Josh Shapiro | |
|---|---|
 Shapiro in 2022 | |
| 48thGovernor of Pennsylvania | |
| Assumed office January 17, 2023 | |
| Lieutenant | Austin Davis |
| Preceded by | Tom Wolf |
| Attorney General of Pennsylvania | |
| In office January 17, 2017 – January 17, 2023 | |
| Governor | Tom Wolf |
| Preceded by | Bruce Beemer |
| Succeeded by | Michelle Henry |
| Chair of theMontgomery County Board of Commissioners | |
| In office January 3, 2012 – January 17, 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Jim Matthews |
| Succeeded by | Val Arkoosh |
| Member of thePennsylvania House of Representatives from the153rd district | |
| In office January 4, 2005 – January 3, 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Ellen Bard |
| Succeeded by | Madeleine Dean |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Joshua David Shapiro (1973-06-20)June 20, 1973 (age 52) Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 |
| Residence(s) | Governor's Residence Harrisburg, Pennsylvania |
| Education | University of Rochester (BA) Georgetown University (JD) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | Office website Campaign website |
Shapiro on the response to the2023 Interstate 95 highway collapse Recorded June 17, 2023 | |
Joshua David Shapiro (born June 20, 1973) is an American politician and lawyer serving since 2023 as the 48thgovernor of Pennsylvania. A member of theDemocratic Party, he was theattorney general of Pennsylvania from 2017 to 2023 and served on theMontgomery County Board of Commissioners from 2012 to 2017.[1]
Born inKansas City, Missouri, Shapiro was raised inMontgomery County, Pennsylvania. He studied political science at theUniversity of Rochester and earned hisJuris Doctor degree fromGeorgetown University. After that, he worked as a senior adviser to U.S. senatorRobert Torricelli. Shapiro was elected to thePennsylvania House of Representatives in 2004, defeating formerRepublican U.S. representativeJon D. Fox. He represented the153rd district from 2005 to 2012. Shapiro was elected to the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners in 2011, marking the first time Republicans lost control of Montgomery County. Serving on the board from 2011 to 2017, he held the position of chairman, and in 2015, was also appointed chairman of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency by GovernorTom Wolf.
Shapiro waselected Pennsylvania attorney general in 2016, defeating RepublicanJohn Rafferty Jr., and wasreelected in 2020. As attorney general, he released the findings of astatewide grand jury report that revealed the abuse of children by Catholic priests and coverup by church leaders, and helped negotiate $1 billion for Pennsylvania as part of a national opioid settlement. In the2022 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, Shapiro ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and defeated Republican nomineeDoug Mastriano in the general election by a landslide.
On April 13, 2025, Shapiro and his family survived anarson attack at the governor's mansion, hours after holding aPassover Seder.
Joshua David Shapiro[2] was born on June 20, 1973, inKansas City, Missouri.[3] He spent a few years of his childhood on aUnited States Navy base where his father, Steven Shapiro, served as a medical officer,[4] before the family moved toDresher, Pennsylvania, a community inUpper Dublin Township inMontgomery County.[5] His father Steven works as apediatrician inEast Norriton, Pennsylvania,[6] and his mother, Judi, was a teacher.[7]
Shapiro was raised in a Jewish household.[8] At age 6, through his synagogue, theBeth Sholom Congregation inElkins Park, and the Forman Hebrew Day School, he began writing letters to Avi Goldstein, a Soviet Jewishrefusenik inTbilisi,Soviet Georgia, and enlisted others in an internationalpen pal program he called Children for Avi.[9][10][11] He attended high school atAkiba Hebrew Academy inMerion Station, Pennsylvania.[12] He was a basketball team captain during his senior year.[13] During high school, Shapiro spent five months studying and volunteering in Israel with his classmates, as part of a "service project" requirement, which they completed through "a program that took them to akibbutz in Israel where he worked on a farm and at a fishery".[14] The program also included service on anIsrael Defense Forces base,[15] an experience he described as being "a past volunteer in the Israeli army".[16] According to his spokesperson in 2024, Shapiro was "at no time engaged in any military activities".[17][18]
Shapiro attended theUniversity of Rochester, majoring inpolitical science. In 1992, he was the first freshman ever elected student body president of the university. He graduatedmagna cum laude in 1995.[19] While at Rochester, in 1993 Shapiro published an op-ed in theCampus Times student newspaper titled "Peace not Possible", in which he claimed that peace "will never come" to the Middle East. ThePhiladelphia Inquirer quoted it as follows: "Palestinians will not coexist peacefully. They do not have the capabilities to establish their own homeland and make it successful even with the aid of Israel and the United States. They are too battle-minded to be able to establish a peaceful homeland of their own." He also wrote that he believed then-Palestinian leaderYasser Arafat was in danger of being assassinated by "his fellow belligerent Arabs". In 2024, a spokesperson for Shapiro said that Shapiro's position had changed since he wrote the op-ed and that he now supports atwo-state solution.[20][21]
While working on Capitol Hill, Shapiro enrolled at theGeorgetown Law Center as an evening student and earned hisJuris Doctor in 2002.[19]
After graduating from college, Shapiro moved toWashington, D.C., where he spent six months working in theIsraeli embassy'spublic diplomacy department beginning in April 1996.[22] According to a Shapiro spokesperson, he worked there "to get foreign policy experience. His job largely involved educating the public about Israel."[22] In September 1996, he began working for U.S. representativePeter Deutsch.[22] He also worked as legislative assistant to U.S. senatorCarl Levin and as a senior advisor to U.S. senatorRobert Torricelli.[23] While working for Torricelli, Shapiro planned foreign affairs tours in the Middle East and Asia, including a trip toNorth Korea.[13] From 1999 to 2003, Shapiro worked as chief of staff to U.S. representativeJoe Hoeffel, who represented parts of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.[24]
In 2004, Shapiro ran for thePennsylvania House of Representatives in the153rd district.[23] He faced the Republican nominee, former congressmanJon D. Fox. Shapiro trailed in polling at the beginning of the race, but he knocked on 10,000 doors and ran a campaign centered on increasing education funding and better access to health care.[13] He was elected by a margin of ten percentage points over Fox.[25] Shapiro was reelected in 2006, 2008, and 2010.
