry several weeks into the shutdown. The VBA employee said that didn’t feel especially helpful. “That was our second paycheck missed, and that was the best that they could come up with,” the employee said.
“It’s business as usual in the eyes of the VA, and they expect us to work like nothing’s going on in our real lives.”
At the Social Security Administration, workers banded together to start an impromptu food pantry, the Philadelphia benefit authorizer said.
“Everything was taken. People needed it. People were really pinching pennies,” she said.
The national office of AFGE, the largest federal workers’ union, backed the deal to end the government shutdown. “Government shutdowns not only harm federal employees and their families, they also waste taxpayers’ dollars and severely diminish services depended on by the American people,” AFGE national president Everett Kelley said in a statement on Nov. 10.
But some thought it should have ended differently.
In the days leading up to the deal, dozens of AFGE Local 3631 members, who are employed at the Environmental Protection Agency, said in a local union survey that they did not want their local to support budget legislation such as what passed. Their concerns were with an expected rise in healthcare expenses across the country.
The union local had polled members at the end of October, according to local union officer Hannah Sanders. The survey got more than 100 responses, and over85% said the local should only support a deal if it preserved subsidies for Affordable Care Act healthcare plans and avoided cuts to Medicaid.
EPA workers and supporters gathered outside their office for a solidarity march around Philadelphia’s City Hall in March.
Sanders said there are few changes between the recently passed deal and the bill that could have averted the shutdown back in September. “We would have not had this shutdown, and people wouldn’t have, you know, gone without pay or gone without SNAP benefits and all these things. So it’s super frustrating to see that this is how it all resolved,” said Sanders.
Now, the benefit authorizer at the Social Security Administration says, people are concerned that another shutdown could be on the horizon come Jan. 30.
“We are in complete fear of what’s to come,” she said.
