DC BUREAU
Our Washington, D.C., bureau reports on congressional delegations and key Supreme Court and administrative decisions that affect our state.
STAFF
Jane directs national coverage, managing staff and freelance reporters in the nation’s capital and assigning and editing state-specific daily and enterprise stories.
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.
Ashley Murray covers the nation’s capital as a senior reporter for States Newsroom. Her coverage areas include domestic policy and appropriations.
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.
Ariana covers the nation's capital for States Newsroom. Her areas of coverage include politics and policy, lobbying, elections and campaign finance.
STORIES
Georgia voters could determine control of the U.S. Senate
WASHINGTON — Control of the U.S. Senate may depend on two runoff races in Georgia, where the outcome won’t be known until early January—opening the door to a fresh round of massive campaign spending in the Peach State. One runoff between GOP Sen. Kelly Loeffler and Democratic challenger Raphael Warnock is already set. While the […]
Battleground states count mail ballots, with Biden just shy of votes to clinch presidency
WASHINGTON — Two days after Election Day, the nation waited for vote-counting to finish in several critical states, where the tallying of mail ballots has left Democrat Joe Biden just short of the votes needed to become the next president. Thursday’s updated totals could push Biden beyond the 270 electoral votes needed to secure victory […]
Democrats reel after losses, setbacks in Congress
WASHINGTON— Tuesday’s election was a disaster for congressional Democrats, who were expected to pick up nearly a dozen GOP seats in the House but instead lost races while also failing to flip Senate seats held by vulnerable Republicans. The outlook for Democratic control of the Senate did not improve the day after the election, either, […]
The fight for the presidency comes down to millions of uncounted mail ballots in battleground states
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump prematurely declared victory early Wednesday morning, but the outcome of a razor-thin presidential contest actually depends on key battleground states that are trying to finish tallying millions of remaining mail ballots. Here are some questions—and answers—about what’s going on in those states: Why is the counting process slow? It’s taking […]
Democratic control of Senate in doubt
WASHINGTON — Democrats gained at least one Republican-held seat in the U.S. Senate, but also lost a seat of their own and were unable to defeat several GOP incumbents in the elections, ending up early Wednesday with an increasingly challenging path to wresting control of the chamber away from Republicans. The initial results showed a […]
U.S. Justice Department to send staff to monitor polling places in 18 states, including Virginia
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Justice will have staffers on the ground in 44 counties and cities across 18 states on Election Day, monitoring for violations of federal voting-rights laws — fewer states than in 2016. The localities this year are in battlegrounds like Michigan, Ohio, Florida, Georgia, Arizona, North Carolina, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania as well […]
Struggle for control of the U.S. Senate enters its final tense days
WASHINGTON — Democrats have a shot at winning the White House, capturing the Senate majority and keeping their hold on the House — an election result that could dramatically shift the policy agenda away from the gridlock that’s gripped the nation’s capital for years. In the Senate, the clearest route to that outcome is through […]
Is Denver Riggleman still a Republican? He’s not sure.
U.S. Rep. Denver Riggleman, a Republican who was running for a second term in Virginia’s 5th congressional district until he was ousted in a convention this past summer, says he’s considering a run for governor. But he’s not sure, as he sounds the alarm on the spread of the unfounded QAnon conspiracy theory, whether he […]
States struggle to draft COVID-19 vaccine plans while in the dark on details, funding
WASHINGTON — Across the hundreds of pages of plans that state officials sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on distributing and tracking the yet-to-be-approved COVID-19 vaccines, there are more questions so far than answers on how exactly vaccine programs will be carried out. Yet states will be on the front lines for […]
Supreme Court confirmation hearings to plow ahead amid COVID-19 infections
Federal Judge Amy Coney Barrett will face the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee starting today for what’s expected to be an unusual and contentious four days of hearings on her nomination for the Supreme Court. Democrats sought unsuccessfully to block those hearings, raising concerns about the short time frame before Election Day, the urgent need to […]
‘I just don’t trust the system any more’: Voters on edge as election nears
WASHINGTON— Widespread anxiety and confusion around voting, compounded by the pandemic that has spread to millions of Americans, including President Donald Trump. A vastly underfunded and decentralized electoral system that could take days and possibly weeks to certify results. Attempts to suppress voting, interfere with elections and cast doubt on the integrity of mail-in ballots […]
Deadly Charlottesville rally surfaces in debate; Trump tells far-right group to ‘stand back and stand by’
The specter of the deadly 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville surfaced during Tuesday night’s chaotic and messy presidential debate, with President Donald Trump again appearing reluctant to condemn right wing violence. Trump directly addressed a far-right group, the Proud Boys, telling them to “stand back and stand by,” and failed to answer a […]