Author

Jacob Fischler

Jacob Fischler

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.

The crowd outside the courthouse where Trump was being arraigned on Aug. 3, 2023. Some chanted "Lock him up."

Trump pleads not guilty to charges he sought to subvert 2020 election

By: and - August 3, 2023

WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Thursday to four felony charges in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., after a federal grand jury handed up an indictment against the former chief executive related to the 2020 election. Trump, the front-runner in the 2024 GOP presidential primary, was released under the conditions that […]

A protester holds a Trump flag inside the U.S. Capitol Building on the steps outside the Senate chamber on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C.

How the fake electors in seven states are central to the Trump Jan. 6 indictment

By: and - August 2, 2023

WASHINGTON — The federal indictment accusing Donald Trump of trying to stay in power after losing the 2020 presidential election includes detailed accusations of Trump and his alleged co-conspirators’ pressure on individual state officials. The central plot to overturn the election, as described in the indictment a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., handed up […]

Former U.S. President Donald Trump waves as he makes a visit to the Cuban restaurant Versailles after he appeared June 13, 2023, in Miami for an arraignment in connection with allegations he kept classified documents after leaving office

‘Fueled by lies,’ Trump charged with seeking to overturn 2020 election

By: , and - August 1, 2023

WASHINGTON — A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., indicted Donald Trump on Tuesday, alleging that Trump and co-conspirators attempted to subvert the 2020 election to keep the former president in power through a series of illegal actions that culminated in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The former president faces four […]

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack speaks July 31, 2023, at an event at the World Forestry Center in Portland, Oregon

U.S. ag secretary touts Biden climate agenda as boost for rural America in Oregon visit

By: - July 31, 2023

PORTLAND, Ore. — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack sees the Biden administration’s climate agenda as a boon for rural economies, he said Monday during a visit to Portland’s World Forestry Center. The U.S. Forest Service, which is part of the Agriculture Department, will begin accepting applications for a second round of grants from its Community […]

President Joe Biden speaks during an event on extreme heat July 27, 2023, in Washington, D.C.

As extreme heat sweeps the U.S., Biden warns that states must act to protect workers

By: - July 27, 2023

With many parts of the country gripped by extreme heat, President Joe Biden said Thursday his administration would target states that don’t offer workers heat protections and would direct millions of dollars to water projects and improved weather forecasting. In a live address, with the mayors of Phoenix and San Antonio joining by video, Biden […]

U.S. troops arrive at base

Defense bill that targets abortion access, trans health, racial equity passes U.S. House

By: - July 14, 2023

The U.S. House approved Friday an annual defense authorization bill loaded with GOP rollbacks of Pentagon policies on abortion and transgender health care, as well as efforts to boost racial equity. Republican amendments targeting social policy issues turned a typically bipartisan measure preserving the nation’s military security into another front for the culture wars, similar […]

Green foliage appears on the surface of water stretching toward the horizon

U.S. House Dems want data on impact of Supreme Court ruling on wetlands protection

By: - July 10, 2023

Top Democrats on the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee asked federal agencies Monday to track possible negative effects from a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that limited federal authority to regulate clean water. Washington’s Rick Larsen, the ranking Democrat on the committee, and Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee ranking member Grace Napolitano of California, […]

Opponents of liquid carbon pipelines rally Nov. 9, 2022, in Cowles Commons in downtown Des Moines, Iowa

Thanks to federal tax credits, it’s boom time in the Midwest for carbon dioxide pipelines

By: - July 4, 2023

Thousands of miles of carbon dioxide pipelines planned in the Midwest have been spurred, in part, by a major expansion of federal tax credits in Democrats’ 2022 climate law. That could lead to billions of dollars per year in federal tax credits benefiting the powerful Midwest ethanol industry, even as the proposals create intense conflicts […]

President Joe Biden delivers remarks on Dec. 8, 2021, at the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority in Kansas City, Missouri. (Allison Kite/Kansas Reflector)

Roads, bridges, trails, ports: White House awards $2.2B in transportation grants

By: - June 28, 2023

The U.S. Department of Transportation will send more than $2.2 billion in grants to state, tribal and local governments under a grant program that was expanded under the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law. The $2.26 billion for 162 projects provides funds for each of the 50 states, two territories and the District of Columbia. It is […]

Former U.S. President Donald Trump waves as he makes a visit to the Cuban restaurant Versailles after he appeared for his arraignment on June 13, 2023, in Miami

U.S. judge sets mid-August date for Trump trial in classified documents case

By: - June 20, 2023

Former President Donald Trump is set to face a jury trial on federal charges of mishandling classified information, after the Miami judge overseeing the case signed an order Tuesday scheduling the trial to begin Aug. 14. U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon, whom Trump appointed to her seat on the federal bench in the Southern […]

Former U.S. President Donald Trump waves as he makes a visit to the Cuban restaurant Versailles after he appeared for his arraignment on June 13, 2023, in Miami

Trump pleads not guilty in federal documents case, heads back out on campaign trail

By: - June 13, 2023

Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty in federal court in Miami on Tuesday to 37 felony counts of taking highly classified national security documents from his time in office and obstructing efforts to recover the documents, according to media reports from inside the courtroom. Trump, the first former president charged with a federal crime, […]

Former President Donald Trump arrives for a March 13, 2023, event at the Adler Theatre in Davenport, Iowa

Questions and answers about Trump’s indictment on federal criminal charges

By: - June 9, 2023

A federal judge in Florida unsealed an indictment that accuses former President Donald Trump of hiding classified national security documents after he left the White House, improperly storing them and sharing sensitive information with people who lacked security clearance. Though he’s not the only former federal official to improperly take classified documents with him after […]