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.

A view of the United Airlines taxiway at Denver International Airport. (Photo provided courtesy of Denver International Airport)

U.S. Senate committee postpones vote on Denver airport chief’s nomination to lead FAA

By: - March 22, 2023

The U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee postponed a scheduled vote Wednesday on Denver International Airport CEO Phil Washington’s nomination to lead the Federal Aviation Administration. The panel’s chairwoman, Washington Democrat Maria Cantwell, said the vote would be held at an unspecified future date and offered few details about why it was pushed back. […]

U.S. Senate leader calls for safety audit into all major railroads after Ohio derailment

By: - March 15, 2023

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called Wednesday for the federal authority responsible for determining the causes of transportation casualties to investigate the safety culture at all major North American freight railroads. Following the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern derailment that caused a toxic chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio, Schumer, a New York Democrat, said […]

States to receive $2.5B from feds for electric vehicle charging infrastructure

By: - March 14, 2023

The federal government will send $2.5 billion over the next five years to states, local governments and tribes to build electric vehicle charging infrastructure, Biden administration officials said Tuesday. The new Charging and Fueling Infrastructure grant program, which was authorized by the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law, will spend $2.5 billion over five years to build […]

Water tupelo near a walkway in Louisiana Purchase State Park near Brinkley, Arkansas. (Courtesy of Arkansas State Parks)

U.S. House votes to roll back Biden’s WOTUS rule

By: - March 10, 2023

The U.S. House voted Thursday to undo a Biden administration definition of wetlands that allows for regulations on private lands. The chamber approved, 227-198, a resolution to roll back the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s broader definition of what qualifies as “waters of the United States,” or WOTUS, for the purposes of federal regulation under the […]

A view of the United Airlines taxiway at Denver International Airport. (Photo provided courtesy of Denver International Airport)

U.S. Senate Democrats back FAA nominee, despite GOP attacks at confirmation hearing

By: - March 1, 2023

Correction: An earlier version of this report misstated the last Senate-confirmed FAA administrator. It was Steve Dickson. Republicans on a U.S. Senate panel raised several objections Wednesday to President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Federal Aviation Administration, while Democrats indicated their support and called the objections “fake scandals” meant only to create a political […]

Ethanol touted at U.S. Senate hearing for possible national clean fuels standard

By: - February 16, 2023

A national clean transportation fuel standard should include enough flexibility to allow for biofuels and other non-electric-vehicle solutions, bipartisan members of a U.S. Senate panel said Wednesday. The United States doesn’t have a national clean fuels standard, though senators on the Environment and Public Works Committee hinted that one may be in the works.  Members […]

Midwestern, Western states in spotlight after mystery flying objects shot down by military

By: and - February 13, 2023

WASHINGTON — Military posts in Midwestern and Western states played key roles in the unprecedented downings of multiple unmanned aerial objects over the North American continent this weekend. Members of Congress and governors from the states involved and from both parties have shared information about the downings on Twitter and in statements, in some cases […]

Longtime tensions over federal wetlands rule return in U.S. House WOTUS hearing

By: - February 9, 2023

A U.S. House panel renewed the decades-long fight Wednesday over how standing waters on farmland and other private property should be defined and regulated by federal authorities, with Republicans calling for a pause until the U.S. Supreme Court can provide more clarity. The definition of so-called Waters of the United States, or WOTUS — wetlands […]

President Joe Biden speaks

Biden in State of the Union address draws boos and shouts from a combative GOP

By: and - February 7, 2023

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden began his State of the Union address Tuesday — his first to a divided Congress — with an appeal to bipartisan priorities, but later criticized parts of the GOP agenda and got a sense of Republicans’ appetite for conflict during one combative stretch. Biden opened the 72-minute speech with an […]

U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Arkansas) speaks at a House Republican news conference on energy policy at the U.S. Capitol in March 2022. Westerman is the new chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

New U.S. House Natural Resources chair opposes limits on fossil fuel development

By: - January 30, 2023

The incoming chairman of the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee wants to allow more mining and believes technology — not limitations on fossil fuel production — is the best way to address climate change. As part of their organization of the chamber they now control, U.S. House Republicans selected Arkansas’ Bruce Westerman to lead the […]

An American Airlines plane takes off from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Breakdowns in the nation's aviation system this month have highlighted the lack of a Senate-confirmed head of the Federal Aviation Administration. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Aviation turmoil shifts attention to stalled confirmation of FAA chief

By: - January 23, 2023

A breakdown in the federal aviation system earlier this month threw a spotlight on the absence of a Senate-confirmed leader of the Federal Aviation Administration, prompting Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to push for the chamber to confirm President Joe Biden’s choice to lead the agency. But key Senate Republicans have raised concerns about that nominee, […]

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announces on Jan. 12, 2023, the appointment of former U.S. Attorney for Maryland Robert Hur to investigate the discovery of classified documents held by President Joe Biden at an office and his home. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

U.S. attorney general names special counsel for classified docs found in Biden’s garage

By: and - January 12, 2023

WASHINGTON — The White House revealed Thursday morning that more classified documents from President Joe Biden’s time as vice president were discovered outside of secure government facilities, this time in the garage at his Wilmington, Delaware home.  The files have since been turned over to the U.S. Justice Department, which opened a special counsel investigation […]