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.

³Ô¹Ïtv is part of , the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk , right, co-chair of the newly announced Department of Government Efficiency, carries his son on his shoulders at the U.S. Capitol following a meeting with businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, left, the other co-chair of the Department of Government Efficiency, Rep. Kat Cammack, center, and other members of Congress on Dec. 5, 2024 in ³Ô¹Ïtv, D.C. Musk and Ramaswamy met with lawmakers about DOGE, a planned presidential advisory commission with the goal of cutting government spending and increasing efficiency in the federal workforce. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Musk and Ramaswamy to confront Congress in struggle for control of the public purse

By: - December 20, 2024

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump enlisted ³Ô¹Ïtv outsiders Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to tell members of Congress how they should run things. But Musk and Ramaswamy as they build their Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, don’t actually hold any elected or bureaucratic positions in the federal government — giving two hard-driving businessmen far […]

U.S. Speaker of the House Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks to members of the press at the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 20, 2024 in ³Ô¹Ïtv, D.C.  (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Congress clears bill to avert government shutdown, extend farm bill

By: - December 20, 2024

WASHINGTON — Congress finally approved a stopgap spending bill early Saturday that will keep the government open for a few more months, after a raucous 48 hours that served as a preview of what President-elect Donald Trump’s second term in office might look like. The short-term spending package, the third version of a bill to be […]

U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., left, and U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La.,  look on during a menorah lighting ceremony during a Hanukkah reception at the U.S. Capitol Building on Dec. 17, 2024, in ³Ô¹Ïtv, D.C. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

U.S. House torpedoes new spending plan as government shutdown nears Friday night

By: - December 19, 2024

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House failed to pass a Republican stopgap spending package Thursday, sharply increasing the odds a partial government shutdown will begin after the current funding bill expires Friday at midnight.  The 174-235 House vote came less than three hours after GOP leaders released a second stopgap spending bill this week. The first […]

U.S. House Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., left, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., center, and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., take part in a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 17, 2024 in ³Ô¹Ïtv, D.C. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Chances for government shutdown escalate after Trump and GOP reject stopgap spending bill

By: - December 19, 2024

WASHINGTON — Efforts to prevent a partial government shutdown from starting this weekend fell apart Wednesday when numerous Republicans, on and off Capitol Hill, expressed their frustration with the many extraneous provisions added to a short-term funding package. Complicating the situation, Vice President-elect J.D. Vance posted on social media that he and President-elect Donald Trump believe Republicans […]

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday a Louisiana resident is believed to have been infected with a severe case of bird flu through sick or dead birds on their property that were not part of a commercial poultry flock. In this photo, a seagull flies against a coastal backdrop. (Photo by Adrijan Mosesku/Getty Images)

First severe case of bird flu in a human in the U.S. reported in Louisiana

By: - December 18, 2024

WASHINGTON — A Louisiana resident has contracted the country’s first severe case of highly pathogenic avian influenza in a human, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Wednesday. The unidentified person is believed to have been infected with the virus through sick or dead birds on their property that were not part of a […]

 Congressional leaders unveiled a catch-all, year-end package Tuesday night that would provide disaster aid along with stopgap funding to keep the government running through mid-March. Heavy rains from Hurricane Helene caused record flooding and damage on Sept. 28 in Asheville, North Carolina. (Photo by Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)

Huge spending bill unveiled in Congress provides more than $100 billion in disaster aid

By: - December 17, 2024

WASHINGTON — Congressional leaders unveiled a catch-all, year-end package Tuesday that would provide more than $100 billion in disaster aid and give lawmakers more time to wrap up overdue work on government funding, the farm bill and a handful of other issues they decided not to finish. The disaster aid section of the package will […]

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks at a news conference at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort on Dec. 16, 2024 in Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Trump backs polio vaccine but won’t commit to others

By: - December 17, 2024

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump pledged Monday to keep the polio vaccine available throughout his presidency, but didn’t extend that protection to other vaccines, saying he expects his administration will look closely at safety — something the U.S. Food and Drug Administration already does before granting approval. Trump’s comments came during an hour-long press conference […]

No expansion of military IVF coverage included in final defense policy bill

By: - December 9, 2024

WASHINGTON — Congress will not expand access to in vitro fertilization for active duty military members and their families in this year’s National Defense Authorization Act, the annual bill that sets policy for the Pentagon. The House-Senate compromise released this weekend follows months of debate between the two chambers over whether to broaden TRICARE’s coverage […]

USDA launches national testing of milk from dairy farms to track bird flu outbreak

By: - December 6, 2024

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Friday it will require dairy farms to share samples of unpasteurized milk when requested, in an effort to gather more information about the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza. Public health officials have tracked the spread of bird flu or H5N1 in domestic poultry flocks for years […]

Republicans will control Congress. But a slim House majority may trim their ambitions.

By: and - December 3, 2024

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans huddled behind closed doors Tuesday to plot the path forward for the unified control of government they won in the November elections, though GOP senators said afterward a very narrow House majority will likely determine how sweeping their policy proposals will be. Republicans are planning to use the complicated budget reconciliation […]

New Trump budget chief wrote Project 2025’s agenda for empowering the presidency

By: - December 1, 2024

WASHINGTON — Incoming White House budget director Russ Vought has spent much of his career learning the detailed, often convoluted mechanisms that make up the Office of Management and Budget. The agency, little known outside ³Ô¹Ïtv, D.C., is relatively small compared to the rest of the federal government, but it acts like a nucleus for […]

Biden administration unveils plan to cover weight loss meds under Medicare, Medicaid

By: - November 26, 2024

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration announced Tuesday it’s reinterpreting federal law to allow Medicare and Medicaid patients access to anti-obesity medications to reduce their weight over the long term. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid’s proposed rule, which the Trump administration would need to finalize before it would take effect, is expected to cost $25 […]