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.

Pentagon aerial view

U.S. House approves $1.7 trillion funding package and sends it to Biden

By: - December 23, 2022

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House voted Friday to approve a sweeping $1.7 trillion government spending package that carries along with it dozens of new initiatives, including an update to how Congress certifies electoral votes for president and new protections for pregnant workers.  The 225-201 bipartisan vote, with one member voting present, sends the 4,126-page measure […]

Congress rolls out $1.7 trillion spending deal in race to Friday deadline

By: - December 20, 2022

WASHINGTON — Congress unveiled a $1.7 trillion spending package early Tuesday that would fund the federal government for the rest of the fiscal year, completing the annual process that began this spring when President Joe Biden sent lawmakers his budget request.  Biden’s chief budget official in a statement urged Congress to speedily pass the massive […]

Immigrant mother from Cuba and her two young sons sit at a border crossing

U.S. Supreme Court temporarily keeps Title 42 immigration program in effect

By: - December 19, 2022

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court is keeping Title 42 in place until the justices can review whether the pandemic-era program should be lifted or continue. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts in an order on Monday stayed a lower court’s ruling that would have allowed the program, which was put in place by the […]

The U.S. Capitol

Congress clears one-week bill to fund the government, but many hurdles remain

By: - December 16, 2022

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate sent President Joe Biden a one-week government funding bill late Thursday, giving negotiators a few more days to wrap up talks on what is expected to be a $1.7 trillion package to keep the federal government up and running through September.  The short-term bill is the second time Congress has […]

White House resumes handing out free COVID-19 rapid test kits

By: - December 15, 2022

WASHINGTON – The Biden administration is once again offering Americans the opportunity to order free at-home COVID-19 rapid tests from the federal government, a program that it had shuttered amid an ongoing stalemate with Congress over additional funding to address the virus.  The program will allow each household to order four free COVID-19 tests as […]

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

By: - December 14, 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 […]

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

By: - December 14, 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 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 […]

Exterior detail shot of the U.S. Supreme Court building

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 person receives the COVID vaccine

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

By: - December 7, 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 […]

Democrats move to strip New Hampshire of first in the nation primary after day-long discussion

By: - December 2, 2022

WASHINGTON — Voters in South Carolina would go first in picking Democratic presidential nominees, followed by Nevada, New Hampshire, Georgia and Michigan if their states go along with a proposal a key Democratic National Committee panel approved Friday. The Rules and Bylaws Committee’s nearly unanimous voice vote proposes moving the Democratic primary’s earliest election date […]

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

By: - December 2, 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. New Hampshire is contributing to those numbers, with half of the state’s 24 […]