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

voter leaves after casting their ballot at the Phoenix Art Museum

State election officials at U.S. Senate hearing discuss threats to workers, call for funding

BY: - March 29, 2023

WASHINGTON — Election officials on Tuesday detailed to the U.S. Senate Rules Committee how their states countered threats to election workers and worked to combat misinformation and disinformation during the 2022 midterm election. With the 2024 presidential election closely approaching, Senate Rules Committee Chair Sen. Amy Klobuchar said she was concerned about threats to election […]

apples for sale at Bloomingdale Farmers Market

USDA secretary battles with U.S. House Republicans over costs of federal nutrition programs

BY: - March 29, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans tussled with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Democratic committee members over work requirements in federal nutrition programs as well as spending levels for those programs at a Tuesday hearing.  Republican members of the House Agriculture Committee charged Vilsack with evading bipartisan oversight in the USDA’s 2021 redesign of the Thrifty […]

Silicon Valley Bank Shut Down By Regulators

Members of U.S. Senate panel press financial regulators on massive bank failures

BY: - March 28, 2023

WASHINGTON — Financial regulators promised a full review of Silicon Valley Bank’s massive failure as members of a key U.S. Senate panel on Tuesday interrogated the officials about what led to the second-largest bank collapse in U.S. history. Members of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs asked if the Federal Reserve could […]

baby formula missing from shelves

Infant formula crisis could recur, former FDA official tells Congress

BY: - March 28, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday debated if enough has changed to prevent a repeat of the infant formula shortage, more than a year after a nationwide crisis began.  The U.S. House Oversight and Accountability Committee’s Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services heard from two experts that while the U.S. Food and Drug Administration […]

Phillip A. Washington speaks at a nomination

Denver airport CEO withdraws as FAA nominee after opposition by U.S. Senate GOP

BY: - March 27, 2023

Phil Washington, the chief executive of Denver International Airport and President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Federal Aviation Administration, withdrew from consideration in the face of persistent Republican opposition, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg confirmed Saturday night. Reuters first reported Washington’s withdrawal, and Buttigieg confirmed it in a late Saturday tweet. Republicans had attacked Washington […]

Bipartisan former members of Congress call for boost in funding to secure elections

BY: - March 27, 2023

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of former U.S. lawmakers on the National Council on Election Integrity called on Congress on Friday to spend $400 million to insulate the system from foreign interference.  “The Department of Homeland Security designated our election system as critical infrastructure in 2017,” the four wrote in a letter. “However, that designation […]

The U.S. Capitol grounds

GOP bill establishing a federal parental bill of rights passed in U.S. House

BY: - March 24, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans on Friday passed a bill designed to empower parents to inspect books and other teaching materials in local public schools, but Democrats sharply criticized the measure, saying it would censor teachers and ban books. The legislation, called the Parents Bill of Rights, passed on a 213-208 vote. It would codify […]

farmer holding black tomato

Native American agricultural leaders detail farm bill priorities at U.S. Senate hearing

BY: - March 24, 2023

WASHINGTON — A roundtable of Native American agricultural leaders at a recent U.S. Senate hearing lobbied for increased sovereignty and social justice in the coming farm bill by expanding tribes’ jurisdiction over U.S. Department of Agriculture programs.  It’s called “638” authority and refers to Public Law 93-638, which gives tribes the power to manage certain […]

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew Testifies At U.S. House Hearing

Members of Congress blast TikTok CEO as bipartisan support for U.S. ban looks possible

BY: - March 23, 2023

A U.S. House panel grilled TikTok’s CEO for more than five hours Thursday over the social media giant’s ties to China, and indicated there may be bipartisan consensus for a national ban on the platform.  Members of both parties showed an unusual level of agreement during tough questioning of TikTok CEO Shou Chew. Several members […]

Ohio train derailment

Priorities for rail safety bill debated in U.S. Senate hearing with Norfolk Southern CEO

BY: - March 22, 2023

Members of a U.S. Senate committee on Wednesday previewed what they would push for in bipartisan rail safety legislation likely to progress through Congress in the aftermath of the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment. Democrats and Republicans on the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hinted they wanted to strengthen requirements about reporting hazardous cargo, […]

Dave Lacknauth, director of Pharmacy Services at Broward Health Medical Center shows off a bottle of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine during a press conference on Dec. 23, 2020 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Moderna plan to hike COVID vaccine price to $130 a dose rebuked at U.S. Senate hearing

BY: - March 22, 2023

WASHINGTON — The CEO of Moderna on Wednesday defended the company’s decision to drastically increase the price of its COVID-19 vaccine later this year, arguing that an expected drop in demand, changes to its distribution process and the overall benefit of the vaccine warrant the higher cost.  That decision was met with bipartisan condemnation from […]

Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in southern Nevada

Biden officially designates new monuments in Nevada and Texas at conservation summit

BY: - March 21, 2023

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden stressed that his administration’s efforts to conserve the nation’s land and waters are an expression of fundamental American values at the White House Conservation In Action summit Tuesday afternoon.  Biden also announced the designation of two new national monuments in his address, Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in southern Nevada, […]