As a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, he built a reputation as a consensus builder who was willing to work across the aisle on a bipartisan basis.[26] Following the 2006 elections, Democrats controlled thePennsylvania State House by one seat, but the party was unable to unite behind a candidate forSpeaker of the House. Shapiro helped broker a deal that resulted in the election of moderate RepublicanDennis O'Brien as Speaker of the House. O'Brien subsequently named Shapiro as deputy speaker of the house.[27] In 2008, following revelations that Democratic House minority leaderBill DeWeese was involved ina corruption scandal, Shapiro called for him to step down, citing him as a "symbol of a broken system" and arguing that DeWeese remaining in leadership would hurt Democrats statewide in the 2008 elections.[28]
In 2007[29] and 2009,[30] Shapiro introduced three separate bills into the House todivest state funds from Iran and later Sudan. The "bill and similar efforts around the country make a moral argument against investing in countries with a history of terror or genocide."[30] "The idea of pulling out of companies that do business with Iran is based on earlier such efforts that crippled the apartheid South African government. But thus far, the South African campaign has not been replicated."[31] In 2010, Shapiro, U.S. senatorBob Casey, and state representativeDan Frankel pushed for national legislation to allow states' pension funds to divest from business engaging withIran.[32]
While a state representative, Shapiro was one of the first public backers of then-SenatorBarack Obama for president in 2008. This was in contrast with much of the Pennsylvania Democratic political establishment, which supportedHillary Clinton in the presidential primary.[33]
From 2006 through 2017, Shapiro also practicedcorporate law at the firm Stradley, Ronon, Stevens, and Young in Philadelphia.[34]
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Shapiro won election to theMontgomery County Board of Commissioners in 2011. The election marked the first time in history that the Republican Party lost control of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners.[35] Shapiro chaired the board from 2012 to 2016.[36]
Shapiro's commission duties centered onsocial services and administration.[13] Castor, the only Republican member of the board during Shapiro's tenure, praised Shapiro's work, calling him "the best county commissioner I ever knew" and "very good at arriving at consensus."[13] In 2016, Shapiro voted for an 11% tax increase, which was an average increase of $66 in property taxes.[37] During his tenure, the board of commissioners implemented zero-based budgeting and shifted county pension investments fromhedge funds toindex funds.[35] Democrats retained a majority on the board of commissioners in the 2015 election, as Shapiro and his running mate, Val Arkoosh, both won election.[38]
In April 2015, GovernorTom Wolf named Shapiro the chair of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.[39]
Shapiro announced his candidacy forPennsylvania attorney general in January 2016.[40] While he had practiced with Philadelphia's Stradley Ronon firm and chaired the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, he had never served as a prosecutor.[41] Shapiro campaigned on his promise to restore the office's integrity followingKathleen Kane's resignation and also promised to work to combatthe opioid epidemic[27] andgun violence.
His campaign was supported by PresidentBarack Obama, presidential candidateHillary Clinton, and businessman and formermayor of New York CityMichael Bloomberg, who was among the largest donors to Shapiro's campaign.[42] He won the Democratic primary for attorney general in April 2016, defeatingStephen Zappala and John Morganelli with 47 percent of the vote.[43] In November 2016, Shapiro narrowly defeated the Republican nominee, state senatorJohn Rafferty Jr., with 51.3 percent of the vote.[44]
Shapiro was reelected in 2020, defeating Republican nominee Heather Heidelbaugh with 50.9% of the vote.[45] He received 3,461,472 votes, the most of any candidate in Pennsylvania history, and outranJoe Biden in the concurrent presidential election.[13]
On May 7, 2019, the Wikipedia Community flagged edits made to this page, saying they may "rely excessively on sources too closely associated with the subject" and could have been written in return for payment, both of which violate Wikipedia's terms of use. Edits were made by the digital communications director in the Attorney General's office.[46][47] Shapiro's spokesperson said: "The digital work is a core function of the digital director's job. We stand by it. Every day our job is to promote the work of Josh Shapiro and this office. A Wikipedia page is a bio, similar to that which would be on a government website."[48]
In 2017, Shapiro announced the roundup of a "Million Dollar Heroin Ring" under "Operation Outfoxed" in Luzerne County.[49] One of those arrested was Maura Kathio,[50] previously charged in a majorbath salts case in 2016.[51] Kathio's Father, Inayat, was a Pakistani diplomat and significant Pennsylvania Democratic Committee donor[52] who co-chaired then presidential candidate Joe Biden's Scranton fundraiser.[53] All the charges in Operation Outfoxed were abruptly dismissed after allegations that Shapiro had mishandled the sealing of wiretapped recordings.[54][55]
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In 2018, Shapiro offered former Bedford County district attorney William Higgins a plea deal for corruption charges. Higgins pleaded guilty to soliciting sexual favors from accused criminals in exchange for lenient sentencing recommendations.[56] The plea deal guaranteed no prison time. Higgins had initially faced a maximum prison sentence of 62 years.[57]
Long before Shapiro took office in 2016, the Pennsylvania attorney general's office launched an investigation of allegations of sexual abuse by members of theCatholic Church. Shapiro inherited the investigation, and in August 2018 released the results of anextensive grand jury report. The report alleged the sexual abuse of more than 1,000 children by over 300 priests.[19] It prompted similar investigations into the Catholic Church in other states, such as an inquiry launched by then-Missouri attorney generalJosh Hawley.[58]
In January 2018,Centre County district attorney Bernard Cantorna referred the case of thedeath of Tim Piazza, a Penn State student who was hazed, to Shapiro, because Cantorna had previously served as a criminal defense attorney for one of the defendants.[59] Multiple defendants were given plea bargains.
