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.

In this photo illustration, a cellphone can be seen displaying the logos for Chinese apps WeChat and TikTok in front of a monitor showing the flags of the United States and China.

TikTok ban for federal workers close to becoming law, following flurry of state bans

By: - December 20, 2022

A ban on federal employees using TikTok on their government-issued phones is on track to become law after Congress included the provision in the year-end government funding bill released early Tuesday. U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley’s legislation barring the popular social media platform from federal devices was one of several bills attached to the spending measure, […]

A mob of pro-Trump supporters attack the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, 2020

U.S. House Jan. 6 panel refers Trump for criminal charges, including inciting insurrection

By: - December 19, 2022

The U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol in a historic vote agreed unanimously Monday to refer former President Donald Trump and others to the Justice Department for potential criminal charges, including inciting or aiding an insurrection. Trump associates, including attorneys John Eastman and Kenneth Chesebro and White House Chief […]

In this photo illustration, a cellphone can be seen displaying the logos for Chinese apps WeChat and TikTok in front of a monitor showing the flags of the United States and China.

U.S. Senate votes to bar TikTok from government devices as state bans multiply

By: - December 15, 2022

The U.S. Senate late Wednesday unanimously passed a bill to ban federal employees from downloading TikTok on their work phones. Critics of TikTok, a widely popular social media platform, say the app creates national security concerns because of its ability to track users’ data — and because the Chinese government can compel that data from […]

Matthew Haynes, the owner of Club Q, hugs Michael Anderson, a survivor of the mass shooting at the Colorado Springs nightclub after speaking at a House Oversight Committee hearing

Club Q survivors at U.S. House hearing denounce anti-LGBTQ rhetoric

By: - December 15, 2022

Survivors of a deadly attack at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs and other advocates told a U.S. House panel Wednesday that political rhetoric and policy fights dehumanize LGBTQ people and contribute to such violence. Democrats and Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee largely sympathized with the survivors, but drew different conclusions […]

A woman demonstrates a motorized marijuana bud trimmer at the Speedee Trim booth at the INDO EXPO cannabis trade show on Jan. 27, 2019, in Denver, Colorado

Attempt to help states ease banking for marijuana businesses stumbles in Congress

By: - December 7, 2022

The annual Defense Department policy bill members of Congress released late Tuesday did not include measures to loosen federal marijuana restrictions, to the disappointment of advocates. That leaves few avenues to pass marijuana measures seen as boons to states where the drug is legal before Congress adjourns for the year. As one of the last […]

Despite FTX fallout, some U.S. House members still skeptical about crypto regulation

By: - December 4, 2022

Nearly nine months after a bipartisan group of U.S. House members sent a letter questioning the Securities and Exchange Commission’s investigation into cryptocurrencies, including the failed FTX exchange, the lawmakers are maintaining their position that the agency’s approach to regulating crypto is deeply flawed. In public comments since FTX’s collapse last month, the congressmen, led […]

shipping containers on a railway

U.S. House votes to avert calamitous rail strike, but Senate prospects murky

By: - November 30, 2022

The U.S. House moved Wednesday to avoid an economically disastrous nationwide rail strike, voting to codify an agreement that members of some unions had already rejected and separately add paid sick leave that workers had demanded. The two-track approach allows Democrats to avert a strike that could cost the U.S. economy up to $2 billion […]

Sen. Joe Manchin walking through Senate chambers

Little appetite for Manchin permitting bill in congressional lame-duck session

By: - November 23, 2022

Among the items on Congress’ lengthy to-do list by the end of the year is U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin’s proposal to speed up the federal government’s permitting process that certifies energy projects do not harm the environment. But the bill, which was a condition of the centrist West Virginia Democrat’s support for his party’s larger […]

Steve Scalise and Kevin McCarthy

Republicans win control of the U.S. House with 218th seat

By: - November 16, 2022

Republicans clinched a majority in the U.S. House on Wednesday night after a Republican won reelection to a California seat that put the GOP over the top, according to Associated Press projections. Though not as decisive a victory as GOP leaders had hoped, Republican candidates flipped key seats in New York, Virginia, Oregon and Arizona […]

Former President Donald Trump

Trump announces a third bid for the presidency, even as GOP reels from midterm setback

By: - November 16, 2022

Former President Donald Trump, whose lies about his reelection loss in 2020 precipitated an insurrectionist attack on the U.S. Capitol, said Tuesday he will make another run for the White House in 2024. His announcement came only a week after a disappointing showing by Republicans — especially those who endorsed his false claims about 2020 […]

Democrats projected to retain U.S. Senate control after winning Nevada seat

By: - November 12, 2022

Democratic U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada will win reelection, according to Associated Press projections late Saturday, ensuring Democrats will remain in the majority next year no matter what happens in a runoff election in Georgia next month.  After days of vote counting, U.S. Sens. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Cortez Masto were both […]

Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker

Which party controls Congress? It could be days or weeks before we know

By: and - November 9, 2022

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and Democrats exulted Wednesday in outperforming expectations in the midterm elections, even as vote-counting was still in progress and control of both chambers of Congress remained unknown. The U.S. Senate will go to the winner of two of the last three races where party control is still in doubt in […]