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.

U.S. Senate control too close to call as multiple states grapple with tight vote counts

By: , and - November 9, 2022

WASHINGTON —  Control of the U.S. Senate remained unclear early Wednesday as races in a handful of swing states in the midterm elections were still too close to call, and it appeared it might be days — or even weeks — before a final result was known. But Democrats flipped the open Pennsylvania Senate seat, which Republicans […]

President Biden Speaks On Preserving And Protecting Our Democracy At D.C.'s Union Station

With ‘democracy itself’ on the ballot, Biden warns of ‘path to chaos’ by election deniers

By: - November 3, 2022

President Joe Biden asked voters Wednesday night to focus on the threats candidates aligned with his predecessor pose to the foundation of U.S. democracy in the midterm elections. In a 20-minute speech at Washington, D.C.’s  Union Station, before a Democratic audience, Biden decried a rise in political violence, and blamed former President Donald Trump for […]

WAUKESHA, WISCONSIN - AUGUST 05: Former President Donald Trump greets supporters during a rally on August 05, 2022 in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Former President Trump endorsed Republican candidate Tim Michels in the governor's race against candidate Rebecca Kleefisch, who is supported by former Vice President Mike Pence. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Jan. 6 panel issues subpoena to Trump demanding his testimony

By: - October 21, 2022

The U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol sent a subpoena Friday to former President Donald Trump, demanding documents and testimony from the person the panel has said was central in orchestrating a plan to overturn the 2020 election that culminated in the insurrection.  The panel set a deadline […]

Gas tank filling up

In attempt to curb gas prices, Biden will release oil from emergency reserve

By: - October 18, 2022

President Joe Biden will authorize the release of 15 million barrels of oil from the nation’s reserves on Wednesday, part of an effort to lower gas prices as polling shows concerns over inflation are likely to hurt Democrats in congressional elections next month. The release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a four-site complex of deep […]

President Joe Biden speaks on Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022, at the East Portland Community Center in Portland, Oregon. Photo by Jacob Fischler.

Biden pitches to the middle class as Democrats fight for support in advance of midterms

By: - October 17, 2022

PORTLAND, Ore. — President Joe Biden at a community center here Saturday promoted Democrats’ efforts to bring down health care costs, in a visit to a normally Democratic state three weeks before midterm elections that will determine control of Congress for the next two years. Speaking on the first day of Medicare open enrollment, Biden […]

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 13: A video of former President Donald Trump is played during a hearing by the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol in the Cannon House Office Building on October 13, 2022 in Washington, DC. The bipartisan committee, in possibly its final hearing, has been gathering evidence for almost a year related to the January 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol. On January 6, 2021, supporters of former President Donald Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol Building during an attempt to disrupt a congressional vote to confirm the electoral college win for President Joe Biden. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Trump to be subpoenaed by Jan. 6 panel as the ‘central cause’ of Capitol insurrection

By: - October 14, 2022

The U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol voted unanimously Thursday to subpoena Donald Trump, saying the former president must be held accountable as the “central cause” of a violent attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The panel’s seven Democrats and two Republicans voted  to authorize a subpoena […]

A member of the Capitol Hill Police shoots mace into the crowd of rioters. Washington D.C. Capitol riot 1/6/21 (Photo: Alex Kent via Tennessee Lookout)

Four things to watch for at the upcoming Jan. 6 hearing

By: - October 13, 2022

 The U.S. House committee investigating a pro-Trump mob’s attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, is back. It will hold its first hearing in nearly three months Thursday — and potentially its last. In a break from most of the panel’s previous eight hearings in June and July, Thursday’s meeting will not drill down […]

Capitol view from the House to the Senate

The battle for control of Congress: Abortion, inflation, crime and Biden

By: , and - October 11, 2022

WASHINGTON — Members of Congress are fanning out to every district in the country, leaving the wonky floor debates on Capitol Hill behind for the campaign trail in advance of the crucial Nov. 8 midterm elections.  Democrats are fighting to hold their razor-thin majorities in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate, citing two years of […]

marijuana plants

Biden to pardon all federal offenses for simple marijuana possession, review criminalization

By: , and - October 6, 2022

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday announced executive actions that would pardon thousands of people with prior federal offenses of simple marijuana possession. He will also direct U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra and Attorney General Merrick Garland to review how marijuana is classified under federal law as a Schedule I […]

Tribal law enforcement boosted under bill proposed by members of Congress from the West

By: - September 26, 2022

A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers re-introduced legislation last week to provide more resources for tribal law enforcement, an issue they say has become more urgent as Congress begins to consider how to respond to a July Supreme Court case that complicated state-tribal criminal jurisdiction. The bill, introduced Thursday in the House by U.S. Rep. […]

Drawing of female reproductive system with judge's gavel and stethoscope

‘Crisis pregnancy centers’ that oppose abortion questioned by U.S. Senate Democrats

By: - September 21, 2022

Seven U.S. Senate Democrats questioned a leading Ohio-based antiabortion group Tuesday about its practice of collecting personal information from patients seeking abortions. So-called crisis pregnancy centers—facilities that often mirror abortion provider aesthetics but actually provide services to discourage abortion—collect sensitive data from patients. That presents troubling new complications as states move to increase penalties for […]

Digital generated image of oil pump clones making pattern on purple background.

PR work for ‘Big Oil’ helped stymie climate action, U.S. House Democrats say

By: - September 19, 2022

WASHINGTON – Public relations firms aligned with oil and gas companies have tested the limits of their industry ethics and caused major slowdowns to federal climate change policy, Democrats on a U.S. House panel said at a hearing last week. The firms’ conduct went beyond the bounds of ethical public relations work, Democrats on the […]