In 2019, Shapiro led efforts to ensure that insurance holders ofHighmark, a healthcare company, could receive treatment at theUniversity of Pittsburgh Medical Center.[60] The settlement allowed 1.9 million insurance recipients to continue using their existing doctors as in-plan providers rather than being forced to switch either medical providers or insurance providers.[citation needed]
When serving on the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons as attorney general in 2019, Shapiro cast the fewest votes in favor of commutation, denying 24 out of 41 pardons and being one of only two board members to vote against more cases than in favor.[61]
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In May 2019,Lancaster County newspaperLNP reported that members of Shapiro's office staff had edited Shapiro's Wikipedia entry to describe him "as a 'rising progressive star' who has 'earned a reputation as a consensus builder eager to take on the status quo and challenge powerful institutions to protect the people of Pennsylvania'". Staffers for Auditor GeneralEugene DePasquale, Senate minority leaderJay Costa, and Senate majority leaderJake Corman also reportedly edited their bosses' Wikipedia pages. The then-executive director of thePennsylvania State Ethics Commission said that he did not see this practice as illegal under the state's ethics law.[47]
In 2021, Shapiro announced an opioid settlement withJohnson & Johnson and three other U.S. pharmaceutical distributors that resulted in Pennsylvania receiving $1 billion.[62] The settlement resolved thousands of lawsuits against the companies for their role in fueling theopioid epidemic.[62]
Shapiro supported enforcing Pennsylvania'santi-boycott law againstBen & Jerry's after the ice cream maker announced that it would not renew its license in theOccupied Palestinian Territories. Shapiro calledBDS a "stain" that Governor Wolf was right to prevent from taking hold in Pennsylvania and said it "is rooted in antisemitism."[63]
In August 2021, Shapiro settled the largest prevailing wage criminal case in U.S. history. Under the plea, Glenn O. Hawbaker Inc., paid nearly $21 million to 1,267 Pennsylvania workers.[64]
He also joined a lawsuit againstITT Technical Institute, afor-profit educational institute, that resulted in a $168 million settlement (with about $5 million of that going to Pennsylvania students).[65] In 2018, he reached an agreement with federal officials to prevent the distribution of blueprints for3D printed firearms.[66] In 2019, he came out in support of the legalization of recreationalcannabis use by adults, joining GovernorTom Wolf and other leading Pennsylvania Democrats.[67]
Shapiro andPhiladelphia district attorneyLarry Krasner repeatedly found themselves at odds during Shapiro's tenure as attorney general.[68] According toThe Philadelphia Inquirer, Krasner would joke that prosecutors who left his office to work for Shapiro were "war criminals" who had fled to "Paraguay", a reference toescape routes Nazis took in the aftermath ofWorld War II.[69] Shapiro condemned Krasner's jokes as "hateful".[70]
In August 2018, Krasner referred the case of a Philadelphia police officer's fatal shooting of Jeffrey Dennis to Shapiro because Krasner had previously served as Dennis's criminal defense attorney. Dennis was in his car when he was "box[ed] in" by undercover officers in unmarked vehicles; three officers were injured after Dennis tried to evade them.[71][72] In December, Shapiro announced no charges would be filed against the officers, saying, "violations of police procedure do not always rise to the level of criminal charges".[72][73] Dennis's family subsequently sued the officer and city of Philadelphia for the incident.[74]
Shapiro reportedly supported a bill in the Pennsylvania state legislature that turned over certain powers of the Philadelphia district attorney to the Office of Attorney General, including "the authority to prosecute the illegal possession, sale, or purchase of firearms".[75] Supporters of Krasner criticized the bill as written in hopes of weakening Philadelphia'shome rule authority. RepresentativesChris Rabb andMary Jo Daley, who voted against it, attested Shapiro had privately lobbied in favor of the legislation.[76] The bill passed, but garnered backlash from Democrats who said they were not made fully aware of its contents before they voted for it,[75] and Shapiro faced protests during public appearances afterward.[77]
Shapiro joined several other state attorneys general in opposing PresidentDonald Trump'stravel ban,[78] and also sued Trump to block the implementation of a rule that would have made it easier for employers to deny health insurance coverage ofcontraceptives.[79]
Shapiro was one of 20 electors thePennsylvania Democratic Party chose to vote in theElectoral College forJoe Biden andKamala Harris in2020 United States presidential election.[80]
In December 2019, Shapiro charged state representativeMovita Johnson-Harrell with perjury and theft of funds from her own charity for such things as vacations and clothing.[81] Johnson-Harrell served two months in prison before being released on house arrest.[82]
In July 2021, Shapiro charged state representativeMargo L. Davidson with theft by deception, solicitation to hinder apprehension, and Election Code violations after stealing public funds by filing fraudulent overnightper diem requests and various other expenses through thePennsylvania House of Representatives Comptroller's Office, as well as hindering a state prosecution.[83] Davidson resigned from office, paid restitution, and was released without bail.[84]
Shapiro had long been expected to run forgovernor of Pennsylvania, and on October 13, 2021, he announced his candidacy in the2022 election. In January 2022, Shapiro's campaign reported it had $13.4 million in campaign funds, which was described as a record amount for a candidate in an election year.[85] Shapiro faced no opponents in the Democratic primary, and secured the nomination on May 17, 2022.[86] He faced Republican nomineeDoug Mastriano in the general election.
