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.

A child waves an American flag during a Fourth of July celebration with frontline workers and military families, Sunday, July 4, 2021, on the South Lawn of the White House. (Official White House Photo by Chandler West)

White House keys in on mayors and mayors-elect for D.C. forum on federal funding

By: - December 16, 2022

WASHINGTON — Mayors from throughout the United States will sit down with senior Biden administration officials Friday for a half-day forum on how their cities can access resources within the COVID-19 aid bill, bipartisan infrastructure law and Democrats’ signature health care and climate change package known as the Inflation Reduction Act.  The meetings, which will […]

U.S. House and Senate GOP at odds over massive government spending deal

By: - December 15, 2022

WASHINGTON — Congress is trying to wrap up its remaining must-pass bills before leaving for the holidays — but a split between Senate Republican and House GOP leaders could hamstring the all-important task of funding government operations and averting a partial shutdown. Senate Republicans are working with Democrats in both chambers to negotiate a major […]

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 08: Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) attends a bill enrollment ceremony for the Respect For Marriage Act at the U.S. Capitol Building on December 08, 2022 in Washington, DC. In a 258-169 vote, the House of Representatives passed the Respect For Marriage Act which ensures marriage equality for same-sex and interracial couples. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Biden signs law extending marriage protections to same-sex and interracial couples

By: - December 13, 2022

WASHINGTON — Same-sex and interracial couples had many of their marriage rights codified Tuesday when President Joe Biden signed the bipartisan marriage equality bill during a ceremony attended by thousands outside the White House.  In a brief speech, Biden told supporters on the South Lawn that “marriage is a simple proposition — who do you […]

U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), speaks during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee confirmation hearing on Feb. 1, 2022. Photo by Al Drago | Pool/Getty Images

U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona leaves Democratic Party, registers as independent

By: and - December 9, 2022

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona announced Friday she is leaving the Democratic Party and has registered as an independent. The first-term senator wrote in an opinion piece for the Arizona Republic that she does not intend to change the way she legislates or casts votes, but plans to be “an independent voice […]

New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, front right, gets Senate Democratic leaders for the 118th Congress to gather for a selfie following elections on Dec. 8, 2022. Back row, from left, West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and Virginia Sen. Mark Warner. Front row, from left, Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow, New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom.

Michigan’s Stabenow, Minnesota’s Klobuchar rise in U.S. Senate Democratic leadership

By: - December 9, 2022

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats on Thursday elected their leadership for their new 51-seat majority in the upcoming 118th Congress, elevating two Midwesterners — Michigan’s Debbie Stabenow to the No. 3 slot and Minnesota’s Amy Klobuchar to the No. 4 role.  Stabenow, chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, and Klobuchar, chair of the […]

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - JUNE 26: Robert Oliver and Mark Heller (R) hold hands, draped in flags, as they celebrate the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage on June 26, 2015 in West Hollywood, California. The Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry nationwide without regard to their state's laws. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

Marriage equality bill heads to Biden’s desk following bipartisan U.S. House vote

By: - December 8, 2022

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House overwhelmingly approved a marriage equality bill Thursday that would ensure same-sex and interracial couples continue holding many of the rights they have now, should the U.S. Supreme Court overturn the cases that established those constitutional protections.   The measure now heads to the desk of President Joe Biden, who plans to […]

A United States Marine prepares to receive the Moderna coronavirus vaccine

Congress on track to scrap Pentagon’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate in defense bill

By: - December 8, 2022

WASHINGTON — Members of the U.S. military would no longer be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine under a proposal Congress could pass as soon as this week.  The provision eliminating the vaccine mandate is tucked into the massive National Defense Authorization Act, the annual defense policy bill that Congress has passed each year for […]

Looking up at the Capitol dome from far below right before the entrance door

A record-setting number of women will serve in state legislatures in 2023

By: - December 5, 2022

WASHINGTON — A record number of women will soon serve in state legislatures, breaking the previous cap of female lawmakers by at least 69 seats and bringing total representation to more than 32%, according to the Center for American Women and Politics.  States will have at least 2,376 female lawmakers in 2023, including both women […]

The new U.S. House Democratic leadership team in the next Congress takes questions from reporters at a press conference at the Capitol. L-R: Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, elected as whip; Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, elected as Democratic leader; and Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, elected as conference chair. Nov. 30, 2022. Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom.

U.S. House Democrats make history electing first Black party leader in Congress

By: - November 30, 2022

WASHINGTON — The three U.S. House Democrats who have led their party through four presidencies and thousands of floor votes formally passed the torch to the next generation Wednesday, when the party gathered behind closed doors to elect its top leaders for the 118th Congress.  House Democrats named Hakeem Jeffries, of New York, as their […]

More than $37 billion in disaster aid under scrutiny in congressional lame duck

By: - November 30, 2022

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration wants Congress to approve more than $37 billion to help communities throughout the country recover from various natural disasters, including Hurricanes Ian, which battered Florida and the Southeast U.S. in late September, and Fiona, which hit Puerto Rico.  The supplemental funding request comes on top of a $9 billion COVID-19 […]

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) gives a floor speech on the Respect for Marriage Act | Screenshot via C-SPAN

Same-sex marriage protected under bill passed by U.S. Senate with GOP support

By: - November 29, 2022

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate approved legislation Tuesday that would enshrine protections for same-sex and interracial marriages, codifying many of the rights that would disappear if the U.S. Supreme Court were to overturn those landmark decisions the way it overturned the nationwide right to an abortion this summer.  The 61-36 bipartisan vote sends the bill […]

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) | Getty Images

Thousands of veterans deluge VA with claims for toxic exposure benefits, health care

By: - November 29, 2022

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is processing claims at the fastest rate in its history, hoping to avoid a significant backlog as hundreds of thousands of veterans apply for health care and benefits under the landmark toxic exposure law Congress passed earlier this year.  The day after President Joe Biden signed the […]