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 to nominate former FAA deputy to lead aviation agency

By: - September 7, 2023

President Joe Biden chose a new nominee to lead the Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday, months after the U.S. Senate blocked his first choice. Biden intends to nominate Michael G. Whitaker, an executive at Supernal, a company working on an electric air vehicle, and a former deputy FAA administrator during President Barack Obama’s administration, according […]

Labor leader Shuler touts union support as possible auto strikes loom

By: - September 4, 2023

Support for unions is growing amid shifting working conditions and labor disputes around the country, according to Liz Shuler, the president of the largest labor group in the country. In Shuler’s comments Tuesday at the AFL-CIO’s first State of the Unions event in Washington, she cited polling that showed support for unions cut across party […]

Three years after landmark ruling, Congress silent on tribal jurisdiction in Oklahoma 

By: - September 1, 2023

After a 2020 U.S. Supreme Court ruling defined much of Eastern Oklahoma as a Native American reservation, limiting state jurisdiction over tribal citizens, Congress has taken little interest in addressing the issues the tribes and state officials say the court decision has raised. The 5-4 decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma held that lands the federal government granted […]

‘Hate will not prevail in America’: Biden marks 60 years since March on Washington

By: - August 28, 2023

The U.S. still hasn’t met the goals of the Civil Rights Movement, President Joe Biden said Monday, the 60th anniversary of one of the movement’s most iconic events. Six decades to the day after the 1963 March on Washington, where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech, Biden urged Americans not […]

Trump absent but still dominates as GOP presidential rivals clash at first debate

By: , and - August 24, 2023

Eight Republican presidential candidates gathered onstage Wednesday night in Milwaukee for a heated first primary debate heavily influenced by former President Donald Trump, though the party’s front runner refused to attend the two-hour event. Trump instead recorded a competing 46-minute interview with former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson that aired on X, formerly known as […]

Biden administration proposes $106 million for Western salmon and steelhead recovery

By: - August 17, 2023

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is recommending sending $106 million to 16 salmon and steelhead recovery efforts in five Western states, the federal agency said Thursday. NOAA and the Department of Commerce recommended grants to state agencies with salmon protection missions, tribes and tribal partnerships in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and California. The funding […]

UPDATED: Trump calls court proceeding ‘a very sad day for America’

By: and - August 3, 2023

WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Thursday to four felony charges in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., after a federal grand jury handed up an indictment against the former chief executive related to the 2020 election. Trump, the front-runner in the 2024 GOP presidential primary, was released under the conditions that […]

How the fake electors in seven states are central to the Trump Jan. 6 indictment

By: and - August 3, 2023

WASHINGTON — The federal indictment accusing Donald Trump of trying to stay in power after losing the 2020 presidential election includes detailed accusations of Trump and his alleged co-conspirators’ pressure on individual state officials. The central plot to overturn the election, as described in the indictment a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., handed up Tuesday, involved switching […]

‘Fueled by lies,’ Trump charged with seeking to overturn 2020 election

By: , and - August 1, 2023

WASHINGTON — A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., indicted Donald Trump on Tuesday, alleging that Trump and co-conspirators attempted to subvert the 2020 election to keep the former president in power through a series of illegal actions that culminated in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The former president faces four charges in […]

U.S. ag secretary touts Biden climate agenda as boost for rural America in Oregon visit

By: - July 31, 2023

PORTLAND, Ore. — U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack sees the Biden administration’s climate agenda as a boon for rural economies, he said Monday during a visit to Portland’s World Forestry Center. The U.S. Forest Service, which is part of the Agriculture Department, will begin accepting applications for a second round of grants from its Community […]

As extreme heat sweeps the U.S., Biden warns that states must act to protect workers

By: - July 28, 2023

With many parts of the country gripped by extreme heat, President Joe Biden said Thursday his administration would target states that don’t offer workers heat protections and would direct millions of dollars to water projects and improved weather forecasting. In a live address, with the mayors of Phoenix and San Antonio joining by video, Biden […]

New charges for Trump in classified documents case involve video evidence

By: - July 28, 2023

A federal grand jury added three felony charges against Donald Trump on Thursday in the case alleging the former president took classified materials from the White House after his term ended. Trump directed employees to destroy video evidence that could aid the prosecution in the criminal case, according to a 60-page superseding indictment filed Thursday afternoon full […]