Shapiro ran on a platform of protectingvoting rights,abortion rights, and raising theminimum wage to $15 an hour. His campaign was criticized by some progressives because of his support forcapital punishment for "heinous crimes", his public feuds withPhiladelphia district attorneyLarry Krasner, and his compromising withpolice unions to pass police reform bills.[87] Efforts to enlist a progressive primary challenge to Shapiro were unsuccessful.[87] Shapiro later changed his position, now saying he opposes capital punishment and would sign a bill to abolish it.[88]
During the leadup to the primary election, Shapiro's campaign released a statewide televised advertisement calling a Mastriano win "a win for whatDonald Trump stands for", referencing Mastriano's stance on outlawing abortion and his efforts to audit the2020 presidential election. The ad was seen as an "endorsement" of the Republican candidate Shapiro would want to face in the general election, with Mastriano seen as too extreme for swing voters to elect.[89][90] Mastriano won the Republican primary and his closest opponent, former congressmanLou Barletta, later said that Shapiro's ads likely helped.[91] The impact of Shapiro's ads on the primary is disputed as Mastriano was already in the lead.[92]
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Shapiro said that as governor he would protect abortion access in Pennsylvania and veto any bill the state legislature passes that restricts or outlaws abortion.[93]
Before running for governor, Shapiro had supported capital punishment for what he called "heinous crimes". During his campaign, he announced that he now favored abolishing the death penalty in Pennsylvania, a reversal of his previous position.[88] Shapiro was asked in a 2022 interview withPennsylvania Capital-Star why his position changed, to which he responded:
[The] question is a fair one ... When I ran for [attorney general] in 2016, I said that the death penalty should be reserved for the most heinous of crimes. But then I got elected attorney general and I saw these cases come across my desk. I got closer to a system that I thought was in need of reform. And as attorney general I never once sought the death penalty. As governor, I'd be in a policymaking role, together with the Legislature ... and I thought it was important when asked to state my position unequivocally that I would sign legislation to abolish the death penalty.
Shapiro also said he would not sign any future death warrants for prisoners on death row.[94]
Shapiro supports cutting Pennsylvania's nearly 10 percent corporate tax rate to 4 percent by 2025. He has proposed hiring 2,000 additional police officers across Pennsylvania, saying, the "more police officers we hire, the more opportunities we have for them to get out of their patrol cars, walk the beat, learn the names of the kids in the communities".[95] Shapiro favors pardoning those convicted for possession of small amount of marijuana.[96]
On efforts to mitigateCOVID-19, Shapiro has broken with some in the Democratic Party and opposesmask andvaccine mandates.[97] He prefers educating the public about vaccines' efficacy.[97] Shapiro is also skeptical about Pennsylvania joining theRegional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a market-based program to reduce somegreenhouse gas emissions.[98] He has proposed expanding Pennsylvania'sclean energy portfolio for utility companies, greaterelectric car infrastructure and investing in clean energy research and development.[99] Shapiro supports a Lifeline Scholarship bill, which creates education savings accounts for children in failing public schools that can be spent on approved expenses including tutoring, instructional materials and private school tuition.[100]
Shapiro has proposed a plan that will allow for a $250 gas tax refund per personal passenger vehicle up to four vehicles per household. He proposed funding the proposal with funds from theAmerican Rescue Plan.[101] On the issue of vocational training, Shapiro has proposed increasing career and technical training in high schools, tripling state funding for apprenticeships and union skills programs, and creating a Pennsylvania office of workforce development.[102][103] He also supports eliminating four-year degree requirements for state government jobs.[103] Shapiro is a supporter of unions and has vowed to veto any"right to work" legislation.[104]
Before his announcement, term-limited governorTom Wolf endorsed Shapiro.[105][106] He received endorsements from former governorEd Rendell, state senatorAnthony H. Williams, formerPennsylvania Democratic Party chairMarcel Groen, and thePlanned Parenthood Action Fund. He was endorsed by theSEIU Pennsylvania State Council, four SEIU local unions consisting of over 80,000 SEIU members in the state.[107]
On January 29, 2022, thePennsylvania Democratic Party endorsed him byvoice vote. The committee also endorsed his preferred running mate, state representativeAustin Davis.[108] Other union support included the Philadelphia Carpenters Union and Sheet Metal workers, the Western Pennsylvania Laborers' PAC, and the Electricians Union Local No. 5 in Pittsburgh.[109]
Eight former Republican officials, including former Pennsylvania Supreme Court justiceSandra Schultz Newman and former congressmanCharlie Dent, as well as the sitting Republican chairman of theLawrence County Board of Commissioners, Morgan Boyd, endorsed Shapiro, with several calling Mastriano "extreme" and "divisive".[110] Seven more former Republican officials, including former U.S. secretary of homeland securityMichael Chertoff, endorsed Shapiro in August 2022 for the same reason.[111]
On November 8, 2022, Shapiro defeated Mastriano with 56.5% of the vote to Mastriano's 41.7%.[112] He won 17 counties.[112] Shapiro's victory was decisive and uniform across the state. The vast majority of PresidentJoe Biden's voters in2020 voted for Shapiro, as did many independents and a sizable segment ofDonald Trump supporters.[113] The only regions where Shapiro did not do better than Biden in 2020 were in "the most economically marginal, heavily minority" parts of cities likePittsburgh andPhiladelphia, where turnout marginally decreased compared to 2020.[113]
On January 17, 2023, Shapiro was sworn in on a stack of threeHebrew Bibles, including one that was on thebimah during thePittsburgh synagogue shooting. Long weaving his Jewish identity into his politics, Shapiro is considered part of the new age of Jewish politicians who are open about their identity.[114] He is the third Jewish governor in thehistory of Pennsylvania, afterMilton Shapp andEd Rendell.[115] He is also the state's firstGeneration X governor.[116]
