All PR, No Budget: Shapiro's Pennsylvania Problem

Governor Josh Shapiro's administration began with grand promises to get things done and to be transparent. On January 20, 2023, he announced an Ethics Package, pledging that "no lobbyist or special interest group can buy improper influence" and that every senior official would sign an "integrity pledge" to serve only the people's best interests.

Two years later, policy and reality have diverged dramatically.

The Transparency Problem

Shapiro set an early tone by requiring transition team members to sign stringent non-disclosure agreements and refusing to disclose his inauguration donors. Spotlight PA reported the inauguration cost $4.3 million, with only 15% of donations traceable to corporations, lobbyists, and unions. The leftover $1.1 million? About $750,000 went to Team Pennsylvania, the governor's secretive nonprofit that keeps reappearing throughout his tenure.

The Shadow Operation

Team PA functions as Shapiro's private piggy bank, accepting undisclosed donations while funding everything from Super Bowl trips to sports event appearances. Since 2007, the Commonwealth has given Team Pennsylvania over $17.2 million in contracts. In January 2023, just before leaving for the Super Bowl, the governor awarded Team PA a contract worth $100,000.

The foundation paid for the governor's trips to Super Bowls in Arizona, New Orleans, and this year covered his attendance with expensive tickets. Team PA also underwrites Shapiro's appearances at Philadelphia sports events, all funded by anonymous donors. The governor is co-chair of Team PA alongside the managing partner of McNees, Wallace, and Nurick—a law firm that also holds Commonwealth consulting contracts. In essence, Shapiro punches his own ticket while keeping donors anonymous. His well-funded PAC could have underwritten these junkets, but those donors would have had to go on the record.

Most recently, the governor wants to channel millions in mansion repair funds through Team Pennsylvania following an arson attack—raising further questions about accountability for public dollars.

The Lobbyist Exception

Despite the "lobby-free zone" promise, lobbyists remain firmly entrenched. The Get-Things-Done Magic Kingdom is riddled with lobbyist influence.

In November 2023, after pledging "zero tolerance" for lobbying, Shapiro appointed Gregory Thall as Chairman of the Pennsylvania State Employees Retirement System. The catch? Thall is vice-president of Budget and Regulatory Affairs at GSL Strategies, a lobbying firm—and now manages the very agency responsible for his own pension.

Team Pennsylvania's Board reads like an All-Star Team of special interests, further undermining any notion of independence.

Living Large on Taxpayer Dollars

While Pennsylvanians struggle with rising costs, Shapiro has dramatically escalated spending on himself:

• How Many Airplanes Does One Governor Need? Shapiro frequently uses taxpayer-funded air travel—or Mitchell Rubin's private air taxi for promotional gigs. In a departure from previous governors, Shapiro does not provide a public calendar, and until recently there were no logs for his jaunts on the state police helicopter.

  
  

In his first year, Shapiro racked up 150 hours of flight time and spent $270,000. By 2024, taxpayers spent over $300,000 on flights for Shapiro and staff—more than double the highest amounts of predecessors Tom Wolf ($136,000 in 2018) and Tom Corbett ($103,000 in 2014).

Shapiro's most frequent carrier is PennDOT, which posts logs of the plane's use. The flights included a trip to attend the Penn State-Michigan football game, a jaunt to view the solar eclipse with his family, and a visit to Hilton Head. He also had access to state police aircraft with no logs—until public pressure forced disclosure. The governor will now begin disclosing when he uses taxpayer-funded State Police aircraft.

Shapiro also made campaign trips on Michael Rubin's luxury helicopter. In 2024, he traveled on the helicopter for trips including appearances on "The Daily Show" and "The View"—raising questions about gift ban violations that Shapiro himself loosened after taking office.

