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 - JUNE 16: A tweet from former President Donald Trump is displayed during the third hearing of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol in the Cannon House Office Building on June 16, 2022 in Washington, DC. The bipartisan committee, which has been gathering evidence for almost a year related to the January 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol, is presenting its findings in a series of televised hearings. On January 6, 2021, supporters of former President Donald Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol Building during an attempt to disrupt a congressional vote to confirm the electoral college win for President Joe Biden (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Pence was within 40 feet of mob inflamed by Trump, Jan. 6 committee reveals

By: - June 16, 2022

The private and public conflict between Donald Trump and Mike Pence over certifying the 2020 election results put the vice president within steps of the Jan. 6 attackers, the U.S. House committee investigating the insurrection said Thursday the U.S. House committee investigating the insurrection said Thursday. As the mob approached the U.S. Senate chamber in the […]

Capitol surveillance footage released by the House Jan. 6 panel showed Rep. Barry Loudermilk’s (at right) tour group taking pictures of basement areas normally not of interest to tourists, but possibly useful to people planning to seize the Capitol. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images (File) (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Jan. 6 panel video shows Loudermilk tour group photographing in Capitol office buildings

By: - June 15, 2022

 The day before the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Georgia Rep. Barry Loudermilk gave a tour to a group that included a man who took unusual photos in House office buildings, including of stairwells, tunnels and security checkpoints, the House committee investigating the attack said Wednesday. On the day of the insurrection, the […]

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 13: (L-R) Election attorney Benjamin Ginsberg, BJay Pak, former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, and Al Schmidt, former Philadelphia City Commissioner, testify during a hearing by the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol in the Cannon House Office Building on June 13, 2022 in Washington, DC. The bipartisan committee, which has been gathering evidence for almost a year related to the January 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol, will present its findings in a series of televised hearings. On January 6, 2021, supporters of former President Donald Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol Building during an attempt to disrupt a congressional vote to confirm the electoral college win for President Joe Biden. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Trump spread claims of election fraud debunked by his own legal team, Jan. 6 panel says

By: - June 13, 2022

Former President Donald Trump planted the seeds for the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by continually promoting theories that he lost the 2020 election through fraud, even though top advisers and officials told him there was no evidence to support the claim, according to testimony a U.S. House committee presented Monday. In its […]

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Chair of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U. S. Capitol, speaks alongside Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) during a committee business meeting on Capitol Hill March 28, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

5 things we learned about Jan. 6 and Trump from the first hearing

By: - June 11, 2022

The opening U.S. House hearing in a series on the Jan. 6 attack included some eye-opening new details about the events of the day and the broader plot to halt the peaceful transfer of presidential power. The nine-member investigative committee put former President Donald Trump at the center of the plot, while accusing leaders of […]

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 09: (L-R) U.S. Capitol Police Officer Caroline Edwards and Nick Quested, a documentary filmmaker who was embedded with the Proud Boys, a far-right militia group, testify during a hearing by the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol on June 09, 2022 in Washington, DC. The bipartisan committee, which has been gathering evidence related to the January 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol for almost a year, will present its findings in a series of televised hearings. On January 6, 2021, supporters of President Donald Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol Building during an attempt to disrupt a congressional vote to confirm the electoral college win for Joe Biden. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Jan. 6 panel says Trump, far-right groups responsible for insurrection

By: - June 9, 2022

 A widely anticipated hearing Thursday by the U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol alleged two groups supporting then-President Donald Trump planned the riot to stop the transfer of presidential power — while Trump tacitly endorsed the insurrection and was indifferent to calls to hang then-Vice President Mike Pence. […]

A protester holds a Trump flag inside the US Capitol Building near the Senate Chamber on January 06, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

What to know about Thursday’s public hearing on the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol

By: - June 8, 2022

The U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol will launch the first in a series of public hearings Thursday night in the hopes of drawing a major prime-time national television audience. The Democratic-led committee, which includes two Republicans who defied their party leadership to join, has been tight-lipped about […]

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)

U.S. House Jan. 6 Committee subpoenas 5 GOP members who declined to testify

By: - May 12, 2022

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol subpoenaed five Republican House members Thursday who the panel believes have knowledge of the events leading up to the attack, including communication with then-President Donald Trump. The Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol […]

President Joe Biden talks on the phone with Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) following the Senate vote to pass the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, Aug. 10, 2021, in the Oval Office Dining Room of the White House. (Adam Schultz/Official White House Photo)

Biden administration vows to speed up environmental permits needed for infrastructure projects

By: - May 11, 2022

President Joe Biden’s administration will seek to hasten construction of roads, bridges, wind farms and more by tweaking the federal review process for environmental and other permits, administration officials said Tuesday. On a press call, administration officials said they were seeking to make permitting easier without sacrificing environmental standards. The new permitting plan includes five […]

WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 06: Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) (C) walks through the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol for a meeting at the office of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on August 6, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Stefani Reynolds/Getty Images)

Vote on abortion rights planned in U.S. Senate next week, but likely will fall short

By: - May 5, 2022

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will force a vote next week on a bill to codify abortion protections, following the disclosure that the Supreme Court could be ready to overturn a landmark abortion rights ruling, he and other Senate Democrats announced Thursday.  The effort appears largely symbolic. Democrats are well short of the 60 […]

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson (Photo: Screenshot from Senate Judiciary Committee livestream.)

Jackson wins 3 GOP votes as U.S. Senate advances her Supreme Court nomination

By: - April 4, 2022

The U.S. Senate advanced Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s historic Supreme Court nomination in a 53-47 procedural vote Monday evening, hours after the Judiciary Committee deadlocked along party lines. Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah voted with all 50 Senate Democrats on the procedural vote Monday. The […]

Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas sits with his wife and conservative activist Virginia Thomas while he waits to speak at the Heritage Foundation on October 21, 2021, in Washington, DC. The U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary and its subcommittees held hearings this year after revelations about Thomas’ luxury travel and real estate transactions with a GOP donor. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas pressed to recuse himself from Jan. 6 cases

By: - March 29, 2022

Two dozen congressional Democrats are calling for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from cases involving the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, following revelations his wife communicated with the Trump White House about overturning the election. In addition, it appears likely that the U.S. House committee probing the attack will […]

U.S. Senate panel bickers over Supreme Court nomination but sets vote next week

By: - March 28, 2022

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee reopened partisan disagreements Monday as members scheduled a vote for April 4 on Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court. Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Republicans’ criticisms of Jackson’s record and responses were either untrue or disingenuous. Meanwhile, ranking Republican Chuck Grassley of Iowa again raised process concerns. Jackson […]