Key facts
- Sens. John Fetterman and Dave McCormick secured private sponsors for Pennsylvania's booth at the Great American State Fair.
- Governor Josh Shapiro cited high costs and lack of business interest for the state's initial decision not to participate.
- The booth will be represented without taxpayer funds, with organizations like the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry and the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau providing sponsorship.
- Pennsylvania's participation is for the nation's 250th birthday celebration.
- State literature from the Department of Agriculture was placed in the booth.
U.S. Senators John Fetterman and Dave McCormick announced Saturday that Pennsylvania will have a presence at President Donald Trump's Great American State Fair on the National Mall, after Governor Josh Shapiro's administration initially signaled the state would not participate. Shapiro's office cited the high cost to taxpayers and an inability to secure business sponsors as reasons for opting out.
McCormick and Fetterman stated they secured private-industry sponsors, including the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry and the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, to represent the state at no cost to taxpayers. "Pennsylvania is where America’s story began, and there was no way we were going to let the Commonwealth go unrepresented during our Nation’s 250th birthday celebration," McCormick said in a joint news release.
Shapiro had previously told The New Republic that major Pennsylvania companies were not interested in participating, suggesting the event had become too politicized. A spokesperson for Shapiro reiterated that the administration was "unwilling to spend hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to fund the Great American State Fair." Despite the lack of official state participation, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture literature began appearing in the booth on Saturday.
Sources close to the sponsor search confirmed that some companies had agreed to provide donations but faced short notice. The Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry noted that Shapiro's office requested their assistance less than two weeks before the fair, making business commitment difficult. The senators' intervention ensured private groups would staff the booth and coordinate sponsors for the remainder of the 16-day event.