Author

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.
Musk and Ramaswamy to confront Congress in struggle for control of the public purse
By: Jennifer Shutt - 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 […]
Congress clears bill to avert government shutdown, extend farm bill
By: Jennifer Shutt - 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 torpedoes new spending plan as government shutdown nears Friday night
By: Jennifer Shutt - 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 […]
Chances for government shutdown escalate after Trump and GOP reject stopgap spending bill
By: Jennifer Shutt - 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 […]
First severe case of bird flu in a human in the U.S. reported in Louisiana
By: Jennifer Shutt - 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 […]
Huge spending bill unveiled in Congress provides more than $100 billion in disaster aid
By: Jennifer Shutt - 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 […]
Trump backs polio vaccine but won’t commit to others
By: Jennifer Shutt - 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: Jennifer Shutt - 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: Jennifer Shutt - 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: Jennifer Shutt and Shauneen Miranda - 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: Jennifer Shutt - 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: Jennifer Shutt - 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 […]