Murray

Ashley Murray

[email protected] https://twitter.com/Ashley__Murray https://bsky.app/profile/ashleymurray.bsky.social

Ashley Murray is a journalist based in Washington, D.C. Her coverage areas include domestic policy and appropriations.

She has roots in Pittsburgh, Pa., where she began her first paid journalism gig in 2010 as a contributor to the local public radio show The Allegheny Front. Her bylines include Pittsburgh City Paper, Trib Total Media, Pittsburgh Quarterly and Salon.com.

Most recently, Ashley worked as the D.C. Bureau Chief for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, where she was also a member of the investigations team and the newspaper's city hall reporter for three years. Ashley was part of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize winning team for breaking news coverage of the mass shooting at Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue, where 11 worshippers were killed.

A Republican-led bill to curb congressional stock trading panned by Democrats as too weak failed to advance in the U.S. Senate on Sept. 30, 2026, when lawmakers stayed solidly within party lines for a procedural vote. (Photo by Douglas Rissing/Getty Photos)
National

US Senate Dems block bill curbing congressional stock trading, calling it too weak

Sep 30, 2026
Ashley Murray
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republicans did not gain any support Wednesday from Democrats as they attempted to advance a bill that mashed together two hot-button midterm issues: requiring voter ID in federal elections and limiting stock trading for members of...
Former Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith testifies before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Sept. 29, 2026. (Screenshot from committee webcast)
National

GOP senator bungles accusation against former special counsel Jack Smith in heated hearing

Sep 29, 2026
Ashley Murray
WASHINGTON — Former special counsel Jack Smith on Tuesday defended before a U.S. Senate panel his past investigations of President Donald Trump’s possession of classified documents and alleged role in attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Judiciary Committee Republicans...
Swatch watches are on display in a Swatch store on April 03, 2025 in Miami Beach, Florida. The Swiss company is expecting to have to react to new tariffs put in place by the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump declared a U.S. economic emergency and announced sweeping tariffs of at least 10%, with rates even higher for 60 countries that have a high trade deficit with the U.S. The tariffs will affect electronics, automobiles, clothing and shoes, wines and spirits, and Swiss watches. (Photo by Joe Raedl
National

Trump used impossible foreign labor standards as tariff workaround, small businesses say

Sep 28, 2026
Ashley Murray
WASHINGTON — Small businesses will once again challenge President Donald Trump’s tariffs in federal court this week as they continue to feel the squeeze of the administration’s roller coaster policy on import taxes. Spice importer Burlap & Barrel and rare...
(Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)
National

Democrats gain 4 in US Senate GOP on Iran war resolution, but vote falls short

Sep 24, 2026
Ashley Murray
WASHINGTON — Despite skyrocketing fuel prices and sinking approval ratings for President Donald Trump’s conflict in Iran ahead of the November midterms, Senate Republicans blocked Democrats’ efforts Thursday to check the president’s unfettered military action in the Middle East. Sens...
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. Headquarters in New York City on Sept. 22, 2026. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
National

‘Drive them into hell’: Trump ponders destruction of Iran at United Nations

Sep 22, 2026
Ashley Murray
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump faces a “big decision” to make a deal with Iran or “annihilate” the country, he told the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday. During a 37-minute speech to his international counterparts including Iranian President Masoud...
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is urging President Donald Trump to embargo diesel fuel exports as rising costs impact farmers in his largely agricultural state. Grassley is shown at a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting on July 23, 2026. (Screenshot from committee webcast)
National

Diesel prices shoot upward as top farm-state GOP senator begs Trump for export embargo

Sep 21, 2026
Ashley Murray
WASHINGTON — Diesel prices hit a record average of $6.51 a gallon Monday, and some in President Donald Trump’s own party are breaking their support for the ongoing war in Iran that has driven fuel prices to staggering levels in...
President Donald Trump addresses the nation from the East Room of the White House on July 16, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Saul Loeb/Pool - Getty Images)
National

Judge says case challenging Trump’s anti-weaponization fund ‘still alive and kicking’

Sep 18, 2026
Ashley Murray
WASHINGTON — A federal judge told the Trump administration Friday a case against the Department of Justice’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund is “still alive and kicking.” The administration sought to dismiss the case brought against President Donald Trump’s negotiated settlement...
Kevin Warsh, now chair of the Federal Reserve, testifies during his Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs confirmation hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on April 21, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
National

Fed raises interest rates for first time in 3 years, battling persistent inflation

Sep 16, 2026
Ashley Murray
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve raised interest rates Wednesday for the first time in three years as inflation continues to dog the economy, largely driven by soaring gas and fuel oil prices while the war in Iran drags on. The...
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth joins U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn at Iowa State Fair
National

More GOP lawmakers break with Trump on Iran as gas prices keep climbing

Sep 16, 2026
Ashley Murray
WASHINGTON — As the November midterms approach, vulnerable U.S. House Republicans voted late Tuesday to require congressional approval for President Donald Trump to continue his war in Iran. Seven Republicans broke ranks and joined all Democrats to pass a War...
Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel, left, greets Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley as Patel arrives to testify during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in the Hart Senate Office Building on Sept. 15, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
National

FBI’s Patel dodges questions on election interference at rambunctious US Senate hearing

Sep 15, 2026
Ashley Murray
WASHINGTON — FBI Director Kash Patel sidestepped questions about FBI agents at polling places in the midterm elections at a U.S. Senate hearing Tuesday that also featured a tense exchange between GOP Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Democratic Sen...
NYPD officers walk down a street in downtown Manhattan as part of the 25th anniversary of 9/11 memorial on Sept. 11, 2026. (Photo by Shalina Chatlani/ Stateline)
National

Frustrations, remorse and pain surface on 25th anniversary of Sept. 11 attacks

Sep 11, 2026
Ashley Murray Shalina Chatlani Shauneen Miranda Ariana Figueroa
Powerful U.S. officials past and present faced families, survivors and first responders Friday at ceremonies to honor the 25th anniversary of the day 2,977 Americans died in terrorist attacks in Virginia, New York and Pennsylvania. At the Pentagon, Condoleezza Rice...
President Donald Trump on Sept. 9, 2026, promised every U.S. adult a check for $5,000 if Republicans take control of Congress. In this photo he speaks during an event at the White House on Aug. 6, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
National

Trump plan to send $5K to every adult projected to cost $1.2T and 'explode' the deficit

Sep 10, 2026
Ashley Murray
WASHINGTON — A proposal by President Donald Trump to give $5,000 to each American adult if Republicans retain control of the U.S. House and Senate in November would “explode” the national deficit and worsen inflation, according to an analysis issued...