This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle was elected ranking member of the House Budget Committee by his Democratic committee colleagues, making Boyle the youngest Democrat to lead the panel since William Gray III, a Philadelphian who held the perch in the 1980s. Boyle also is the youngest Member of Congress to lead a legislative committee since Paul Ryan.

LGBTQ advocates shouldn’t be irked with the IRRC this week. The state panel approved new definitions of sex, religious creed and race in the commonwealth’s anti-discrimination regulations, ensuring no individuals will be barred from employment, housing, education and public accommodations based on their gender or sexual identity.

This qualified quartet of legal minds got some of the best news that a group of prospective judges could ask for: confirmation from the U.S. Senate. All four were confirmed as U.S. district judges for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania this week, earning praise from U.S. Sens. Bob Casey and Pat Toomey, the latter of whom said they would bring “integrity and honor” to their roles.

A new report from Spotlight PA revealed that the Wolf administration is concealing information about why the governor’s Office of General Counsel has spent more than $360,000 to hire private law firms over the last three years. It’s not the best look for someone who prides himself on transparency and reform.

A Luzerne County man failed to outfox the authorities this holiday season. Reynard Lewis, formerly of Nanticoke, was charged on Dec. 6 by a federal grand jury with COVID-relief fraud, credit card fraud and identity theft offenses. The charges stemmed from a conspiracy that allegedly received more than $100,000 in pandemic stimulus funds and multiple COVID-19 Paycheck Protection Program loans.

The Berks County Republican Committee is coming to terms with a failed effort to recount votes from this year’s elections. Recount petitions filed by the committee were tossed by Judge James Lillis on Tuesday, allowing election officials to certify the results on Thursday. It doesn’t look like Lillis is someone the Berks GOP can, um, count on moving forward.