Author
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.
Missouri Independent is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
Trump claim of presidential immunity turned down by federal appeals court in D.C.
By: Jacob Fischler and Ashley Murray - February 6, 2024
WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump can be prosecuted for charges he schemed to overturn the 2020 election, a three-judge panel of a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday, rejecting Trump’s argument he was immune from criminal prosecution for any alleged conduct during his presidential term. In a unanimous opinion, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals panel […]
‘A product that’s killing people’: Lawmakers chastise social media giants for harm to kids
By: Jacob Fischler - February 1, 2024
Members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee castigated executives at leading social media companies Wednesday, calling for more to be done to shield children from sexual exploitation, drug dealing, self-harm encouragement and other damaging content. In one tense exchange, Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley demanded to know if Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, had […]
On to November: Trump win in New Hampshire sets up 2024 rematch with Biden
By: Jacob Fischler, Ariana Figueroa and Jennifer Shutt - January 24, 2024
WASHINGTON — Leading Republicans — and the Biden presidential campaign — on Wednesday rushed to identify former President Donald Trump as the presumptive GOP nominee after he won decisively in New Hampshire’s Republican presidential primary. Trump bested Nikki Haley, his former United Nations ambassador, by more than 10 percentage points in a moderate state with an open primary that […]
Health risks from nuclear contamination in St. Louis denounced at congressional hearing
By: Jacob Fischler - January 18, 2024
The United States should not expand nuclear energy use, at least until the federal government can make up for the harms caused by previous nuclear projects, U.S. Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri said at a congressional hearing in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. Bush cited the health problems nuclear waste has caused to many in her […]
New turmoil over possible shutdown in D.C. amid warnings of a WIC food program shortfall
By: Jennifer Shutt and Jacob Fischler - January 11, 2024
WASHINGTON — Meetings on Thursday between U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and conservative lawmakers led to speculation he was about to walk away from the bipartisan spending agreement he signed off on just this past weekend — a decision that would greatly increase the chances of a partial government shutdown next week. Also Thursday, Biden […]
Three-judge federal panel grills Trump lawyer on claim of presidential immunity
By: Ashley Murray and Jacob Fischler - January 9, 2024
WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump appeared in federal court Tuesday seeking immunity from charges that he schemed to overturn the 2020 presidential election results and knowingly fed lies to supporters who turned violent on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump, who is leading polls in the 2024 Republican presidential primary field, watched while his attorney D. […]
Trump legal problems abound as first test of 2024 presidential campaign nears in Iowa
By: Ashley Murray and Jacob Fischler - January 8, 2024
WASHINGTON — On the cusp of a 2024 election season like none other in U.S. history, former President Donald Trump’s legal and political worlds are set to converge. Trump’s lawyers on Tuesday will argue before a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. that he is immune from prosecution for actions he’s accused of taking while […]
Trump borrows from the language of Hitler for anti-immigration speech in New Hampshire
By: Jacob Fischler - December 18, 2023
As leaders in Washington negotiate a bipartisan immigration deal, former President Donald Trump used inflammatory language to demonize immigrants during a Saturday campaign speech in New Hampshire that echoed Adolf Hitler. Trump, the front-runner for the Republican nomination for president in next year’s election, said that immigrants were “poisoning the blood of our country.” He […]
Pick of suburban Maryland for new FBI HQ ‘surprised’ agency, official tells Congress
By: Jacob Fischler - December 12, 2023
An FBI official testifying before a U.S. House panel on Tuesday questioned the process that led to the Biden administration choosing a Maryland location for a new bureau headquarters instead of a competing site in Virginia. The General Service Administration rejected an advisory panel’s recommendation for a site in Springfield, Virginia, when it chose to plan […]
U.S. Supreme Court asked to quickly rule on Trump claims of presidential immunity
By: Jacob Fischler and Ashley Murray - December 11, 2023
WASHINGTON — Department of Justice Special Counsel Jack Smith asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to expedite a decision on former President Donald Trump’s claims of presidential immunity in the 2020 election interference case. Smith asked the justices to rule on a matter that ordinarily would first go to a lower federal appeals court, […]
Growing threat of political violence looms over 2024, former members of Congress warn
By: Jacob Fischler - December 8, 2023
Former members of Congress are deeply concerned about political violence ahead of the 2024 presidential election, former Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama and former Rep. Barbara Comstock of Virginia said at a Thursday joint appearance sponsored by the liberal Center for American Progress and the nonpartisan McCain Institute. Jones, a moderate Democrat who lost reelection […]
Ahead of climate conference, U.S. House panel tussles over curbs on emissions
By: Jacob Fischler - November 30, 2023
Republicans on a U.S. House panel argued Wednesday against aggressive moves to meet carbon reduction goals, saying U.S. fossil fuel companies are working to make their products cleaner. Democrats on the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on the Environment, Manufacturing and Critical Minerals countered that to achieve further reductions, federal policies should be continued […]