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.

Attorneys general from Democratic-led states urge judge to keep abortion pill legal

By: - February 14, 2023

WASHINGTON — Attorneys general from 21 Democratic-leaning states are calling on a Texas judge to keep the abortion pill on the market, rejecting claims anti-abortion medical groups made in a lawsuit that’s centered on the medication’s approval more than two decades ago. The latest brief in the case, Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. U.S. Food […]

Attorneys general from 23 GOP-led states back suit seeking to block abortion pill

By: - February 10, 2023

WASHINGTON — Attorneys general representing nearly two dozen Republican states are backing a lawsuit that would remove the abortion pill from throughout the United States after more than two decades, eliminating the option even in states where abortion access remains legal. The state of Missouri filed its own brief in the case Friday while Mississippi […]

Biden meets with governors, urges them to implement laws allocating billions to states

By: - February 10, 2023

WASHINGTON — Governors from throughout the country met with President Joe Biden at the White House on Friday to hash out the best way to implement the billions of federal dollars flowing to their states from both bipartisan and Democratic legislation. Biden typically meets with the governors when they’re in Washington, D.C., for their annual […]

New U.S. House weaponization panel to probe FBI, IRS, ATF

By: - February 9, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Democrats on Thursday urged the GOP lawmakers running the new Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government to work with them on genuine oversight investigations that weren’t political or focused on leveling grievances. Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin said during the panel’s first hearing that the subcommittee “could conceivably […]

Who’s on the guest list for the State of the Union speech?

By: and - February 7, 2023

WASHINGTON — While members of Congress may not be able to speak during the State of the Union address, they often get their message across through the guests they bring. This year is no exception. Lawmakers, through their invitees, attempted to signal their approval or disapproval of President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party, or […]

U.S. House speaker calls for ‘responsible’ debt limit legislation, shares few details

By: - February 6, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Monday said the greatest threat to the nation’s future is the rising national debt, though he gave few specifics for how he planned to lower deficit spending or avoid a first-ever default on the debt this year. The California Republican, in a 10-minute address from the U.S. […]

U.S. House agrees on something: Lawmakers condemn ‘the horrors of socialism’

By: - February 2, 2023

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House held a strongly bipartisan vote Thursday, condemning socialism and former socialist leaders, though Democrats rebuked majority Republicans for spending time on a “political stunt” and refusing to allow debate on an amendment that would have clarified Social Security and Medicare are not socialist programs. Maryland Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer said he lamented […]

U.S. House GOP votes to oust Rep. Omar from foreign affairs panel for past antisemitic remarks

By: - February 2, 2023

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House voted along party lines Thursday to remove Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee for past antisemitic statements. The removal, the first for a Democrat during this session of Congress, followed Democrats’ vote to strip two Republicans of all their committee assignments last Congress for making threats against fellow […]

Biden, McCarthy hold ‘productive’ and ‘frank’ debt limit talks as fiscal cliffs loom

By: - February 1, 2023

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy huddled behind closed doors at the White House on Wednesday in the first of what will likely be several conversations as the country approaches two fiscal cliffs this year amid divided government. The top issue at the moment is when and how to address […]

Of more than 7,500 threats against members of Congress in 2022, just 22 prosecuted

By: - January 31, 2023

WASHINGTON —  Members of Congress receive thousands of threats a year, though just a fraction of the people who call, mail or email will ever be prosecuted — a situation that’s of great concern to the police who guard members. Just 22 of the 7,501 threats lobbed at members during 2022 led to prosecution, the […]

National Dems ready to OK new 2024 primary voting calendar, despite uncertainty in two states

By: - January 27, 2023

WASHINGTON — The full Democratic National Committee is set to vote in just days about a decision to ratify a new lineup of five states that would lead the nation in primary voting for Democratic presidential candidates in 2024. But approval of the new calendar at a meeting scheduled for Feb. 4 in Philadelphia won’t […]

National Dems give New Hampshire, Georgia more time to change 2024 primary dates

By: - January 25, 2023

WASHINGTON — New Hampshire and Georgia will have a bit longer to implement key changes to when and how they hold Democratic presidential primaries, under an extension a Democratic National Committee panel approved Wednesday. Election officials will have until June 3 to move New Hampshire’s 2024 Democratic presidential primary to Feb. 13 and Georgia’s to […]