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.

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 16: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to the U.S. Congress by video to plead for support as his country is besieged by Russian forces at the U.S. Capitol on March 16, 2022 in Washington, DC. Zelenskyy addressed Congress as Ukraine continues to defend itself from an ongoing Russian invasion. (Photo by J. Scott Applewhite-Pool/Getty Images)

Zelenskyy reminds Congress of Pearl Harbor and 9/11 in pleading for U.S. help for Ukraine

By: and - March 16, 2022

WASHINGTON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday invoked the Pearl Harbor attacks ahead of World War II and the 9/11 terrorist attacks, while urging the United States to do more to stop the Russian war against his country.  During the speech, delivered virtually to members of Congress in an auditorium on Capitol Hill, Zelenskyy […]

A pro-Trump mob breaks into the U.S. Capitol on January 06, 2021 in Washington, DC. Congress held a joint session today to ratify President-elect Joe Biden's 306-232 Electoral College win over President Donald Trump. A group of Republican senators said they would reject the Electoral College votes of several states unless Congress appointed a commission to audit the election results. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

A year after Jan. 6, attack on the U.S. Capitol lives on in hundreds of court cases

By: - March 5, 2022

h the Kansas City chapter of the right-wing Proud Boys gathered on the west side of the U.S. Capitol, along with thousands of others urged on by then-President Donald Trump. The crowd pushed ahead and overwhelmed the few Capitol Police officers guarding the entrance, toppling waist-high metal barriers and pressing into another police barrier closer […]

President Joe Biden: "The right to choose is fundamental." (Courtesy of The White House)

New U.S. sanctions on Russia target banks, high-tech imports

By: and - February 24, 2022

WASHINGTON — The United States and Western allies stepped up economic sanctions on Russia following its escalated attack on Ukraine, President Joe Biden said at the White House on Thursday. Biden had for weeks pledged to impose significant sanctions on Russia if President Vladimir Putin followed through on plans to invade Ukraine. As the invasion […]

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 08: U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on his administration's efforts to increase manufacturing alongside members of his cabinet and Congress, in the South Court Auditorium at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on February 08, 2022 in Washington, DC. Biden announced plans for Tritium to construct a new electric vehicle charging plant in Tennessee. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

White House hails electric vehicle charging station builder for opening Tennessee plant

By: - February 8, 2022

Australian electric vehicle charging station manufacturer Tritium will open its first U.S. plant in Lebanon, Tenn., CEO Jane Hunter said during a White House event Tuesday. The factory would be the company’s largest worldwide, and is expected to begin production in the fall, Hunter said, crediting President Joe Biden’s policies with creating the demand that […]

Reports: Supreme Court Justice Breyer to step down

By: , and - January 26, 2022

WASHINGTON — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is planning to announce his retirement in the coming days, according to multiple press reports Wednesday. The decision by the 83-year-old justice, who was nominated by President Bill Clinton in 1994, would give President Joe Biden his first chance to nominate a member of the Supreme Court, […]

U.S. Supreme Court (Photo: Ariana Figueroa)

Supreme Court blocks Biden workplace vaccine rule, allows health care workers mandate

By: - January 13, 2022

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday dealt a blow to the Biden administration’s fight against the pandemic, blocking a federal mandate that workers be vaccinated or regularly tested for COVID-19 — though the court allowed a separate rule requiring vaccinations for some health care workers. The two rulings represented a split victory for Republican attorneys […]

Eric Munchel of Nashville entered the Senate Chamber on January 06, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

‘We thought that we would die’: Lawmakers probe painful Jan. 6 memories

By: - January 7, 2022

Democrats in Congress marked the anniversary of the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Thursday recounting the terror they experienced first-hand — and argued that it gives them even more reason to pursue voting rights legislation. They remembered the desperate scramble to hang on to the boxes that held the presidential vote tally, the rush […]

President Joe Biden speaks at Dakota County Technical College in Rosemount, Minnesota, on Nov. 30, 2021 (Photo by Ricardo Lopez/Minnesota Reformer).

Biden extends student loan repayment pause three more months

By: - December 22, 2021

President Joe Biden will continue a pandemic-spurred pause on student loan repayments until May 1, he said Wednesday.  Loan repayments were set to restart Jan. 31, following months of the U.S. Education Department not requiring payments during the pandemic. Biden told the department to extend the moratorium initially placed by President Donald Trump’s administration. It […]

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 24: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks outside the White House with a bipartisan group of senators after meeting on an infrastructure deal June 24, 2021 in Washington, DC. From left to right are Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT). (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Schumer vows U.S. Senate action on voting rights and social policy, as Manchin rift deepens

By: - December 20, 2021

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Monday he plans to force votes on voting rights, a sweeping social policy bill and a change to Senate rules early next year — even as members of his caucus have made clear in recent days Democrats lack the support to pass those proposals. In a letter to […]

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 30: (L-R) Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MN), Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) take questions during a news conference about Islamophobia on Capitol Hill on November 30, 2021 in Washington, DC. A video of Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) circulated on social media last week of the conservative lawmaker making anti-Muslim remarks about Rep. Ilhan Omar. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

U.S. House Dems pass anti-Islamophobia bill, condemn Boebert remarks

By: - December 15, 2021

 The U.S. House following a vitriolic debate passed a bill along party lines Tuesday night to create a State Department office that would counter Islamophobia worldwide. Democrats said a conflict much closer to home showed the need to confront anti-Muslim bigotry. The bill sponsored by Rep. Ilhan Omar, (D-Minn.), picked up momentum after Colorado Republican […]

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ.)(Photo by Jonathan Ernst-Pool/Getty Images)

U.S. House censures Arizona’s Paul Gosar, boots him from committees

By: and - November 17, 2021

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House voted 223-207 Wednesday to censure Arizona Republican Rep. Paul Gosar and strip him of his committee assignments, following his social media post of a manipulated cartoon that depicted him attacking Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and President Joe Biden. Tennsseee 5th District Democratic Rep. Jim Cooper and District 9 Democratic Rep. […]

President Joe Biden signed his $1.2 billion infrastructure bill into law at the White House on Monday. (Photo provided by U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper.)

Biden signs $1.2T infrastructure bill: ‘America is moving again’

By: , and - November 16, 2021

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday signed into law his $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill during a ceremony at the White House packed with some 800 supporters, heralding what he said was a “truly consequential” spending bill that will improve Americans’ day-to-day lives. But Democrats also emphasized that there is more to come—a $1.85 trillion […]