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.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump waves as he makes a visit to the Cuban restaurant Versailles after he appeared for his arraignment on June 13, 2023 in Miami, Florida.

Trump says he has been told he is a target of the special counsel’s Jan. 6 investigation

By: - July 18, 2023

Donald Trump has received a target letter from Special Counsel Jack Smith, he said Tuesday, indicating another indictment of the former president is likely over his role in encouraging the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Trump posted to his social media site, Truth Social, on Tuesday, announcing that he’d received the target […]

Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal

Leader of U.S. House progressives apologizes for Israel comments

By: - July 17, 2023

U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Washington Democrat and the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, apologized Sunday for saying at a progressive activist conference a day prior that Israel is “a racist state.” Jayapal’s impromptu response to pro-Palestine protestors at the Netroots Nation conference in Chicago sparked backlash from members of both parties on Capitol […]

Members of the U.S. Army 173rd Airborne Brigade march past a Polish paratrooper unit after a ceremony upon the U.S. troops’ arrival by plane at a Polish air force base on April 23, 2014 in Swidwin, Poland.

Defense bill that targets abortion access, trans health, racial equity passes U.S. House

By: - July 14, 2023

The U.S. House approved Friday an annual defense authorization bill loaded with GOP rollbacks of Pentagon policies on abortion and transgender health care, as well as efforts to boost racial equity. Republican amendments targeting social policy issues turned a typically bipartisan measure preserving the nation’s military security into another front for the culture wars, similar […]

A city crossing with green light in semaphore

Roads, bridges, trails, ports: White House awards $2.2B in transportation grants

By: - June 28, 2023

The U.S. Department of Transportation will send more than $2.2 billion in grants to state, tribal and local governments under a grant program that was expanded under the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law. The $2.26 billion for 162 projects provides funds for each of the 50 states, two territories and the District of Columbia. It is […]

Former President Donald Trump in the final presidential debate of the 2020 campaign, in Nashville, Tennessee

U.S. judge sets mid-August date for Trump trial in classified documents case

By: - June 20, 2023

Former President Donald Trump is set to face a jury trial on federal charges of mishandling classified information, after the Miami judge overseeing the case signed an order Tuesday scheduling the trial to begin Aug. 14. U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon, whom Trump appointed to her seat on the federal bench in the Southern […]

Former U.S. President Donald Trump waves as he makes a visit to the Cuban restaurant Versailles after he appeared for his arraignment on June 13, 2023 in Miami, Florida. Trump pleaded not guilty to 37 federal charges including possession of national security documents after leaving office, obstruction, and making false statements.

Trump pleads not guilty in federal documents case, heads back out on campaign trail

By: - June 13, 2023

Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty in federal court in Miami on Tuesday to 37 felony counts of taking highly classified national security documents from his time in office and obstructing efforts to recover the documents, according to media reports from inside the courtroom. Trump, the first former president charged with a federal crime, […]

Former President Donald Trump speaks on May 28, 2022, in Casper, Wyoming.

Questions and answers about Trump’s indictment on federal criminal charges

By: - June 11, 2023

A federal judge in Florida unsealed an indictment that accuses former President Donald Trump of hiding classified national security documents after he left the White House, improperly storing them and sharing sensitive information with people who lacked security clearance. Though he’s not the only former federal official to improperly take classified documents with him after […]

Former U.S. President Donald Trump gives a thumbs up during the pro-am prior to the LIV Golf Invitational – Bedminster at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster on July 28, 2022, in Bedminster, New Jersey.

The indictment is unsealed: Trump faces 37 felony counts in classified documents probe

By: - June 9, 2023

Donald Trump has been indicted by a federal grand jury, making him the first former president to face federal criminal charges. The 37-count indictment in the Southern District of Florida, handed up by a grand jury there, was unsealed Friday. According to the indictment, Trump schemed with an aide to keep possession of top secret […]

The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C.

U.S. Supreme Court rejects Biden wetlands regulation, ruling for Idaho couple

By: - May 25, 2023

The U.S. Supreme Court in a major environmental decision Thursday overturned the Environmental Protection Agency’s definition of wetlands that fall under the agency’s jurisdiction, siding with an Idaho couple who’d said they should not be required to obtain federal permits to build on their property that lacked any navigable water. All nine justices agreed to […]

A bicyclist and pedestrians cross in front of the U.S. Capitol

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

By: , , and - May 19, 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 […]

Wind turbines rise up above farmland on the outskirts of the state capital on Nov. 19, 2013 near Middleton, Wisconsin.

Rural electric co-ops to get $10.7B in USDA funds for clean energy grants, loans

By: - May 16, 2023

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will begin to administer two loan and grant programs worth nearly $11 billion to boost clean energy systems in rural areas, administration officials said Tuesday. Congress approved the federal spending — $9.7 billion for a grant and loan program the department is calling the New Empowering Rural America program, or […]

The view from atop an offshore drilling platform shows a derrick, various pipes and a flame atop the derrick from vented gas.

Speedier permitting of energy projects gains bipartisan backing on U.S. Senate panel

By: - May 11, 2023

Members of both parties on the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voiced their support Thursday for reforming the federal process for approving energy projects, saying it should be prioritized to secure domestic energy supply and boost renewable energy. There is bipartisan interest in revising the permitting process and members of both parties have […]