(File Photo: Source for Photo: Dave Sunday speaks to the audience in the Forum Auditorium across the street from the Capitol after taking the oath to become Pennsylvania’s next attorney general, Jan. 21, 2025, in Harrisburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Marc Levy)
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s three statewide row officers were sworn in to new four-year terms on Tuesday, joining Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro in Harrisburg and marking the first time that all three offices were filled at the same time by elected Republicans.
Treasurer Stacy Garrity and Auditor General Tim DeFoor embarked on their second four-year terms, while Attorney General Dave Sunday was sworn in to his first four-year term as the state’s top law enforcement officer.
They took their oaths in separate, back-to-back ceremonies in the ornate Forum Auditorium, across the street from the state Capitol. Shapiro spoke, as did former Govs. Mark Schweiker and Tom Corbett.
The trio is taking office amid divided government in Harrisburg and the start of President Donald Trump’s second term.
In his remarks, Corbett — also a former attorney general — told Sunday to have a thick skin for criticism: “You have to put the tortoise shell on and go forward.” He told the new attorney general to understand that the office will bring challenges that are as much about policy as they are about the law.
“I guarantee you could wake up tomorrow and somebody’s going to come to you with a problem that none of us have ever heard about and expect you to have an answer,” Corbett said.
He also warned Sunday about the political pitfalls of the times.
“You assume this office in a very unusual period of time in our history, a very unsettled period of time, I think, when it comes to politics,” Corbett said. “I would urge you to take the politics, as much as you possibly can, out of this.”
The meat and potatoes of the job of Pennsylvania’s attorney general is prosecuting fraudsters, drug traffickers, gun traffickers, public corruption and environmental crimes, while defending state agencies against lawsuits.
State attorneys general also are becoming big players in forging national policy by increasingly challenging federal laws and regulations in court, usually in bands of Republican-led states or Democratic-led states.
When Shapiro was attorney general, his office sued dozens of times over Trump administration policies, most often with other Democratic-led states, and defended the state’s 2020 presidential election in court against attempts by Trump and his allies to overturn it.
Already on Tuesday, attorneys general from 22 states sued to block Trump’s move to end a century-old immigration practice known as birthright citizenship guaranteeing that U.S.-born children are citizens regardless of their parents’ status. Pennsylvania was not among the states that sued.
Pennsylvania’s three row offices are often viewed as a springboard to running for higher office, and the row officers each have built-in watchdog duties that could affect how Shapiro governs.
For instance, a treasurer or auditor general must approve a general obligation bond issue, while both must approve a tax-anticipation note.
Treasurers can block payments they see as illegal, auditors general can probe politically sensitive programs to see if they comply with the law, and attorneys general have the authority to investigate political corruption.
Attorneys general must ensure all executive branch contracts are legal and can carry a governor’s policy agenda in the courts, such as in clashes with lawmakers or the White House.
All three offices can use their statewide platform to amplify an opposition message.
The three officers will be in office at a time when there is considerable friction between Shapiro and the Republican-controlled state Senate over state spending.
The state is projected to have a $10.5 billion surplus at the end of the fiscal year on June 30, but Garrity and other Republicans are warning that the pace of state spending could deplete that in a few years.
Garrity, meanwhile, is considered a potential GOP challenger to Shapiro as he gears up to seek a second four-year term in the 2026 election.
For his part, Shapiro made the shortlist of running mates for Vice President Kamala Harris in her White House bid last year, and he is widely viewed as a leading contender for the Democratic Party’s nomination for president in 2028.
Sunday, a Navy veteran, was York County’s district attorney for the past seven years. Before Sunday, the last Republican to win an election for attorney general in Pennsylvania was Corbett in 2008.
Four of the last five elected attorneys general went on to run for governor. Corbett won his race for governor in 2010 and Shapiro won in 2022. Both of them won two campaigns for attorney general and served six years in the office.
