Author

Robin Bravender
Robin Bravender was the States Newsroom Washington Bureau Chief from January 2019 until June 2020. She coordinated the network’s national coverage and reported on states’ congressional delegations, federal agencies, the White House and the federal courts. Prior to that, Robin was an editor and reporter at E&E News, a reporter at Politico, and a freelance producer for Reuters TV.
Another Walker appointee elevated to top U.S. EPA job under Trump
By: Robin Bravender - January 9, 2020
WASHINGTON — A former senior Wisconsin environmental official who served under Gov. Scott Walker has been elevated to a top job in the Trump administration. Kurt Thiede, who was deputy secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources from 2015 to 2017, has taken the reins of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Great Lakes regional […]
‘Real rush’ of Trump rules expected ahead of 2020 election
By: Robin Bravender - December 27, 2019
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is preparing to finalize a host of high-profile rules in 2020, including policies that will affect everything from auto emissions to food stamp access. With the November presidential election approaching, the administration is widely expected to make a push to wrap up pending regulations early in 2020 in an effort […]
House Dems decry Trump’s food stamp cuts: ‘Ebenezer Scrooge would be proud’
By: Robin Bravender - December 19, 2019
WASHINGTON — The morning after they voted to impeach President Donald Trump, a group of U.S. House Democrats gathered outside of the Agriculture Department’s headquarters to berate the administration for a policy that’s expected to knock about 700,000 people off food stamp benefits nationwide. As about a dozen House lawmakers huddled against the cold, Rep. […]
Trump becomes 3rd president impeached by U.S. House
By: Robin Bravender - December 18, 2019
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House voted to impeach President Donald Trump Wednesday night, making him the third president to be impeached in U.S. history. Trump was impeached largely along party lines on charges that he abused power and obstructed Congress. The charges surround allegations that Trump improperly pressured Ukraine’s president to investigate his political rival […]
Sen. Johnson: It’s ‘obvious’ Senate will acquit Trump
By: Robin Bravender - December 18, 2019
WASHINGTON — Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson doesn’t mind that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has said there’s no chance that the Senate will vote to remove President Donald Trump from office. “Isn’t that just kind of an obvious statement? I don’t mind people stating the obvious,” Johnson told the Examiner Tuesday during a […]
New report blames gerrymandering for stalled gun-safety bills
By: Robin Bravender - December 16, 2019
WASHINGTON — Most Wisconsinites favor stricter gun laws, recent polling suggests, but efforts to advance gun safety legislation have languished in the state legislature. That disconnect is likely due in part to partisan gerrymandering, according to a report released Tuesday by the Center for American Progress, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank that advocates progressive policies. […]
U.S. House Judiciary Committee votes to impeach Trump
By: Robin Bravender - December 13, 2019
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House Judiciary Committee approved two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump Friday morning, setting up a likely vote next week in the full House. The Judiciary Committee voted 23-17 to advance the two articles, which charge Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress in response to allegations that […]
DeVos under fire during testy Capitol Hill hearing
By: Robin Bravender - December 13, 2019
WASHINGTON — A Florida Democratic congresswoman on Thursday told Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, “You are the most unpopular person in our government.” Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) was among the many Democrats who berated DeVos at a U.S. House Education and Labor Committee hearing on the Trump administration’s controversial rewrite of a student loan forgiveness policy. […]
House moves to impeach; Sensenbrenner calls it ‘weakest case in history’
By: Robin Bravender - December 12, 2019
WASHINGTON — The chairman of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee kicked off a vote on impeachment articles Wednesday night with a plea to his Republican colleagues. “I know you,” said Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.). “I have worked with many of you for years. I consider you to be good and decent public servants.” He spoke […]
Democrats’ impeachment articles: abuse of power, obstruction of Congress
By: Robin Bravender - December 10, 2019
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Democrats on Tuesday announced two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump. Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) joined House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other Democratic leaders to formally lay out their charges against the president: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. A vote on the articles is expected […]
Baldwin to Trump: Fire Stephen Miller
By: Robin Bravender - December 10, 2019
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) joined 26 other senators on Monday demanding that President Donald Trump fire White House immigration adviser Stephen Miller. “Recent reports confirm that he advanced white nationalist, anti-immigrant ideologies,” the senators said of Miller. “Continuing to employ him as the senior architect of your immigration policies ensures that those policies discriminate […]
Dems cite ‘overwhelming’ evidence for impeachment
By: Robin Bravender - December 9, 2019
WASHINGTON — Lawyers for U.S. House Democrats laid out their best case for impeaching President Donald Trump on Monday, warning that his behavior continues to pose an “imminent threat” to national security. Democrats are pushing ahead with impeachment proceedings against Trump after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) directed committee leaders to draft formal impeachment articles. […]