• The Public Relations Machine: Shapiro's office budget ballooned by 68% in his first 2½ years, jumping from just under $7 million during Wolf's final year to $11.6 million—with another increase proposed to $12 million for 2026. A substantial portion funds an extensive communications operation focused less on informing constituents than building Shapiro's national profile. While core responsibilities languish, he's appeared on late-night talk shows, morning programs, and podcasts across the country. He's campaigned in other states' gubernatorial races and published a book. His office even pressured merchants to stay silent about questionable mansion upgrades.

The governor has requested $23.3 million for mansion repairs following the arson attack but provided no details on how his administration will allocate the funds. His team has also denied Right-to-Know requests seeking transparency.

• The Calendar Cover-Up: The Office of Open Records agreed with Shapiro that he did not need to make his calendar public. The move may be cynical, but it makes sense: As Attorney General, Shapiro frequently mixed public service travel with campaign stops—better not to advertise those layovers for fundraising.

The Budget Disaster

Here's the ultimate irony: For all the "Getting Things Done" rhetoric, Shapiro can't get the most fundamental thing done—a budget on time.

In February 2025, he proposed a $51.5 billion spending plan—an 8% increase from the previous year. There's one problem: Pennsylvania doesn't have that money. The state's Independent Fiscal Office projected only $44.5 billion in net revenues, creating a massive $7 billion shortfall. The nonpartisan IFO analysis revealed Shapiro's revenue estimates relied on wishful thinking: legalizing recreational cannabis, expanding skill games, and implementing "combined reporting" tax changes—proposals that face steep opposition in the legislature and may never materialize.

Without structural reforms to address Pennsylvania's ongoing fiscal imbalance, the math points toward significant tax increases. Estimates suggest the average family of four could face nearly $2,000 in additional tax burden.

The Ethics Doctrine Failure to Boot

The Shapiro Ethics Doctrine didn't include sexual harassment. Shapiro's handling of the Mike Vereb affair, and subsequent NDA, bit him in the tuchus. Taxpayers doled out $295,000 in damages to the victim of sexual assault while Vereb kept his pension. Rock the Capital filed a Right To Know with SERS confirming Mike Vereb will receive a state pension despite the out-of-court settlement relating to sexual harassment.

The Bottom Line

Governor Shapiro promised that "no one will be able to buy improper influence with any member of my administration." Yet executive branch employees face strict gift restrictions while Shapiro himself accepts Super Bowl tickets, helicopter rides, and anonymous donations through Team PA.

The ruling elite got the memo: It's business as usual in the Get-Things-Done Magic Kingdom. But here's the rub: Doesn't getting things done mean getting a budget done on time? While Shapiro builds his national brand on taxpayer dollars, Pennsylvania faces a $7 billion deficit, rising costs, and a governor who won't disclose his calendar, his donors, or how he spends public money.

Transparency has vanished. Accountability is on life support. And fiscal responsibility is buried six feet under. A fruit fly lasts longer than a Shapiro promise.

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Sources:

1. Governor's Press Office, "Governor Shapiro Announces Ethics Package, Building on the Exemplary 'Culture of Integrity' in the Office of Attorney General," January 20, 2023.

2. Spotlight PA, reporting on Governor Shapiro's inauguration costs, 2023.

3. Commonwealth Foundation, "Shapiro's 'Spooky' Spending Spree," October 2025.

4. DiStefano, Joseph N., "How a lobbyist for investment contractors ended up heading the Pa. pension board that hires them," The Philadelphia Inquirer, November 15, 2023.

5. Caruso, Stephen, "Josh Shapiro uses Pennsylvania's state plane much more than his predecessor," Spotlight PA, May 2024.

6. Caruso, Stephen, "Public will no longer be in the dark about Shapiro flights on taxpayer-funded state police plane," Spotlight PA, March 3, 2025.

7. The Philadelphia Inquirer, reporting on Governor's office budget increases and PR team spending, 2024.

8. Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office, budget revenue projections and analysis, 2025.

9. Lancaster Online, "Gov. Shapiro's office should have furnished taxpayers with more transparency about the governor's residence redo," editorial reporting on mansion upgrades.

10. Spotlight PA, reporting on Team Pennsylvania and mansion repair funding, July 2025.