Author

Jennifer Shutt

Jennifer Shutt

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.

The U.S. Capitol Building on June 01, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

U.S. Senate sends Biden debt limit legislation ahead of Monday default deadline

By: - June 1, 2023

WASHINGTON — The bipartisan debt limit bill is on its way to President Joe Biden after the U.S. Senate voted Thursday to clear the measure for his signature. The 63-36 vote followed several amendment votes, all of which were rejected. Biden is expected to quickly sign the package, preventing a default on the debt that […]

Cherry blossoms outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. (Capital-Star photo by Jennifer Shutt).

U.S. House approves debt limit package, sending it to Senate days before default deadline

By: - May 31, 2023

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House took a broadly bipartisan vote Wednesday night on the debt limit package, sending it to the U.S. Senate where lawmakers are expected to vote quickly to clear the measure. The bill would suspend the nation’s borrowing limit through Jan. 1, 2025 and set caps on discretionary spending for two years. […]

The U.S. Capitol. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

Debt limit deal hits turbulence in Congress as leaders prep for vote

By: and - May 30, 2023

WASHINGTON — Congress began moving the bipartisan debt limit package forward Tuesday, though frustrations with provisions in the bill could make for narrow passage in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate. Conservative Republicans and progressive Democrats both aired their disappointment with the agreement forged over the weekend, but only GOP lawmakers are looking to possibly […]

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, left, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell outside the White House following a meeting on the debt limit with President Joe Biden and Democratic congressional leaders on May 9, 2023. Ashley Murray/States Newsroom

Biden, McCarthy say they have brokered a debt limit deal to avert U.S. default

By: and - May 27, 2023

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced a deal in principle Saturday night that would stave off a first-ever default on the nation’s debt as long as it can clear both chambers of Congress before June 5. The agreement would address the nation’s debt limit and include a “historic” reduction in spending, McCarthy said, though […]

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, left, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell outside the White House following a meeting on the debt limit with President Joe Biden and Democratic congressional leaders on May 9, 2023. Ashley Murray/States Newsroom

With debt default as soon as a week away, U.S. House jets off for holiday break

By: - May 26, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. House members walked down the steps of the Capitol building Thursday morning to head back to their districts for a Memorial Day recess that began exactly one week before the country could default on the debt. House Democrats took to the floor after the final vote of the week to give a […]

U.S. House Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick McHenry, a North Carolina Republican, left, and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy speak to reporters outside the White House following a meeting on the debt limit with President Joe Biden. May 22, 2023. Ashley Murray/States Newsroom.

Biden and McCarthy strike positive tone after debt limit talks, but no deal yet

By: and - May 22, 2023

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy left their closely watched meeting Monday without an agreement on government spending or the debt limit, prolonging a stalemate that could soon disrupt Americans’ everyday lives as well as the global economy. Both struck a positive tone Monday, though neither divulged details about what remains unresolved […]

(Photo: Marissa Demarco, Source NM)

A default on the U.S. debt would be far worse than a government shutdown. Here’s how.

By: , , and - May 22, 2023

WASHINGTON — A U.S. default on its debt would have a significantly broader impact on federal operations, financial markets and the global economy than recent government shutdowns that have left ordinary Americans largely untouched. While the two have been confused frequently during debate over the debt limit, the federal government has had considerable practice with […]

Biden says he’s offered $1 trillion in spending cuts but GOP won’t budge on debt limit

By: - May 22, 2023

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Sunday his administration has offered $1 trillion in spending cuts as part of the ongoing talks with Republicans around a budget agreement, but he said no deal has yet been reached.  Biden, speaking from Japan during a press conference following the G7 summit, said his administration wants House Speaker […]

Hope Clinic in Nashville. (Photo: John Partipilo)

Lawmakers debate violence against abortion clinics, anti-abortion pregnancy centers

By: - May 18, 2023

WASHINGTON — Republicans at a U.S. House hearing aired frustration with the Department of Justice this week for what they contended is a lack of enforcement of a Clinton-era law that protects access to reproductive health care at anti-abortion pregnancy centers and abortion clinics. GOP lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee expressed anger the Federal […]

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy spoke outside the White House after talks on the debt limit with President Joe Biden and other congressional leaders. May 16, 2023. Ashley Murray/States Newsroom

Some movement reported in debt limit talks as Biden cuts short overseas trip

By: and - May 17, 2023

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and congressional leaders struggled to find common ground on the debt ceiling during a Tuesday meeting, though lawmakers said afterward there was some progress toward a deal. Biden and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will become the two primary negotiators on a bipartisan debt limit bill that could include other […]

Medication abortion, a two-step regimen, is used in more than half of pregnancy terminations in the United States. Phil Walter/Getty Images

Arguments on landmark abortion pill case to be heard Wednesday in appeals court

By: - May 16, 2023

WASHINGTON — The lawsuit over access to the abortion pill goes before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on Wednesday, the next step on a path that will likely end at the U.S. Supreme Court.  The three-judge panel will decide whether to keep, overturn, or alter a ruling from U.S. District Court […]

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, left, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell outside the White House following a meeting on the debt limit with President Joe Biden and Democratic congressional leaders on May 9, 2023. Ashley Murray/States Newsroom

Biden and congressional leaders fail to reach a debt limit deal, but will meet again Friday

By: and - May 9, 2023

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and top congressional leaders were unable to reach a bipartisan debt limit agreement during a closed-door meeting Tuesday, leaving the dispute unresolved as the country moves closer to a default predicted as soon as early June.  White House staff and aides to the four congressional leaders, however, will meet throughout […]