On February 19, 2025, President Trump appointed Shapiro to theCouncil of Governors.[117]
On December 6, 2022, during his transition to the governorship, it was reported that Shapiro tapped several of his longtime aides to serve in high-ranking positions, including naming hiscampaign manager Dana Fritz as his chief of staff.[118] In January 2023, he appointed Akbar Hossain, an executive to his transition team, to be secretary of policy and named his longtime aideMike Vereb to be secretary of legislative affairs.[119] Vereb served in that position until he resigned in late September after he was accused of sexual harassment of a female staffer. He was replaced by Thomas "T. J." Yablonski, a senior adviser in the governor's office.[120]
Shapiro's administration was accused of covering up the sexual harassment incident after it was revealed Vereb had remained in his position months after the accusations were made.[121] Shapiro defended his administration's actions, saying that an investigation into the allegations against Vereb is under way. He added, "Obviously these investigations—and again, I'm speaking generally, and I think it's really important that you understand that—these things don't happen overnight. They can be lengthy processes. But it's important, and I know this from my time as attorney general advocating for victims, it's really important to make sure that everyone be heard and that the process be thorough and complete."[122] Weeks later,Spotlight PA revealed that, three weeks before Vereb's resignation, Shapiro's administration had reached a settlement for $295,000 with Vereb's accusers that included a clause preventing all parties involved from publicly discussing its details.[123][124]
During Shapiro's first two years in office, Pennsylvania's credit rating increased three times (according toStandard & Poor,Fitch Ratings, andMoody's Investors Service), and its score is the state's highest since 2013.[125][126][127] He has proposed loweringcorporate income taxes from 8.99% to 4.99% by 2026.[128] At an event withJanet Yellen in July 2024, Shapiro reiterated his support for "aggressive" corporate tax cuts.[129]
In February 2024, Shapiro unveiled his proposed $48.3 billion state budget for the 2024 and 2025fiscal year, mostly consisting of funding public schools, public transit, higher education and infrastructure, with tax collections projected to increase by $1 billion.[130] Critics argued that the budget would inflate the state's deficit to over $6 billion by 2028 and lead to large tax increases.[131] Ultimately, Shapiro rolled back some of his proposals and signed a $47.6 billion budget in July.[132]
As governor, Shapiro said he has focused on expanding Pennsylvania's workforce.[133][134] The day after his inauguration, he signed anexecutive order eliminating the four-year college degree requirement for 92% of state government jobs.[135] On July 31, he issued an executive order establishing the Commonwealth Workers Transformation Program (CWTP), which provides grants to ensure that companies and contractors have the skilled workforce required.[134][136] As part of the program, as much as $400 million could be used for workforce training in Pennsylvania until 2028.[136]
On August 28, Shapiro announced that the college education requirement for state police cadets had been eliminated amid a decline in police applicants.[137][138] In September, he signed an executive order that established anartificial intelligence board to "assist employees in serving Pennsylvanians, keeping our communities safe and growing our economy".[139] In March 2024, he issued a directive increasing Pennsylvania's use ofProject Labor Agreements (PLAs).[140] In May, he issued an executive order establishing the Hire, Improve, Recruit, Empower (HIRE) Committee to attempt to fill in roughly 600 open positions in the state government as well as ensuring the retention of high-performing employees.[141]
After assuming office, Shapiro pledged to decrease the power outside investment contractors' have over statepension funds.[142] During his first year in office, he appointed financers Wendell Young, Uri Monson, and Bob Mensch to theState Employees' Retirement System (SERS), a $35 billion-asset board that manages pension reform.[143] On November 6, Shapiro appointed Gregory C. Thall, a former budget secretary under Wolf, as the new chairman of SERS after Chris Santa Maria announced his retirement.[144]
Over three days in December 2023, dozens ofPhiladelphia transit officers staged astrike over a contract dispute withSEPTA, a standoff that had begun over eight months earlier.[145] Shapiro intervened in the strike and negotiated with the officers and SEPTA, leading to a three-year contract that included a 13% raise increase for the officers over the next 36 months.[146] SEPTAchief executive officer Leslie Richards said Shapiro played "a key role bringing people together to forge this agreement".[147]
On several occasions, Shapiro has proposed raising Pennsylvania'sminimum wage from$7.25 per hour to $15.[148] In June 2023, thePennsylvania House of Representatives voted to pass a bill that would increase the minimum wage to $15 by 2026, but the Republican-controlledState Senate thwarted the legislation.[149] Shapiro had hinted he would have signed the bill into law if it had passed both chambers of the General Assembly, as Pennsylvania had not raised the minimum wage since 2009.[150] In 2024, Shapiro and other Democratic lawmakers attempted to include a raise in the minimum wage in that year's state budget, but due to Republican criticism, the proposal was withdrawn.[151]
In February 2023, Shapiro criticized the management of theNorfolk Southern Railway after it failed to contact Pennsylvania officials followingthe derailment of a train carrying harmful chemicals in Ohio, adjacent to the Pennsylvania border. He called for the railway company to take "a safer overall approach" and called on thePipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to revisit the need for more advanced safety and braking equipment in trains.[152]
On June 11, 2023, Shapiro issued a "disaster emergency" proclamation after part ofInterstate 95collapsed in Philadelphia. As much as $7 million in state funds were provided for reconstruction work.[153] The proclamation also authorized the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, thePennsylvania Department of Transportation, and thePennsylvania State Police to use available resources to respond to the collapse.[153]
