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.

Nancy Pelosi, first woman to serve as speaker of the U.S. House, steps down from leadership

By: - November 17, 2022

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who became the first woman in history to hold the gavel, shepherding landmark bills across four presidencies, announced Thursday she’ll step aside from leadership though she’ll remain in Congress. “With great confidence in our caucus, I will not seek reelection to Democratic leadership in the next Congress,” she […]

Bill protecting same-sex marriage gains bipartisan support in U.S. Senate

By: - November 16, 2022

WASHINGTON —  The U.S. Senate cleared a key hurdle to passing a marriage equality bill Wednesday, garnering even more than the 60 senators from both political parties needed to move past a legislative filibuster.  The bill, which could win final passage in the Senate as soon as this week, would ensure same-sex and interracial couples […]

Record-setting number of women elected as governors in midterms

By: - November 10, 2022

WASHINGTON —  The United States’ ceiling for female governors was shattered this week, with voters in 12 states electing women to the role, breaking the prior record of nine set for the first time back in 2004.  While not all of the gubernatorial campaigns have been called as of Thursday afternoon, Arizona and Oregon voters […]

The U.S. House in Washington D.C.

U.S. Senate control too close to call as multiple states grapple with tight vote counts

By: , and - November 8, 2022

WASHINGTON —  Control of the U.S. Senate remained unclear early Wednesday as races in a handful of swing states in the midterm elections were still too close to call, and it appeared it might be days — or even weeks — before a final result was known. Among the tightest contests: In Pennsylvania, Lt. Gov. […]

Control of U.S. Senate still a guess ahead of midterm elections

By: - November 2, 2022

WASHINGTON — Democrats and Republicans have just a handful of frantic days left to convince voters who should control Congress before voting in the Nov. 8 midterm elections ends. The two political parties are spending millions on campaign ads and mailers in the dozens of toss-up races that will determine control of Congress, while President […]

Paul Pelosi, U.S. House speaker’s husband, attacked inside their San Francisco home

By: - October 28, 2022

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, was recovering in the hospital Friday morning after a man in his 40s broke into their San Francisco home in the early morning and “violently assaulted” the 82-year-old, according to a statement from spokesman Drew Hammill. Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat who has a U.S. […]

FDA, CDC greenlight updated Covid-19 booster for kids 5 to 11

By: - October 13, 2022

WASHINGTON — The federal government on Wednesday recommended an updated Covid-19 booster for kids between 5 and 11, expanding use of the new bivalent shots beyond people 12 and older.  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration first authorized the updated vaccines use in the morning before the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended them […]

The battle for control of Congress: abortion, inflation, crime and Biden

By: , and - October 12, 2022

WASHINGTON — Members of Congress are fanning out to every district in the country, leaving the wonky floor debates on Capitol Hill behind for the campaign trail in advance of the crucial Nov. 8 midterm elections.  Democrats are fighting to hold their razor-thin majorities in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate, citing two years of […]

Medical marijuana was approved by Oregon voters in 1998, and the possession and use of recreational marijuana has been legal in the state since mid-2015. (Ivan-balvan/Getty Images)

Biden to pardon all federal offenses for simple marijuana possession, review criminalization

By: , and - October 6, 2022

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday announced executive actions that would pardon thousands of people with prior federal offenses of simple marijuana possession. Biden then called on governors to follow suit with state offenses for simple marijuana possession, saying that “just as no one should be in a Federal prison solely due to the […]

The U.S. House in Washington D.C.

U.S. senators criticize federal health officials for lagging monkeypox response

By: - September 22, 2022

WASHINGTON — Congress held its first hearing on monkeypox this week, with lawmakers rebuking federal public health officials for their slow response to the outbreak, even though the hearing came four months after the first U.S. case was diagnosed. “By any measure, in fact by every measure, the response from the Biden administration on the […]

U.S. Senate Republicans shy away from proposed 15-week national abortion ban

By: - September 13, 2022

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republicans are skeptical about a 15-week nationwide abortion ban that GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham introduced Tuesday, with some saying they want to leave the issue to state lawmakers instead of taking it up in Congress.  “I think most of the members of my conference prefer that this be dealt with at […]

Vaccine delivery to OHSU

Covid-19 vaccine may become annual, like flu shot

By: - September 6, 2022

WASHINGTON — Covid-19 boosters shots are on track to become as frequent as the annual flu shot, though high-risk people may need more than one dose per year, Biden administration officials said Tuesday.  “For a large majority of Americans, we are moving to a point where a single annual Covid shot should provide a high […]