Shapiro Failed to Protect PA from Budget Stalemates

The people of Pennsylvania are now enduring a “double whammy” – a state budget that is more than three months past due, plus a federal shutdown. And Gov. Josh Shapiro, who has focused on increasing his national notoriety instead of protecting the Pennsylvanians he serves, has made the commonwealth fiscally unstable and its people vulnerable because of his inability to govern.

The story begins back in February, when Shapiro unveiled his unserious and irresponsible state budget proposal, which included $51.4 billion in spending. Two out of three Pennsylvanians opposed his budget, which treats the public purse like a blank check.

To fund his reckless spending, the governor proposed raiding Pennsylvania’s Rainy Day Fund. However, these reserves are for emergencies only, not for when governors are addicted to deficit spending.

Almost immediately, fiscal watchdogs warned that his numbers didn’t add up. In three separate reports, Pennsylvania’s Independent Fiscal Office concluded that the governor’s spending plan (1) depletes the General Fund balance next fiscal year and the Rainy Day Fund by the 2026–27 fiscal year, (2) overstates revenue projections by $800 million, and (3) creates a $7 billion structural deficit.

And his travels didn’t end there. Shapiro jetted to Nantucket, Massachusetts, for a campaign fundraiser and to New York City to appear on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and trade barbs about President Donald Trump’s leadership.

“[Trump] talks a good game,” said Shapiro. “And then when he gets to govern, he does the exact opposite.” (Psychologists call this “projection,” where an individual attributes their own faults to convenient others.)

The budget deadline has come and gone. We are in our fourth month without a state budget, and this is the governor’s third late budget in as many years. The governor has not gotten stuff done, despite his assertions to the contrary.

Meanwhile, Pennsylvanians are left waiting, with no budget in sight and public services on the brink of collapse.

Sadly, this is indicative of a broader pattern of behavior by our governor. When push comes to shove, he routinely buckles under pressure.

Case in point, Shapiro had the opportunity of a lifetime to deliver on a campaign promise of providing – in his words – “every child of God” with a “quality education.” But when Lifeline Scholarships—a program that would have rescued thousands of students attending Pennsylvania’s chronically underperforming schools – made it into the 2023–24 budget, Shapiro caved. He vetoed the program, abandoning at-risk students to appease the entrenched political interests that fund his campaigns: teacher unions.

It was a telling moment: When leadership and courage were required, Shapiro chose expediency over his constituency.

Now, as Washington has officially shut down, Pennsylvania finds itself especially vulnerable. At this very moment, Pennsylvania is the only state without an enacted budget. Add the sudden loss – or even temporary delay – of federal funds for Medicaid, education, or infrastructure, and the commonwealth faces a perfect storm.

Meanwhile, Shapiro is operating as business as usual – holding press conferences on unrelated issues, using questionable finances to send staff to the Pittsburgh Steelers game in Ireland, and jetting off to another national talk show (this time, Meet the Press).

The governor is busy doing everything but governing. This is not leadership. This is a blatant dereliction of duty. And it is Pennsylvanians who bear the costs – in suspended projects, uncertain funding, and kids denied opportunity. The good people of our great commonwealth deserve better.

Pennsylvania cannot afford to be the only state without a budget—not in ordinary times, and certainly not amid a federal shutdown. The time for Shapiro’s excuses is over. The time for his leadership is now.

Megan Martin, a former state Senate parliamentarian, is the Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel for the Commonwealth Foundation, Pennsylvania’s free-market think tank.