Author

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.
Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
Trump describes assassination attempt in speech accepting GOP presidential nomination
By: Jennifer Shutt and Ashley Murray - July 19, 2024
MILWAUKEE — Donald Trump in an unusual speech accepting the GOP presidential nomination Thursday at the fourth and final night of the Republican National Convention gave a detailed account about the attempt on his life last weekend when a gunman shot at him during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. “I will tell you exactly what […]
Gun rights advocates at convention spell out plans if GOP gains control in November
By: Jennifer Shutt - July 17, 2024
MILWAUKEE — Republicans speaking at a concealed carry event on Tuesday, just days after a gunman attempted to kill their presidential nominee, insisted the party won’t change its stance on Second Amendment rights. Attendees at the one-hour session, hosted by the U.S. Concealed Carry Association near the Republican National Convention, weren’t actually able to conceal […]
Republican National Convention to go on despite shooting, with Trump plans unchanged
By: Jennifer Shutt - July 15, 2024
WASHINGTON — Thousands of Republicans will gather in Milwaukee beginning Monday for the party’s presidential nominating convention — a typically joyous occasion that will likely take on a different tone this year after a gunman shot at Donald Trump, injuring him, on Saturday. Trump, who will be formally nominated as the GOP’s presidential nominee on […]
Biden says ‘no place for this kind of violence in America’ after shooting at Trump rally
By: Jennifer Shutt - July 13, 2024
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden denounced political violence during brief remarks Saturday night after a shooting abruptly ended a campaign rally that Donald Trump was holding in Pennsylvania and injured the former president. Biden declined to say if the incident, which is under investigation by the Secret Service, was an assassination attempt. “I have an […]
Members of Congress condemn violence after shots seemingly fired at Trump rally
By: Ashley Murray and Jennifer Shutt - July 13, 2024
WASHINGTON — Members of Congress rejected political violence Saturday after a shooting at Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Pennsylvania left at least one rallygoer dead and forced the Secret Service to rush the former president off stage. Local authorities confirmed the shooter was killed, according to The Associated Press. The shooting at a crowded outdoor […]
Congressional Dems urge a more robust Biden on the campaign trail, but few openly revolt
By: Jennifer Shutt and Ashley Murray - July 9, 2024
WASHINGTON — Democrats in Congress called on President Joe Biden to prove to voters that he is up for another four years in the Oval Office, though many in interviews pledged to stick with him as the presumptive nominee as they returned to the Capitol on Monday following the Fourth of July recess. Questions over […]
Biden in first TV interview since debate denies medical condition: ‘It was a bad episode’
By: Jennifer Shutt - July 8, 2024
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Friday in his first televised interview since the presidential debate defended his reelection bid and rejected calls that he should step aside amid growing anxiety among some Democrats about his mental and physical state. The 22-minute interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos came as some lawmakers and other prominent Democrats have […]
Biden and Trump trade insults, accusations of lying in acrimonious presidential debate
By: Jennifer Shutt and Jacob Fischler - June 27, 2024
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump pitched to undecided voters Thursday night during the first debate of the presidential campaign — trading insults over their policy differences, immigration and who represents a threat to democracy. During the debate from CNN’s headquarters in Atlanta, the two men argued over who can do better for […]
Exclusive: DNC moves ahead on all-virtual roll call for Biden presidential nomination
By: Jennifer Shutt - June 21, 2024
WASHINGTON — The Democratic National Committee has taken a significant step toward formally designating Joe Biden as the party’s presidential nominee before the Democratic convention in August — a move that’s necessary to place him on the Ohio ballot for November’s election, States Newsroom has been told. DNC members finalized their vote Thursday to move […]
Democrats stress reproductive rights in fight for control of Congress, White House
By: Jennifer Shutt - June 20, 2024
WASHINGTON — Top Democratic campaign officials Thursday pressed their case for control of Congress and the White House by pointing toward the upcoming two-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning the constitutional right to an abortion. More than a dozen Democrats also introduced legislation in Congress to prevent a future Republican administration from using […]
Scientists argue over the origins of COVID-19 before U.S. Senate panel
By: Jennifer Shutt - June 20, 2024
WASHINGTON — Scientists debated the origins of COVID-19 on Tuesday, trading barbs over whether the bulk of evidence available points to a natural spillover event from a wild animal or a virus designed in a lab and then let loose through an inadvertent leak. The hearing in front of the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and […]
U.S. Supreme Court rejects attempt to limit access to abortion pill
By: Jennifer Shutt - June 13, 2024
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a much-anticipated decision Thursday that mifepristone, one of two pharmaceuticals used in medication abortion, can remain available under current prescribing guidelines. The high court unanimously rejected attempts by anti-abortion groups to roll back access to what was in place more than eight years ago, writing that they […]