Under Shapiro's leadership, the collapsed portion of I-95 was rebuilt in less than two weeks. Shapiro received praise for his response to the collapse.[154] President Biden said that Shapiro did "one heck of a job" in responding to the collapse; Minority LeaderBrian J. O'Neill of thePhiladelphia City Council said, "you couldn't ask for more from the governor."[154] AQuinnipiac University poll found that 74% of statewide voters approved of Shapiro's handling of the crisis.[155]
Shapiro proposed investing $282.8 million (a 1.75% increase) in funding for public transit systems in the 2024 budget, which would generate $1.5 billion for transit funding until 2029.[156] The initial funding proposal was dropped from the budget in July, andSEPTA was given an $80.5 million budget extension to keep it solvent until the fall legislative session.[157] In 2025, Shapiro was again unable to secure long-term, dedicated funding for SEPTA, instead requiring the organization to flex $364 million from its capital budget to fund operations after a court ordered the reversal of service cuts.[158]
During the drafting of the state budget in mid-2023, Shapiro supported a Republican-ledschool choice proposal that would distribute $200 million to families for private school tuition instead of sending their children to public schools.[159] Lawyers for several state school districts, along with several progressive organizations, criticized Shapiro and argued his budget proposals had not done enough to benefit low-income schools.[160] He later dropped his support to avoid a protracted budget delay after Democrats in the state House refused to support it.[161]
Early in his term, Shapiro had pledged to permanently extend the Wolf administration's free breakfast program for all Pennsylvania public-school students.[160] The program was permanently extended as a part of the 2023 state budget Shapiro signed into law in August.[162][163][164]
Shapiro proposed a $1.1 billion boost for public school operations and instruction during the drafting of the 2024 budget, a 14% increase from the previous year.[165] Through the 2024 budget, about $144 million would financially aid students, a roughly 33% increase, some through existing programs and some through new efforts. A new State Board of Higher Education was established that created performance-based criteria for funding state-related universities.[132] Additionally, the budget initiated over $900 million for special education.[166]
In January and February 2024, the Republican-controlledState Senate urged Shapiro to send thePennsylvania National Guard to theU.S. southern border to helpTexas resolve the growing numbers of migrants entering the country, but he declined to do so.[167][168] In March, after the Senate passed a resolution to send troops to the border, a spokesperson for the governor's office said that it was up toCongress, not Shapiro, to resolve the issue.[169]
In December 2023, Shapiro signed into law a bipartisan bill to restrict the kinds of activities that are considered violations ofparole. At the bill-signing ceremony, he stood next to rapperMeek Mill, who was sent to prison on a parole violation for doing awheelie on a dirt bike.[170]
In his second month in office, Shapiro pledged to continue the pause on state-level executions Governor Wolf had maintained. He also called on thePennsylvania General Assembly to abolish the death penalty.[171] In 2024, Shapiro filed a brief in support of an Allegheny County inmate appealing his life without parole sentence. The inmate was convicted of second-degree murder for his accomplice's actions during a burglary.[172][173]
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In August 2023, Shapiro announced his administration would end Pennsylvania's nearly 30-year contract with Real Alternatives, an anti-abortion nonprofit that fundsanti-abortion counseling centers andmaternity homes. Shapiro said he decided to end the contract to better defend abortion access in the state.[174][175] On September 19, 2023, Shapiro announced Pennsylvania would enactautomatic voter registration effective immediately. The process will include voter registration when voting-eligible persons receive their driver's licenses, with the choice to opt out.[176][177]
Shapiro condemned theattempted assassination of Donald Trump at a rally inButler, Pennsylvania, where a stray bullet killed one rally goer. Shapiro said the man "died a hero" protecting his family at the rally and ordered that flags be flown athalf-mast in his honor.[178][179]
In the2024 Pennsylvania state treasurer election, Shapiro declined to endorse Democratic nominee Erin McClelland in her unsuccessful campaign against Republican incumbentStacy Garrity. McClelland had criticized Shapiro when he was being considered as Harris's running mate.[180]
When the results of the2024 Senate election between incumbentBob Casey andDavid McCormick showed McCormick ahead by less than one percentage point, the race went to a statewide recount.[181] Shapiro supported the recount, but rejected calls by some, including theBucks County Board of Commissioners, to count undated or incorrectly dated ballots, which thePennsylvania Supreme Court had previously ruled against doing.[182][183]
In November 2024, Shapiro signed an executive order to create the Pennsylvania Permit Fast Track Program, which will streamline and speed up the permitting process for large-scale infrastructure projects that require multiple permits.[184]
Shapiro was historically popular in his first two years as governor, despite being the only governor in the country with a divided legislature.[185][186][187] A February 2024Franklin & Marshall College poll found that Shapiro had the highest approval rating among voters compared to his four predecessors as governor at a similar point in their terms. Four polls found Shapiro had at least a 51% approval rating.[188] May and September 2024 polls byThe Philadelphia Inquirer,The New York Times, andSiena College showed Shapiro as the most popular government official in Pennsylvania, with a 57% and 59% approval ratings, respectively, including support from a majority across every racial and education line and a third of Donald Trump supporters.[186]
Acentrist Democrat,[189][190][191] Shapiro has faced criticism from across thepolitical spectrum. Thepolitical left has criticized him for his strong support ofIsrael, school vouchers, and corporate tax cuts, while the political right has opposed his strict enforcement ofCOVID-19 lockdown measures during his tenure asPennsylvania's attorney general.[192][193][194][195][196]
After Biden's June 2024debate performance against Trump sparked speculation that he would not seek reelection, some speculated that Shapiro might run for the Democratic presidential nomination in that case. Shapiro denied any interest in running for president and declared his support for Biden.[197][198] After Bidenwithdrew on July 21, Shapiro endorsed Vice PresidentKamala Harris, Biden's pick to replace him,[199] and encouraged Democrats to unite in supporting Harris.[200]
