Jacob Fishler head shot

Jacob Fischler

[email protected] https://twitter.com/jacob_fischler https://bsky.app/profile/fischler.bsky.social

Jacob covers federal policy and helps direct national coverage as deputy Washington bureau chief for States Newsroom. Based in Oregon, he focuses on Western issues. His coverage areas include climate, energy development, public lands and infrastructure.

Before joining States Newsroom, Jacob was a national reporter for CQ Roll Call, where he covered state policy trends and federal-state relations. He also wrote about transportation and infrastructure policy on Capitol Hill for CQRC. He began his career covering local government for The Monitor newspaper in McAllen, Texas.

Originally from Minneapolis, Jacob has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota and a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University.

Vice President JD Vance spoke May 18, 2026, about the importance of bringing manufacturing jobs back to the United States at the Milbank Manufacturing company in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Morgan Chilson/Kansas Reflector)
National

Vance and Trump blame midterm GOP elections loss on their war in Iran

Nov 04, 2026
Jacob Fischler
The fingerpointing is coming from inside the house. Vice President JD Vance said in a lengthy social media post Wednesday that Republicans’ shellacking in the midterm elections the night before was mainly due to the administration’s war in Iran. Though...
The U.S. Capitol on the evening of Sept. 30, 2025, just hours before a federal government shutdown. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)
National

The blue tsunami sweeps the US, as Democrats land huge gains in Congress

Nov 04, 2026
Jacob Fischler
Voters across the country administered a sharp reprimand to President Donald Trump and Republicans who hold majorities in Congress, with Democrats gaining comfortable majorities in the Senate and the House. Several U.S. Senate and House races remained uncalled by The...
Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, right, speaks at a rally with U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, left, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and U.S. House candidate William Lawrence in Lansing, Michigan, on July 19, 2026. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance)
National

Why the new progressive Democrats in Congress might unite with the old Dems, for now

Oct 22, 2026
Jacob Fischler
PORTLAND, Ore. — The latest cosponsor of a U.S. House bill to provide single-payer health insurance defeated a Republican incumbent in a suburban and rural Oregon district by fewer than 10,000 votes two years ago. U.S. Rep. Janelle Bynum, a...
The U.S. Capitol on the evening of Sept. 30, 2025. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)
National

With 2 weeks until midterms, analysts say Dems still on track to win US House majority

Oct 19, 2026
Jacob Fischler
Democrats have used President Donald Trump’s unpopularity to expand the midterm map, and analysts project the party carries momentum heading into the final two weeks of the election cycle, even as Democrats are expected to flip fewer U.S. House seats...
A banner showing President Donald Trump hangs on the Department of Justice on Feb. 20, 2026. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom)
National

California sued by Trump administration over demand to purge 20,000 voters from rolls

Oct 15, 2026
Jacob Fischler
The Trump administration sought a federal court order Thursday to force California to purge 20,000 people from its voter rolls over claims they are not U.S. citizens, a major development less than three weeks before the midterm elections. The U.S...
Gas and diesel prices in Indiana on Sept. 17, 2026. (Photo by Niki Kelly/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
National

US senators from both parties blast Trump order to import Russian diesel as illegal

Oct 12, 2026
Jacob Fischler
The Trump administration’s order to allow import of Russian diesel violates a 2022 law banning Russian energy imports while the country’s war with Ukraine is ongoing, according to a bipartisan group of U.S. senators. Following an Oct. 9 call between...
Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook leaves the U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 21, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
National

Trump appoints committee to revive quest to remove Lisa Cook from Fed board

Oct 09, 2026
Jacob Fischler
President Donald Trump has formed a White House committee to investigate Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, escalating even further a lengthy feud with the Federal Reserve Board member. The three-member committee will seek evidence that Cook made false statements in...
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks to reporters inside the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C. on June 24, 2025. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)
National

Top Democratic US Senate PAC commits to 9 states, eyes more Republican targets

Oct 06, 2026
Jacob Fischler
A leading Democratic campaign committee is projecting confidence in U.S. Senate toss-up races four weeks before Election Day, though it has yet to commit resources to the reddest states that have recently entered the Senate map. Senate Majority PAC, which...
President Donald Trump is setting out on the midterms campaign trail in GOP-leaning states, beginning with Oklahoma. (Photo by Getty images)
National

Trump launches campaign tour in GOP-friendly states ahead of midterms

Oct 01, 2026
Jacob Fischler
President Donald Trump is scheduled to kick off a month-long blitz of campaign stops with a Thursday rally in deep-red Oklahoma before heading to other states with strong Republican leanings. The first events in the closing stretch of the midterm...
A voter takes an "I Voted" sticker at the Brackett Recreation Center in Minneapolis on Nov. 2, 2021. (Photo by Max Nesterak/Minnesota Reformer)
National

Justice Department indicts 10 noncitizens in quest to prove Trump claims of election fraud

Sep 30, 2026
Jacob Fischler
A federal grand jury indicted 10 noncitizens for unlawfully voting in Minnesota, U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said Wednesday, highlighting the administration’s effort to keep election security a top issue, in line with President Donald Trump’s longstanding unsubstantiated claims of...
Election worker Davina Trejo carries a box of ballots to her work station at the Salt Lake County Government Center in Salt Lake City as votes are cast in Utah’s primary election on June 25, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch
National

Trump DOJ uses case of Utah letter carrier to highlight allegations of voting fraud

Sep 22, 2026
Jacob Fischler
Federal officials charged a Utah letter carrier Tuesday with throwing 300 primary ballots in a church parking lot dumpster, an incident that a top U.S. Justice Department official said made the case for stricter regulations of voting. The prosecution of...
Voters at Deering High School in Portland cast their ballot in Maine’s June 9, 2026 primary election. (Photo by Jim Neuger/ Maine Morning Star)
National

With vote-by-mail court fight settled, attention shifts to protections at the polls

Sep 17, 2026
Jacob Fischler
Voting rights groups and Democratic officials are looking to defend against what they see as possible election interference from the Trump administration ahead of the upcoming midterm elections, now that they’ve won a major battle over mail ballots. Common Cause...