This week’s biggest Winners & Losers

The M.D. is in D.C.: U.S. Rep. John Joyce, a dermatologist representing South-Central Pennsylvania in the 13th congressional district, has been named vice chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and co-chair of the GOP Doctors Caucus. Joyce, the only member of the state delegation on the committee and Doctors Caucus, hopes to be a leading voice during his fourth term on Capitol Hill. 

Say what you want about him, but the approval ratings for U.S. Sen. John Fetterman speak for themselves. The oft-vocal and frequently criticized Democrat has nearly doubled his approval rating among Republicans. The Morning Consult analysis found that 48% of Pennsylvanians approve of his performance, an 8% increase since he took office. 

We’ll take your path less traveled and raise you the Path of the Flood Trail, which has been named Pennsylvania’s 2025 Trail of the Year by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The historic 14-mile trail in Cambria County traces the 1889 Johnstown Flood route, earning statewide recognition for its blend of natural beauty, recreation and economic impact. Add it to your 2025 bucket list to be one of the trail’s 80,000 annual visitors. 

The Towamencin Township supervisor learned the hard way this week that unless you’re Elon Musk, mimicking what looks like a Nazi salute can actually be deleterious to your political career. Smith, a Republican, resigned after facing a torrent of backlash to her TikTok video in which she repeated Musk’s controversial gesture while telling her friends “who are struggling this week” that “my heart goes out to you.” She later deleted the video, which she called “greatly mischaracterized.”

It was an uncomfortable week for two of the commonwealth’s top institutions. Faculty and students at Penn State’s 19 satellite campuses are increasingly nervous about the possibility of closures – and about the administration’s failure, thus far, to provide clarity on the branches’ future. Meanwhile, the Lafayette College faculty this week approved a no-confidence vote against President Nicole Hurd, complaining of high administrative turnover and insufficient faculty participation in the college’s strategic plan.

Harrisburg is down one unidentified middle-school teacher, who resigned after coming under fire for calling a Muslim student a terrorist. According to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, when the seventh-grader – of Palestinian-Lebanese descent – asked to change seats during an after-school program, the unidentified teacher responded: “I do not negotiate with terrorists.” The district condemned the incident and affirmed its commitment to celebrating “the many cultures and ethnicities of our students and staff.”