DC BUREAU
Our Washington, D.C., bureau reports on congressional delegations and key Supreme Court and administrative decisions that affect our state.
STAFF
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 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 covers the nation’s capital as a senior reporter for States Newsroom. Her coverage areas include domestic policy and appropriations.
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 covers the nation's capital for States Newsroom. Her areas of coverage include politics and policy, lobbying, elections and campaign finance.
STORIES
Conservative groups target state, local voter registration rolls with multiple lawsuits
North Carolina’s voter rolls are like a refrigerator that needs to be cleared periodically of rotting milk and other items past their expiration date, according to Jason Torchinsky. Torchinsky is a lawyer representing Republican plaintiffs in a lawsuit seeking to force the state to more regularly maintain its voter rolls. But Jeff Loperfido, an attorney […]
‘We thought that we would die’: Lawmakers probe painful Jan. 6 memories
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 […]
Biden in Jan. 6 speech decries ‘web of lies’ created by Trump about 2020 election
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday warned of the dangers of a collapse of American democracy, standing in a historic chamber in the U.S. Capitol that was besieged by an angry mob of pro-Trump supporters who attempted to halt the certification of the 2020 presidential election. “We are in the battle for the soul […]
Here’s what’s happening in D.C. on the Jan. 6 anniversary
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will deliver a speech Thursday in the heart of the U.S. Capitol to mark the first anniversary of the insurrection there. One year ago, former President Donald Trump incited a mob of his supporters, and encouraged them to storm the Capitol in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying the […]
Voting rights tops U.S. Senate agenda as Jan. 6 anniversary nears
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday stressed that Democrats are prepared to change Senate rules to pass voting rights legislation — and linked the move to the attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump. “The election subversion efforts we’re seeing all across the country today are […]
Biden slams COVID-19 vaccine ‘lies,’ announces free at-home tests
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Tuesday urged that COVID-19 vaccine doubters stop “peddling lies” on TV and online, as the nation grapples with a rising number of cases due to the highly transmissible omicron variant. Biden also announced new federal help for testing and treatment in the states, including 500 million at-home rapid test […]
Schumer vows U.S. Senate action on voting rights and social policy, as Manchin rift deepens
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 […]
Prescription drug price reform on the line in Biden’s big social spending bill
WASHINGTON — Among the most potentially transformational changes in the Democrats’ massive social and climate bill pending in the Senate are a set of long-sought changes intended to tamp down the fast-rising cost of prescription drugs. The $2 trillion spending package would ensure Americans don’t pay more than $35 when they pick up a new […]
Biden’s big social spending bill caught in snags in the Senate
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s giant social and climate spending bill on Thursday night appeared stalled in the U.S. Senate for some time to come, a deep frustration for congressional Democrats who aimed to pass the ambitious package by the Christmas recess. At risk also is a temporary expansion of the child tax credit, the […]
U.S. House Dems pass anti-Islamophobia bill, condemn Boebert remarks
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 […]
CDC: 25 states report omicron strain of COVID-19, but delta remains biggest threat
WASHINGTON — Twenty-five states have identified cases of the new omicron variant of COVID-19, federal public health officials said Friday as they released new data on the first 43 U.S. cases. Tennessee is not one of the states in which the strain has been found. Of those initial, confirmed cases, more than half were among people […]
U.S. Senate rejects Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for private employers
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate passed a resolution Wednesday night to block President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate on private employers, with every Republican and two Democrats casting votes aimed at preventing that pending requirement. Democratic Sens. Jon Tester of Montana and Joe Manchin III of West Virginia joined with the GOP in backing the […]