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.

Ketanji Brown Jackson wins bipartisan support for U.S. Supreme Court with Collins backing

By: - March 31, 2022

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins will vote to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to a seat on the Supreme Court, she said Wednesday, becoming the first Republican to pledge her support for President Joe Biden’s pick to replace retiring Associate Justice Stephen Breyer. Collins, of Maine, said in a statement Jackson had “sterling” academic and professional credentials. […]

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 30, 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 30, 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 […]

Interior would see big funding boost under Biden budget proposal, including tribal programs

By: - March 30, 2022

President Joe Biden’s budget request, released Monday, would boost funding for the Interior Department by nearly one-fifth, well above what the administration has proposed for most discretionary spending. The president’s $5.8 trillion request to Congress for fiscal 2023 proposes a 5% increase for domestic discretionary programs. Interior would see $17.5 billion in discretionary spending, a 19% increase from the […]

U.S. Senate winds up grueling Supreme Court hearings on Ketanji Brown Jackson nomination

By: - March 25, 2022

WASHINGTON – Representatives of the American Bar Association reiterated their finding that Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is well qualified to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court, and law enforcement groups rebutted GOP accusations Jackson is soft on child pornographers during the final day of Jackson’s confirmation hearings Thursday. Republicans, however, called in witnesses to continue […]

Ketanji Brown Jackson defends her record under grilling from U.S. Senate Republicans

By: - March 23, 2022

WASHINGTON – Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday sharpened their criticisms of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, probing her work as a public defender on behalf of terrorism suspects, the judicial sentences she has handed down for child pornography offenses and her views of critical race theory. Jackson defended her record […]

Here’s what senators said on the first day of the U.S. Supreme Court hearings

By: and - March 22, 2022

WASHINGTON — The 22 members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee each had 10 minutes on Monday to make opening statements about the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Joe Biden’s pick for the U.S. Supreme Court. Here’s what some had to say: Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa said that Republicans on the […]

U.S. Senate hearings for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson to start Monday

By: - March 21, 2022

After more than two weeks of private meetings with nearly half the U.S. Senate, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, President Joe Biden’s pick for the U.S. Supreme Court, will field questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee in highly anticipated public hearings that begin Monday. Members of the panel will question Jackson for two full days, following […]

U.S. House speaker hints at bigger COVID aid push after $15 billion yanked from spending bill

By: - March 18, 2022

The need for federal funding to address COVID-19 may be greater after lawmakers removed a $15 billion relief package from an omnibus spending bill last week, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday. Amid reports of rising case levels overseas, Pelosi said the United States may need more than the amount negotiated with Republicans that congressional […]

Zelenskyy reminds Congress of Pearl Harbor and 9/11 in pleading for U.S. help for Ukraine

By: and - March 17, 2022

WASHINGTON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday invoked the Pearl Harbor attacks ahead of World War II and the 9/11 terrorist attacks, while urging the United States to do more to stop the Russian war against his country. During the speech, delivered virtually to members of Congress in an auditorium on Capitol Hill, Zelenskyy drew a […]

Republicans in Congress file suit to end mask mandate for air travel

By: - March 16, 2022

Seventeen Republican members of Congress including Warren Davidson of Ohio have sued the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, seeking an end to the federal rule requiring passengers on commercial flights and in airports to wear masks. The mandate illegally restricts the lawmakers’ freedom and is not backed by legal authority, they said in the […]

Nomination of Sarah Bloom Raskin for Fed seat in doubt after Manchin opposition

By: - March 15, 2022

U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin III will not support one of President Joe Biden’s picks to sit on the Federal Reserve Board, Sarah Bloom Raskin of Maryland, Manchin said Monday. The announcement casts serious doubt on the chances of Senate confirmation for Raskin, who was a Fed governor from 2010 to 2014 and deputy Treasury secretary […]