DC BUREAU

Our Washington, D.C., bureau reports on congressional delegations and key Supreme Court and administrative decisions that affect our state.

STAFF

Jane Norman

DC Bureau Chief

Jane directs national coverage, managing staff and freelance reporters in the nation’s capital and assigning and editing state-specific daily and enterprise stories.

Jacob Fischler

DC Bureau Senior Reporter

Jacob covers federal policy as a senior reporter for States Newsroom. Based in Oregon, he focuses on Western issues. His coverage areas include climate, energy development, public lands and infrastructure.

Ashley Murray

DC Bureau Senior Reporter

Ashley Murray covers the nation’s capital as a senior reporter for States Newsroom. Her coverage areas include domestic policy and appropriations.

Jennifer Shutt

DC Bureau Senior Reporter

Jennifer covers the nation’s capital as a senior reporter for States Newsroom. Her coverage areas include congressional policy, politics and legal challenges with a focus on health care, unemployment, housing and aid to families.

Ariana Figueroa

DC Bureau Reporter

Ariana covers the nation's capital for States Newsroom. Her areas of coverage include politics and policy, lobbying, elections and campaign finance.

STORIES

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) talks to reporters prior to a Democratic policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on May 10, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Pennsylvania senator pushes review of U.S. investments in China but hits roadblock in House

BY: - December 5, 2023

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan measure that would require screening of U.S. private investments in high-tech enterprises in China, Iran, North Korea and Russia may not be included in Congress’ annual defense policy legislation. The Senate approved the so-called “outbound investment” amendment, 91-6, to its version of the National Defense Authorization Act in July, with proponents […]

The color guard at Hmong Lao Memorial Day, Cadott Veterans Memorial is seen in Cadott, Wisconsin, May 14, 2023. (Photo by Nao Shoua Xiong)

Hmong veterans of the Vietnam War would receive Congressional Gold Medal under push by lawmakers

BY: - December 4, 2023

WASHINGTON — Members of Wisconsin’s congressional delegation are leading a bipartisan effort to award the Congressional Gold Medal to Hmong veterans of the Vietnam War. During the Vietnam War, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency recruited the Hmong people as soldiers to help combat communism’s spread through Southeast Asia. The Hmong, who lived and worked as […]

Airmen assigned to the 305th Aerial Port Squadron, upload Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System munitions onboard a Boeing 767 at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., Aug. 11, 2022. The munitions cargo is part of an additional security assistance package for Ukraine. (DOD Photo by Air Force Senior Airman Matt Porter)

White House points to defense spending in states in new plea for Ukraine aid

BY: - December 4, 2023

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is warning Congress that without more funding for Ukraine, the United States will no longer be able to provide that country with military assistance — and emphasizing the multiple states from Arkansas to Michigan to Pennsylvania where businesses already have benefited from earlier aid. Cutting off U.S. funding would not […]

Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 25, 2012, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by T.J. Kirkpatrick/Getty Images)

Sandra Day O’Connor, who made history as the first woman on the Supreme Court, dies at 93

BY: - December 1, 2023

WASHINGTON — The first woman to serve on the nation’s highest court is dead at 93. Sandra Day O’Connor, a groundbreaking justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, died Friday in Phoenix, Arizona of complications related to advanced dementia, probably Alzheimer’s, and a respiratory illness, according to an announcement from the court. President Ronald Reagan nominated […]

Rep. George Santos (R-NY) is surrounded by journalists as he leaves the U.S. Capitol after his fellow members of Congress voted to expel him from the House of Representatives on Dec. 1, 2023, in Washington, D.C.(Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

New York Republican George Santos expelled by U.S. House in bipartisan vote

BY: - December 1, 2023

WASHINGTON — New York Republican George Santos on Friday became the sixth lawmaker in history and the first member of the GOP to be expelled from the U.S. House of Representatives. The 311-114 bipartisan vote, which required two-thirds support, followed months of scandal that culminated in a federal criminal indictment and a damning report from […]

The U.S. Capitol is seen. (Photo by Jane Norman/States Newsroom)

U.S. House votes to bar use of public lands for housing migrants

BY: - November 30, 2023

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House Thursday passed a bill to bar the use of public lands for temporary housing for migrants applying for asylum. The bill, H.R. 5283, passed with a majority of Republicans in support, 224-203.  Six Democrats voted with Republicans: Reps. Henry Cuellar of Texas, Don Davis of North Carolina, Jared Golden of […]

Committee ranking member U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) speaks during an executive business meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Nov. 9, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

GOP senators walk out of vote on subpoenas in U.S. Supreme Court ethics inquiry

BY: - November 30, 2023

WASHINGTON — South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham and Republican colleagues stormed out of a Democratic-led U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee vote on Thursday to authorize subpoenas for two high-profile GOP operatives as part of an ethics probe into undisclosed financial ties to U.S. Supreme Court justices. The panel voted 11-0 to subpoena billionaire Republican donor Harlan Crow […]

Electric car charging station (Getty Images)

Ahead of climate conference, U.S. House panel tussles over curbs on emissions

BY: - November 29, 2023

Republicans on a U.S. House panel argued Wednesday against aggressive moves to meet carbon reduction goals, saying U.S. fossil fuel companies are working to make their products cleaner. Democrats on the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on the Environment, Manufacturing and Critical Minerals countered that to achieve further reductions, federal policies should be continued […]

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, leads a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on gun violence on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023. (Screenshot from U.S. Senate webcast)

Gun violence as a public health crisis explored by U.S. Senate Democrats

BY: - November 28, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats on Tuesday discussed how to treat gun violence as a public health crisis, in hopes of building upon last year’s federal gun safety legislation. “Across the country, gun violence is a public health epidemic,” Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin, the chairman of the committee, said in his opening remarks. […]

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, nominee for Social Security commissioner, is seen on July 19, 2023. (Photo courtesy of the Executive Office of the Governor of Maryland.)

U.S. Senate panel advances former Maryland governor’s nomination to lead Social Security

BY: - November 28, 2023

WASHINGTON — Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley moved one step closer Tuesday to becoming the next Social Security commissioner, a role that would become increasingly difficult as the program inches closer to insolvency during the next decade. The U.S. Senate Finance Committee voted 17-10 to send O’Malley’s nomination to the floor, though it’s not clear […]

An immigrant family wades through the Rio Grande while crossing from Mexico into the United States on Sept. 30, 2023, in Eagle Pass, Texas. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Trump immigration policies set the tone for most of the GOP presidential field

BY: - November 21, 2023

This is one of an occasional series comparing the Republican presidential candidates’ positions on issues. WASHINGTON — Most of the candidates in this year’s 2024 Republican race for the presidential nomination mirror hard-line immigration policies set by the front-runner, former President Donald Trump. What were once considered far-right policies are now common talking points among […]

The White House is seen on June 24, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

Three presidential debates, one VP debate scheduled ahead of 2024 election

BY: - November 20, 2023

WASHINGTON — The Democratic and Republican nominees for president would debate three times next year if both candidates agree to a schedule released Monday by the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates. “The United States’ general election debates, watched live worldwide, are a model for many other countries: the opportunity to hear and see leading candidates […]