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.

Biden OKs release of 30 million barrels of oil from Strategic Petroleum Reserve

By: - March 1, 2022

President Joe Biden authorized on Tuesday the release of 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, part of an international boost to the global oil supply that has been disrupted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The reserve is a complex of four sites with deep underground storage caverns in salt domes along the […]

White House builds on Russia sanctions, OKs more military aid for Ukraine

By: - February 28, 2022

Tensions between the Biden administration and Russian leaders ratcheted up yet again Monday as Russia continued its unrelenting assault on Ukraine. President Joe Biden authorized an additional $350 million of security assistance to Ukraine during the weekend, bringing the total aid over the past year to $1 billion, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in […]

U.S. sanctions Putin’s personal assets, readies forces for NATO deployment

By: - February 25, 2022

President Joe Biden will sanction Russian President Vladimir Putin and his top diplomat personally, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday, escalating penalties on the Russian government for its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The United States is also readying 10,000 to 12,000 U.S. troops to deploy to Europe as part of a NATO effort […]

New U.S. sanctions on Russia target banks, high-tech imports

By: and - February 24, 2022

WASHINGTON — The United States and Western allies stepped up economic sanctions on Russia following its escalated attack on Ukraine, President Joe Biden said at the White House on Thursday. Biden had for weeks pledged to impose significant sanctions on Russia if President Vladimir Putin followed through on plans to invade Ukraine. As the invasion ramped […]

Members of Congress from both parties urge tough sanctions on Russia

By: , and - February 22, 2022

WASHINGTON — Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress on Tuesday called on President Joe Biden to impose severe sanctions on Russia after the country declared a broad section of eastern Ukraine independent before sending troops into the region. Members of Congress appear unified, for the moment, that the most the United States should do is […]

Biden warns of U.S. energy price spikes if Russia invades Ukraine

By: and - February 15, 2022

WASHINGTON — American service members will not deploy to Ukraine in the event of a “distinctly possible” Russian invasion, but strong economic sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies could reverberate and prompt energy price spikes, President Joe Biden said in a live address from the White House Tuesday. Biden urged Russian President […]

Electricity CEOs tout Biden clean energy tax credits, despite stalled plan

By: - February 10, 2022

Clean energy tax credits President Joe Biden proposed in his massive domestic spending and climate measure last year would help electric utilities build resilience and transmission lines, utility CEOs told Biden at a White House event Wednesday. But the $1.9 trillion budget measure, which Biden and allies call “Build Back Better,” is in limbo because […]

Judge restores federal protections for gray wolves, except in Northern Rockies

By: - February 10, 2022

A federal judge on Thursday struck down a Trump administration move to take gray wolves in most states off the Endangered Species Act list — a presidential action that led to a controversial wolf hunting season in Wisconsin last year. U.S. District Judge Jeffery White, of California, reversed a 2020 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service […]

Arizona GOP chair sues to block Jan. 6 panel’s records subpoena

By: - February 2, 2022

Kelli Ward, the chairwoman of the Arizona Republican Party, and her husband, Michael Ward, filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday challenging a subpoena from the U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. The subpoena sought phone records from Nov. 1, 2020, through Jan. 31, 2021, for four phone numbers associated with the […]

Biden cites 40-day timeline for Supreme Court confirmation

By: and - February 1, 2022

WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Dick Durbin, and the panel’s top Republican, Chuck Grassley, met with the president Tuesday afternoon to discuss a 40-day confirmation timeline for a new Supreme Court pick. “The Constitution says, ‘advise and consent, advice and consent,’ and I’m serious when I say that I want the […]

White House methane plan funds orphan well cleanup, rewards reduced farm emissions

By: - January 31, 2022

The federal government will provide $1.15 billion this year to help states cap defunct oil and gas wells, the White House said Monday, as part of a broad plan to reduce methane emissions. The government-wide methane reduction plan comes about two months after President Joe Biden joined a pledge at the United Nations Climate Conference in Scotland […]

Governors attempt to bridge deep political divides in big D.C. meeting

By: , and - January 31, 2022

WASHINGTON — Governors of both parties from throughout the United States met in the nation’s capitol during  the weekend to try to speak on a unified front about what their states need from the federal government. But the waters were muddied by governors’ clearly divided political views about two major issues of the moment — […]