Author

Jacob Fischler

Jacob Fischler

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 man arrested for crashing truck, making threats near White House

By: - May 24, 2023

Federal police arrested a Missouri man on Monday night after he crashed a vehicle into security barriers in Lafayette Park, across the street from the White House. Sai Varshith Kandula, 19, of Chesterfield, has been charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, threatening to kill, kidnap or inflict harm […]

Overhaul federal permitting as part of the debt limit deal? Not as easy as it sounds.

By: - May 19, 2023

Congressional leaders negotiating a deal to avoid a catastrophic default on the nation’s debt are talking about including an overhaul of how the federal government reviews projects for their environmental impact. There is bipartisan support for changes to the lengthy environmental approval process among climate-minded Democrats eager to speed construction of renewable energy projects, as […]

Rural electric co-ops to get $10.7B in USDA funds for clean energy grants, loans

By: - May 16, 2023

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will begin to administer two loan and grant programs worth nearly $11 billion to boost clean energy systems in rural areas, administration officials said Tuesday. Congress approved the federal spending — $9.7 billion for a grant and loan program the department is calling the New Empowering Rural America program, or […]

Federal judge in Florida blocks Biden administration from releasing some migrants

By: - May 15, 2023

A federal judge in Florida in a late Thursday order granted the state’s emergency request to temporarily halt a new Biden administration policy to release from federal custody some immigrants who enter the country without prior authorization.  The order from U.S. District Judge T. Kent Wetherell II, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, […]

U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland testifies during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources hearing on May 02, 2023 in Washington, DC.

Interior secretary under fire at U.S. Senate hearing over oil and gas leases, public lands

By: - May 3, 2023

Members of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee used a Tuesday hearing on the Interior Department’s fiscal 2024 budget to voice their displeasure with the administration’s energy production policies to Secretary Deb Haaland.  The strongest criticism came from Republicans on the panel, though Chairman Joe Manchin III, a centrist West Virginia Democrat with […]

U.S. House GOP pushes through debt ceiling increase coupled with massive spending cuts

By: and - April 27, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans on Wednesday struggled but whipped just enough votes to pass their plan to temporarily raise the nation’s borrowing limit and also cut spending by slashing key parts of President Joe Biden’s climate and tax law, potentially risking some veterans’ health benefits and imposing more work rules on the nation’s safety […]

President Joe Biden greets Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland during the 2022 White House Tribal Nations Summit at the Department of the Interior on Nov. 30, 2022 in Washington, D.C.

U.S. Interior secretary unveils $125 million for local climate projects

By: - April 24, 2023

BOISE, Idaho — The U.S. Interior Department will send $125 million from the bipartisan infrastructure law to scores of local climate resiliency and conservation projects, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland told a group of environmental reporters Friday.  Speaking at the Society of Environmental Journalists annual conference, Haaland promoted several aspects of the Interior Department’s agenda, including […]

Federal judge temporarily blocks new Biden WOTUS rule in two dozen states

By: - April 14, 2023

A federal judge in North Dakota on Wednesday blocked in 24 states the Biden administration’s newly effective definition of waters that can be regulated under the Clean Water Act. U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland, a George W. Bush appointee on retired status in the North Dakota District, issued a preliminary injunction in a case two […]

Biden administration rolls out $585 million for Western water projects

By: - April 6, 2023

The Biden administration will send $585 million to water projects in 11 Western states, Interior Department officials said Wednesday. The funding, provided in the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law, will go toward 83 projects in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, California, North Dakota and Washington. The law provided $8.3 billion for […]

Former U.S. President Donald Trump arrives for his arraignment at Manhattan Criminal Court on April 04, 2023 in New York City.

Trump hit with 34 felony counts of falsifying New York state business records

By: , and - April 5, 2023

Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Tuesday to 34 New York state felony offenses related to what prosecutors say were hush money payments to an adult film star. In a brief but historic appearance in a Manhattan trial court, Trump, the first former president to face criminal prosecution, learned he was charged with falsifying […]

ormer U.S. President Donald Trump applauds at the conclusion of a rally at the Waco Regional Airport on March 25, 2023 in Waco, Texas.

Trump indicted by Manhattan grand jury, according to reports

By: - March 31, 2023

WASHINGTON — A New York criminal grand jury has indicted former President Donald Trump, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office confirmed following news reports.  A former president has never been indicted before. Trump is also a Republican candidate in the 2024 race for the presidency. “This evening we contacted Mr. Trump’s attorney to coordinate his surrender […]

Priorities for rail safety bill debated in U.S. Senate hearing with Norfolk Southern CEO

By: - March 23, 2023

Members of a U.S. Senate committee on Wednesday previewed what they would push for in bipartisan rail safety legislation likely to progress through Congress in the aftermath of the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment. Democrats and Republicans on the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hinted they wanted to strengthen requirements about reporting hazardous cargo, […]