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.

Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

U.S. Capitol Police chief describes preparations for possible post-election turmoil

By: - April 10, 2024

WASHINGTON — U.S. Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger sought to ease concerns from the lawmakers in charge of his agency’s budget on Wednesday, saying the department is preparing for major upcoming events — including another potential Jan. 6 — by trying to grow the size of its force and overhauling its intelligence gathering activities. […]

Maryland congressional delegation to launch bipartisan push for funds to rebuild bridge

By: - April 9, 2024

WASHINGTON — Maryland’s congressional delegation plans to introduce legislation in the coming days that would require the federal government to cover the costs of rebuilding Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, though lawmakers didn’t have a price tag to cite during a Tuesday press conference — or a firm commitment from GOP leaders in the U.S. […]

Trump says abortion policy should be left to the states, backing away from national ban

By: - April 8, 2024

WASHINGTON — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump announced a shift in his views on abortion laws Monday, releasing a video advocating for state legislatures to make those decisions, not Congress — and was immediately met with strong criticism from an influential anti-abortion group that said it should remain a national debate. “My view is now […]

Democrats’ quest to hang on to U.S. Senate majority centers on Arizona, Montana and Ohio

By: - April 5, 2024

WASHINGTON — Political consultants and Beltway pollsters are setting up camp in purple states to join a towering battle for control of a narrowly split U.S. Senate, but come November, only the voters will make that choice. The road to the majority in the upper chamber of Congress mostly runs through Arizona, Montana and Ohio, […]

Biden campaign, Jan. 6 officers decry Trump use of ‘political violence’ in post of video

By: - April 1, 2024

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign on Monday called on voters to disavow violence as a viable part of this year’s campaign cycle, including comments made by his Republican opponent and former President Donald Trump. Former U.S. Capitol Police Sergeant Aquilino Gonell, District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Officer Daniel Hodges and Biden-Harris Communications Director […]

U.S. Supreme Court justices seem skeptical of limits on access to abortion medication

By: - March 26, 2024

WASHINGTON — The future of medication abortion access in the United States went in front of the U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday, where several justices appeared somewhat skeptical as anti-abortion organizations argued use of the pharmaceutical should be moved back to what was in place before 2016. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, speaking on behalf […]

The U.S. Senate repealed Iraq war authorizations a year ago. In the House, they’re frozen.

By: - March 25, 2024

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republican leaders have spent the last year holding up a broadly bipartisan, Senate-approved bill that would repeal the authorizations for use of military force from the 1990s and early 2000s that were intended for the wars in Iraq. The Senate approved the legislation following a 66-30 vote last March, but it […]

U.S. Senate in overnight vote sends $1.2 trillion government spending package to Biden

By: - March 24, 2024

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate took a broadly bipartisan vote early Saturday to approve a $1.2 trillion spending package, sending the measure to President Joe Biden for his signature with no time to spare after missing a midnight deadline. The 74-24 vote wraps up the government funding process for fiscal year 2024, which began back […]

U.S. Supreme Court to hear oral arguments Tuesday on abortion pill limits

By: - March 22, 2024

WASHINGTON — The same U.S. Supreme Court that overturned the constitutional right to an abortion will hear oral arguments Tuesday over access to mifepristone, a pharmaceutical used in both medication abortion and miscarriage care. The nine justices will then decide whether to leave access to the drug intact or require the U.S. Food and Drug […]

Congress rushes to approve $1.2 trillion spending package ahead of midnight deadline

By: - March 22, 2024

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House approved a broadly bipartisan $1.2 trillion spending package Friday, sending the legislation to the Senate ahead of a midnight deadline. Senators have just hours to clear the measure for President Joe Biden’s signature, otherwise parts of the federal government will begin a funding lapse early Saturday. Meeting that benchmark will […]

Massive $1.2 trillion spending package that would avert a shutdown released by Congress

By: , , and - March 21, 2024

  WASHINGTON — Congress released the final six government funding bills early Thursday, starting off a sprint toward the Friday midnight deadline to wrap up work that was supposed to be finished nearly six months ago. The bipartisan agreement on the $1.2 trillion spending package, which emerged just before 3 a.m., came less than two […]

Congress struggles to finish work on spending bills as another Friday deadline nears

By: - March 20, 2024

WASHINGTON — Congressional staff were scrambling Wednesday to finalize sweeping legislation that would fund much of the federal government, but time was running short ahead of a Friday midnight deadline. Leaders of the House and Senate and the Biden administration announced Tuesday they’d reached consensus on the final six government funding bills for the fiscal […]