His quick endorsement of Harris led to speculation that Shapiro could become her running mate.[201][202] He had initially been seen as the top contender, but faced criticism fromprogressives for some of his positions, most prominently his stance on Israel amid theGaza war.[203] Despite public backing from several prominent Pennsylvania Democrats, including Philadelphia mayorCherelle Parker, SenatorJohn Fetterman reportedly intervened in the vice-presidential selection process,[204] advising Harris on August 3 not to pick Shapiro because he was "excessively focused on his own personal ambitions".[205] Fetterman denied these reports.[206]
Harris ultimately selectedMinnesota governorTim Walz on August 6.[207][208][209] Shapiro has been seen as a potential candidate in the2028 presidential election.[210][211][212]
Shapiro's strong support for Israel in theIsraeli-Palestinian conflict has been criticized, with some speculating it contributed to his being denied the vice-presidential nomination.[20][213][214][215] His supporters allege that his critics unfairly scrutinize his position on the conflict due to his Jewish identity.[216] Shapiro's critics reject this assertion, pointing to the relative lack of criticism leveled atJ. B. Pritzker, another Jewish governor Harris considered as a running mate, and insist that the differences between Shapiro's stance and those of governors such asTim Walz andAndy Beshear are more pronounced than his supporters claim.[217]
Shapiro has supported cutting off state ties with entities that engage inboycotts of Israel, such asBDS, or ofIsraeli settlements in theoccupied West Bank. In 2021, afterBen & Jerry's announced that it planned to end sales in Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem while seeking to continue sales in Israel through a different arrangement,[218][219][220] Shapiro supported calls to apply Pennsylvania's anti-BDS law to Ben & Jerry's.[221] He said that BDS was "rooted in antisemitism" and praised Pennsylvania's anti-BDS law enacted five years earlier.[221] In 2024, according to a spokesperson, Shapiro pledged to sign a bill to block state funding of colleges and universities that engage in BDS, a term the bill defines to include any activity "intended to financially penalize the State of Israel".[222][223]
Shapiro has repeatedly voiced support for Israel in theGaza war and has called on people and governments to condemn theOctober 7 attacks, calling it a moment "to recognize what is so clearly wrong, the acts of Hamas, and what is right, and that is Israel, our key ally's right to defend herself in the face of this barbarism."[224] Shapiro faced criticism for his remarks in a letter written byCAIR and signed by 43 Pennsylvania Muslim organizations, which said that Shapiro did not "recognize the structural root causes of the conflict" and "chose to intentionally ignore the civilian loss of life in Gaza".[225] In an interview, Shapiro argued that the Palestinian population is distinct from Hamas and said, "There are so many peace-loving Arabs and peace-loving people in that region, no question."[226]
Shapiro has repeatedly criticized Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu in strong terms for his handling of the conflict.[214][227] In November 2023, he called Netanyahu "a terrible leader" who "has driven Israel to an extreme that has been bad for Israel and bad for the stability in the Middle East".[227] In January 2024, Shapiro called him "one of the worst leaders of all time".[214]
Shapiro criticized PresidentTrump's Gaza ownership proposal, calling it "unserious" and "illegal on its face under international law."[228]
On December 3, 2023, apro-Palestinian protest accused Jewish-owned Philadelphia restaurantGoldie of supporting thegenocide of Palestinians in theGaza Strip by sending the restaurant's profits to a provider of protective gear and training for theIsrael Defense Forces during the war.[229][230][231] Shapiro visited the restaurant in a show of support and said, "The purposeful gathering of a mob outside of a restaurant simply because it is owned by a Jewish person, well, that's antisemitism, plain and simple."[229]
In November 2023, Shapiro appointedUniversity of Pennsylvania law professor Robb Fox as his representative on the school's board of trustees, thereby obtaining an unprecedented level of influence for a Pennsylvania governor on the school's governance.[232] Shapiro made his first public criticisms of university leadership during the2023 United States Congress hearing on antisemitism, calling presidentLiz Magill's appearance in the hearing a "failure of leadership".[230][233] Shapiro and Fox coordinated withMarc Rowan, a private equity billionaire and board chair of theWharton School who was leading the campaign to oust Magill. Fox forwarded internal trustee communications to Shapiro's director of external affairs, and speculated with the governor's office about new policies the university could adopt. After Magill resigned, interim president Larry Jameson intervened to appoint Fox to the school's antisemitism task force on Shapiro's behalf.[232]
In consultation with the governor's office, Fox pushed the university to ban Penn Students Against the Occupation of Palestine (PAO) and coordinated with the Penn Israel Public Affairs Committee (PIPAC). Shapiro's office forwarded a document written by students in PIPAC outlining their priorities, which included suspending 16 teachers, adoption of theIHRA definition of antisemitism, and calls "for PAO and various Penn students to be 'publicly punish[ed]." When PAO's status as a campus organization was revoked, it criticized Shapiro's apparent involvement in the disciplinary process, saying, "Instead of working to bring electricity, food, and water to Gaza and supporting the needs of Palestinians in Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro spends his time attempting to silence students and community members calling attention to UPenn's financial and material support for genocide."[232]
