Shutt

Jennifer Shutt

[email protected] https://x.com/JenniferShutt https://bsky.app/profile/jennifershutt.bsky.social

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.

Before joining States Newsroom, Jennifer covered Congress for CQ Roll Call for more than six years. As a budget and appropriations reporter, she tracked the annual federal funding process as well as disaster aid and COVID-19 spending.

Jennifer is originally from northern Pennsylvania and holds degrees in journalism and political science from Penn State University. After graduating, she began her journalism career as a reporter for The Daily Times in Maryland where she covered local and state government. Jennifer then moved to Washington, D.C. to work as a web producer at Politico.

President Donald Trump speaks on stage on the second day of the 2026 Republican National Convention at the American Airlines Center on Sept. 10, 2026 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
National

Republicans close out GOP midterm convention vowing to keep control of Congress

Sep 10, 2026
Jennifer Shutt
President Donald Trump and Republicans wrapped up their two-day midterm convention in Dallas, Texas, on Thursday night, urging voters to ensure the party has another two years with unified control of government. Speakers, many vying for seats in Congress, insisted...
The U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 13, 2026. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)
National

How the US House could overturn the midterm election results

Sep 11, 2026
Jennifer Shutt
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump tried to maintain power following his loss in the 2020 election by exerting pressure on state election officials to, in some cases, “find” the votes. Loyalist Republicans in Congress then attempted to deny Joe Biden...
Karen Kost took part in the North Dakota primary election early voting available June 3, 2026, at City Hall in Casselton, North Dakota. (Photo by Dan Koeck/North Dakota Monitor)
National

Election experts see few legal options for Trump to meddle with polling places

Sep 03, 2026
Jennifer Shutt
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said earlier this year he’d “do anything necessary to make sure we have honest elections” this fall, declining to rule out sending the National Guard or federal law enforcement officers to polling locations throughout the...
The U.S. Capitol on March 3, 2026. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)
National

US House clears spending stopgap backed by Trump that averts government shutdown

Sep 01, 2026
Jennifer Shutt
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House approved a short-term government funding bill Tuesday that would avoid a shutdown this fall once President Donald Trump signs it. The 370-48 vote showed neither Republicans nor Democrats want a repeat of the funding lapse...
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico speaks during a “Talarico for Texas: Frontera Tour” campaign rally at the La Posada facility on July 14, 2026 in Laredo, Texas. Talarico continues campaigning across the state against Republican U.S. Senate candidate and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ahead of the November 3rd general elections. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
National

US Senate map trending toward Democrats, though GOP retains slim advantage

Aug 24, 2026
Jennifer Shutt
WASHINGTON — Voters throughout much of the country will cast ballots for their U.S. senator this fall, but just nine states hold the power to determine control of the chamber — setting the course for which presidential nominees can secure...
Cassidy abandons yet another principled stance with backing of Blanche
National

White House to press forward with FDA nominee despite US Senate chairman’s concerns

Aug 20, 2026
Jennifer Shutt
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Food and Drug Administration will face challenges securing Senate confirmation after the committee chairman in charge of that process expressed doubts. That, however, hasn’t deterred White House officials from pressing for...
The Federal Emergency Management Agency building in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 25, 2024. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom)
National

US Senate confirms FEMA administrator alongside dozens of nominees

Aug 07, 2026
Jennifer Shutt
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Friday approved Cameron Hamilton to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency, giving the agency its first administrator since President Donald Trump took office last year. The 51-47 vote confirmed more than 70 nominees as...
Diseases like measles have surged to the highest level in decades in the United States.(Photo by Getty Images Plus)
National

String of outbreaks tests US public health system amid funding cuts, vaccine resistance

Jul 30, 2026
Jennifer Shutt
WASHINGTON — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pledged during his confirmation hearing to do everything in his “power to put the health of America back on track.” Kennedy testified that when he worked as a lawyer...
U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is shown on a monitor as Dr. Anthony Fauci, left, testifies before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on July 29, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
National

Fauci pleads the Fifth to COVID questions by US Sen. Rand Paul at intense hearing

Jul 29, 2026
Jennifer Shutt
WASHINGTON — Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the nation’s most visible public health officials during the coronavirus pandemic, declined to answer questions from a U.S. Senate committee in a tense and confrontational hearing Wednesday, citing his Fifth Amendment rights. Fauci...
David Hearn, of Bethesda, Maryland, is charged with destruction of property of more than $1,000 for allegedly vandalizing the newly refinished Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on June 19, 2026. Shown is construction at the Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., on May 5, 2026. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)
National

Reflecting Pool damaged before Olympian charged with felony touched it, witness says

Jul 28, 2026
Jennifer Shutt
WASHINGTON — Attorneys representing the former Olympic canoeist charged with damaging part of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool have asked the judge in the case to release more information from the grand jury. David Hearn’s legal team wrote in a...
President Donald Trump speaks to the media as Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., look on after a meeting at the U.S. Capitol on June 24, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
National

Trump urges US Senate to hold off on August recess until SAVE America Act passes

Jul 27, 2026
Jennifer Shutt
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday called on the U.S. Senate to cancel its five-week August break, keeping lawmakers in session to advance several of his priorities, despite not having the votes. Trump wrote in a social media post...
A vote on a budget resolution in the U.S. House on July 22, 2026, sets up a confrontation between GOP lawmakers in Congress over exactly how much funding to provide for the war in Iran. Shown is the damaged B1 bridge, a day after it was destroyed by an airstrike, on April 3, 2026 west of Tehran in Karaj, Iran. (Photo by Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)
National

US House GOP pushes through budget blueprint for Iran war funding, farm aid

Jul 22, 2026
Jennifer Shutt
WASHINGTON — Republicans in the U.S. House on Wednesday approved their outline for the third party-line budget measure of the second Trump administration, though they won’t be able to begin work on that package until they reach agreement with their...