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

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Meets With U.S. Lawmakers On Capitol Hill

‘If we don’t get the aid, we will lose the war’: Zelenskyy asks Congress to help Ukraine

BY: and - September 21, 2023

WASHINGTON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday traveled to Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers to reiterate the need for continued aid to support his country’s fight against the Russian invasion, even as the U.S. faces a partial government shutdown as soon as the end of the month. “If we don’t get the aid, […]

The U.S. Capitol

Shutdown inches closer as U.S. House GOP fails to pass defense bill, lawmakers exit D.C.

BY: - September 21, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans were unable for a third time Thursday to begin debate on the Defense funding bill, throwing another wrench into Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s leadership tenure. The 212-216 vote that rejected the rule for the $826 billion Defense spending measure was unexpected, coming less than a day after House GOP lawmakers gathered in a […]

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, speaks at a news conference Wednesday outside the U.S. Capitol alongside individuals advocating for the extension of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act program

Americans sickened by radioactive waste press Congress for action on assistance

BY: - September 20, 2023

WASHINGTON — Victims of nuclear contamination rallied in the nation’s capital on Wednesday in support of bipartisan legislation that would extend compensation for those harmed by radioactive waste. U.S. Sens. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, and Ben Ray Luján, a New Mexico Democrat, held a rally and press conference outside the U.S. Capitol as part […]

The U.S. Capitol

A ‘disaster’ nears: Millions of federal workers’ paychecks would be on hold in a shutdown

BY: - September 20, 2023

WASHINGTON — More than 3.5 million federal employees and military personnel — many in the Washington, D.C., area but also scattered across the states and around the globe — are bracing for another partial government shutdown, as U.S. House Republicans struggle to produce a short-term plan to fund the government past the end of the […]

U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy

U.S. House GOP spending bills falter as Congress struggles to avoid a shutdown

BY: and - September 19, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats said Tuesday they are preparing their own short-term spending bill that they believe will garner bipartisan support, a decision that could stave off a partial government shutdown — and as House Republicans failed to advance two spending bills. The Senate move would work as long as the House votes to […]

President Joe Biden at the North American International Auto Show on Sept. 14, 2022, in Detroit

Automakers’ record profits not shared with workers, Biden says as UAW strike launches

BY: - September 15, 2023

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden dispatched two senior administration officials to Detroit on Friday after the United Auto Workers union began a historic strike against the Big Three auto companies amid a contract dispute. “Over the past decade auto companies have seen record profits, including over the last few years because of the extraordinary skill […]

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks to reporters Sept. 14, 2023, in the U.S. Capitol

With two weeks until the money runs out, Congress grinds to halt on spending bills 

BY: - September 14, 2023

WASHINGTON — Amid rising tensions and an approaching hard deadline, the U.S. House and Senate ended their work week on Thursday without a deal to fund the federal government past the end of the month. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who has been struggling to build consensus among the members of his Republican Conference, pledged that […]

Nurses station in busy hospital

Hospitals plead with Congress to avert $8 billion in cuts in Medicaid funding

BY: - September 14, 2023

WASHINGTON — Health care representatives from across the United States are urging Congress to halt cuts to funding that helps hospitals care for uninsured or low-income patients who rely on Medicaid. More than 250 hospitals and health systems appealed to House and Senate leadership in a letter Thursday asking the lawmakers to avert or delay […]

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre answers questions from reporters at a White House briefing on Sept. 13, 2023

White House slams ‘baseless’ House GOP impeachment inquiry as ‘political stunt’

BY: - September 13, 2023

WASHINGTON — The White House is lambasting the House GOP’s decision to open an impeachment inquiry into unproven allegations that President Joe Biden profited from his son’s international business scheme during his time as vice president in the Obama administration. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy announced Tuesday that he directed several of the chamber’s […]

“Gender Queer,” a graphic memoir by Maia Kobabe, was the most challenged book in America in 2022, according to the American Library Association.

U.S. Senate hearing on book bans probes censorship attempts in local libraries

BY: - September 12, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. senators at a committee hearing Tuesday discussed the consequences of book bans and parents’ desire to control what their kids read — though they also acknowledged it’s not an issue for Congress to settle. The Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony about book bans, focusing on how censorship limits liberty and literature. The […]

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy addresses reporters at a news conference Sept. 12, 2023, in the U.S. Capitol

U.S. House Speaker McCarthy tells committees to launch Biden impeachment probe

BY: - September 12, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday announced that he has directed several House committees to open a formal impeachment inquiry into unproven GOP allegations that President Joe Biden profited from his son’s business dealings when he was vice president in the Obama administration. “These allegations paint a picture, a picture of corruption,” […]

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks during a news conference Sept. 6, 2023, following a closed-door lunch meeting with Senate Democrats at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Battles over spending, farm bill, Ukraine and yet more loom over a divided Congress

BY: , , and - September 12, 2023

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House and Senate are both back in D.C. on Tuesday following a long summer recess, facing an overwhelming agenda of unfinished work — funding the federal government and reauthorizing major programs set to expire at the end of the month. Congressional leaders and President Joe Biden have only a few weeks […]