In a March 2024 interview, Shapiro voiced concern for Palestinian civilians and support for peaceful protesters.[234] In April 2024, he condemnedpro-Palestinian protests at American colleges after a prominent rabbi atColumbia University urged Jewish students to leave campus and said the university could not guarantee their safety. Shapiro called on local officials to "step in and enforce the law" to protect students.[235] He has been accused of comparing protesters towhite supremacists and theKu Klux Klan (KKK),[236] saying that demonstrators were not "by any stretch" all antisemitic but suggesting that antisemitic speech is treated more leniently than white supremacist speech[237][238] and comparing students allegedly "blocked from going to campus just because they're Jewish" to the actions of the KKK, saying, "we have to be careful about setting any kind of double standard" when responding to far-right and pro-Palestinian demonstrators.[239][240] Defenders of Shapiro's comments said that he supported peaceful demonstrations and was not comparing the conduct of all protesters to the KKK.[216]
During the2024 University of Pennsylvania pro-Palestine campus encampment, administrators sent Shapiro's office regular updates on the situation, including private negotiation documents between Penn and the demonstrators and the protesters' identities.[232] In May 2024, Shapiro called for a police crackdown on the pro-Palestinian encampment at Penn,[241] but he later said he was already aware of police plans to disband the encampment after police made arrests less than 24 hours after Shapiro's statement.[242][243]
In the early morning of April 13, 2025,an arsonist set fire to the Governor’s Residence.[244] At the time of the incident, Shapiro, his family, and another family who had joined them the previous evening for aPassover Seder were inside the building. Everyone was safely evacuated, but the southern portion of the residence sustained significant damage. Later that day, Cody Allen Balmer, a 38-year-old former mechanic fromPenbrook, Pennsylvania, was arrested and charged with terrorism, attempted murder, aggravated arson, and aggravated assault. Balmer said he would have beaten Shapiro with a hammer if he had encountered Shapiro.[245][246][247]
Shapiro met his wife,Lori, in ninth grade, when they both attended Akiba Hebrew Academy, nowJack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy, then inMerion Station.[248] They dated in high school and reconnected after college while both were living in Washington, D.C.[248] Shapiro proposed to her inJerusalem in 1997.[11] They married on May 25 of that year.[249]
Shapiro and his wife have four children and reside in theGovernor's Residence inHarrisburg, Pennsylvania.[250] Shapiro is an observantConservative Jew whokeeps kosher.[11][25]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Josh Shapiro | 18,237 | 54.32 | |
| Republican | Jon D. Fox | 15,022 | 44.74 | |
| Libertarian | Matthew Wusinich | 316 | 0.94 | |
| Total votes | 33,575 | 100.00 | ||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Josh Shapiro (incumbent) | 19,712 | 75.97 | |
| Republican | Lou Guerra Jr. | 6,226 | 24.00 | |
| Write-in | 9 | 0.03 | ||
| Total votes | 25,947 | 100.00 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Josh Shapiro (incumbent) | Unopposed | |||
| Total votes | 33,165 | 100.00 | |||
| Democratichold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Josh Shapiro (incumbent) | 17,430 | 70.10 | |
| Republican | Tom Bogar | 7,426 | 29.87 | |
| Write-in | 7 | 0.03 | ||
| Total votes | 24,863 | 100.00 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Josh Shapiro | 89,103 | 26.99 | |
| Democratic | Leslie Richards | 87,109 | 26.39 | |
| Republican | Bruce Castor (incumbent) | 77,732 | 23.55 | |
| Republican | Jenny Brown | 76,057 | 23.04 | |
| Write-in | 81 | 0.02 | ||
| Total votes | 330,082 | 100.00 | ||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Josh Shapiro (incumbent) | 97,212 | 30.90 | ||
| Democratic | Val Arkoosh (incumbent) | 88,958 | 28.27 | ||
| Republican | Joe Gale | 65,740 | 20.90 | ||
| Republican | Steven Tolbert Jr. | 62,644 | 19.91 | ||
| Write-in | 64 | 0.02 | |||
| Total votes | 314,618 | 100.00 | |||
| Democratichold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Josh Shapiro | 725,168 | 47.0 | |
| Democratic | Stephen Zappala | 566,501 | 36.8 | |
| Democratic | John Morganelli | 250,097 | 16.2 | |
| Total votes | 1,541,766 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Josh Shapiro | 3,057,010 | 51.39 | −4.75 | |
| Republican | John Rafferty | 2,891,325 | 48.61 | +7.05 | |
| Total votes | 5,948,335 | 100.0 | N/A | ||
| Democratichold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Josh Shapiro (incumbent) | 3,461,472 | 50.85 | −0.56 | |
| Republican | Heather Heidelbaugh | 3,153,831 | 46.33 | −2.28 | |
| Libertarian | Daniel Wassmer | 120,489 | 1.77 | N/A | |
| Green | Richard L. Weiss | 70,804 | 1.04 | N/A | |
| Total votes | 6,806,596 | 100.0 | |||
| Democratichold | |||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Josh Shapiro | Unopposed | |||
| Total votes | 1,226,107 | 100.0 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |
| 3,031,137 | 56.49 | −1.28 | |
| Republican | 2,238,477 | 41.71 | +1.01 | ||
| Libertarian |
| 51,611 | 0.96 | −0.02 | |
| Green |
| 24,436 | 0.46 | −0.09 | |
| Keystone |
| 20,518 | 0.38 | N/A | |
| Total votes | 5,366,179 | 100.0 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 60.53 | ||||
| Registered electors | 8,864,831 | ||||
| Democratichold | |||||
We needed to have a more advantageous tax environment for our businesses, and it was one component of an overall strategy in order to grow jobs and create more economic opportunity in Pennsylvania [...] I am competitive as hell [with other states, which is] why I've been so aggressively working to cut business taxes.
| Pennsylvania House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of thePennsylvania House of Representatives from the153rd district 2005–2012 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Member of theMontgomery County Board of Commissioners 2012–2017 | Succeeded by Kenneth Lawrence |
| Preceded by | Governor of Pennsylvania 2023–present | Incumbent |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forAttorney General of Pennsylvania 2016,2020 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Pennsylvania 2022 | Most recent |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by | Attorney General of Pennsylvania 2017–2023 | Succeeded by Michelle Henry Acting |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byasVice President | Order of precedence of the United States Within Pennsylvania | Succeeded by Mayor of city in which event is held |
| Succeeded by OtherwiseMike Johnson asSpeaker of the House | ||
| Preceded byasGovernor of Delaware | Order of precedence of the United States Outside Pennsylvania | Succeeded byasGovernor of New Jersey |
Statewide political officials ofPennsylvania | ||
|---|---|---|
| U.S. senators |  | |
| State government | ||
| Senate |
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| House |
| |
| Supreme Court |
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