A Pennsylvania Senate oversight committee on Tuesday authorized three subpoenas related to an investigation into how Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) allocated taxpayer funding for his security and travel expenses.
Republicans on the Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee overruled Democrats on the panel to approve the subpoenas, expressing concern that at least $1 million “in taxpayer money was quietly spent on modifying” the governor’s private Abbington residence in Montgomery County.
“No one disputes that the governor should have reasonable and appropriate protection, or that the governor should have access to transportation for reasonable and appropriate travel associated with his role,” said Chairman Jarrett Coleman.
“But no administration, Republican or Democrat, should be allowed to operate in the shadows and refuse to provide basic details about their decisions when millions of taxpayer dollars are being involved, and precedent is being set,” he continued.
The state expanded security for Shapiro after an arsonist set his official residence at the governor’s Harrisburg mansion on fire in April. Coleman said the Shapiro administration spent $32 million in upgrades to the public residence following the attack, in addition to the over $1 million spent on a new security system and groundskeeping at the private Abbington home that is under investigation.
Two of the subpoenas relate to Shapiro’s Abington home. The first, to Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Col. Christopher Paris, requests an independent security assessment of the governor’s residence, as well as body camera footage from state police officers at the property from September through November.
Lawmakers sent a second subpoena request to Abington Township seeking documents related to permits, applications, zoning, and other communications surrounding work at Shapiro’s private property.
A third subpoena relates to Shapiro’s flight records, requesting documents related to “several charter flights arranged for the Governor’s Office” in mid-January. That subpoena booking records from charter flights, such as Passenger manifests, itineraries, and TSA screening confirmations for the flights taken from Jan. 14-16.
Coleman said this week the committee sent requests to the Shapiro administration in August for information related to the answers he is seeking in the subpoenas, but had received only partial responses addressing the “unprecedented” security spending. He accused state and local agencies and officials of “stonewalling” for months.
“In addition to the $32 million in upgrades to the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg, another $1 million in taxpayer money was quietly spent on modifying the governor’s private home in Montgomery County. No one in the General Assembly was informed about this until Coleman began asking questions of the administration in October,” a release from Coleman’s office stated.
“Arguably, we are in this position today because our laws and procedures do not address this situation. We as legislators can fix that,” the Republican chairman added. “We need to evaluate if our laws, as they are written today, are enough to protect the governor and the taxpayers of Pennsylvania at the same time. I believe there is a place where those both can exist.”
Democrats on the panel expressed concern that Republicans are weaponizing the committee against Shapiro.
The subpoenas are “an extreme in the investigative process,” Democratic state Sen. Vincent Hughes warned, adding that lawmakers weren’t “investigative authorities in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”
“This smells awfully of a witch hunt trying to find something that is not there,” he said.
A spokesman for the governor’s office slammed the subpoenas this week, arguing that the Shapiro Administration has “repeatedly responded to lawmakers’ inquiries on this matter and publicly released a substantial amount of information about the security improvements.”
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“While Governor Shapiro is speaking about political violence alongside the Republican Governor of Utah, Senator Coleman is once again showing clear disregard for the Governor and his family’s safety – leveling partisan attacks through the press instead of working in good faith to protect the Governor and future governors while carefully stewarding taxpayer dollars,” spokesman Will Simons told ABC News.
The records must be provided to the committee by 12:00 p.m. on Jan. 16, 2026.