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 chaperone from Nebraska squirted water into the mouth of a Grand Island Senior High School marching band member at the Capitol Hill Fourth of July Parade on Saturday, July 4, 2026 in Washington, D.C. The band marched in the smaller parade after the National Independence Day Parade was canceled due to the extreme heat. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)
National

America's 250th birthday celebrated, despite extreme heat, canceled events

Jul 04, 2026
Ashley Murray
WASHINGTON — A large swath of America melted under record heat for the country’s 250th birthday, including in the nation’s capital, where despite being one of the hottest places across the globe Saturday, President Donald Trump planned a nighttime speech...
Merchandise tied to America’s 250th birthday is sold in a stall at Freedom 250’s Great American State Fair in Washington, D.C., on June 30, 2026. (Photo by Sam Gauntt/States Newsroom)
National

America’s 250th birthday is on sale. Where’s all that merch money going?

Jul 02, 2026
Ashley Murray
WASHINGTON — What's more American than apple pie? Capitalism. And an array of merchandise and influence is on sale for the 250th birthday of the United States. An America250 $275 Liberty Lux American Prosperity decorative throw pillow, anyone? How about...
Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook , left, and Rebecca Slaughter, right, former commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission. (Photos courtesy of Federal Reserve Board and Federal Trade Commission)
National

High court issues split decisions on Trump’s control of executive board members

Jun 29, 2026
Ashley Murray
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court handed President Donald Trump both a win and a loss Monday in allowing his firing of Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, but ruling that he cannot remove Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve's board...
A few hundred activists marched to the White House on Saturday, June 27, 2026, for the "Next250" rally. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)
National

Protesters in D.C. rally for priorities to counter Trump’s 250th anniversary programming

Jun 27, 2026
Ashley Murray
WASHINGTON — Activists rallied, danced and marched in the nation’s capital Saturday as they laid out their vision for the future of the United States beyond this year’s semiquincentennial. Speakers and performers at the Next250 rally in Washington, D.C., on...
Attendees sit in the grass in front of the Ferris wheel at the Trump administration's Freedom 250 Great American State Fair on the National Mall on Thursday, June 25, 2026. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)
National

States show their stuff: The Great American State Fair opens in D.C.

Jun 26, 2026
Ashley Murray
WASHINGTON — Visitors from across the United States traveled to the National Mall Thursday for the opening day of the Great American State Fair, a days-long event that is part of President Donald Trump’s Freedom 250 celebration of the nation’s...
At left, Patti Gordon, 71, of Atlanta, Georgia, walks with her friend from Texas at the Freedom 250 kick-off event in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)
National

Trump refashions campaign rhetoric for Freedom 250 kickoff

Jun 24, 2026
Ashley Murray Sam Gauntt
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump kicked off his administration’s celebration of America’s 250th anniversary Wednesday night with a rally speech nearly mirroring his days on the 2024 presidential campaign trail to a crowd of loyal supporters waving American flag placards...
A 250th anniversary flag on the Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building, location of the vice president’s office, on 17th Street NW in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, May 5, 2026. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)
National

Get ready for the semiquincentennial: Americans celebrate a 250th anniversary

Jun 24, 2026
Ashley Murray
WASHINGTON — Parties, protests, displays of historic documents, odes to the Founding Fathers — and a massive political rally by the president — will mark a deeply polarized nation’s 250th anniversary on this Fourth of July. Pomp and circumstance will...
The U.S. Capitol on April 9, 2026. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)
National

US Senate joins House in rebuke of Trump over his war in Iran

Jun 23, 2026
Ashley Murray
WASHINGTON — The Republican-led U.S. Senate served up a rare public check on President Donald Trump’s agenda Tuesday when it voted to approve a House-passed War Powers Resolution to end hostilities in Iran. Senate approval marked the first time both...
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 18: Vice President J.D. Vance speaks during a news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on June 18, 2026 in Washington, DC. Vance is expected to travel to Lucerne, Switzerland tomorrow for follow up talks after a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to end the conflict between the United States and Iran was signed between U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
National

60-day clock starts for negotiations with Iran over strait, nuclear future

Jun 18, 2026
Ashley Murray
Final peace negotiations between the United States and Iran officially began Thursday, Vice President JD Vance said at a late morning press conference in Washington, starting a 60-day countdown for the Islamic Republic to safely open the Strait of Hormuz...
President Donald Trump attends a bilateral meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on the sidelines of the G7 Summit on June 17, 2026 in Evian-les-Bains, France. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
National

White House discloses outline of deal to end Iran war, open Strait of Hormuz

Jun 17, 2026
Ashley Murray
WASHINGTON — The White House on Wednesday read to reporters a 14-point memorandum of understanding with Iran to stop the ongoing war and allow for further negotiations, but did not release the exact text. The 60-day MOU outlines the opening...
Justin Gaethje talks to President Donald Trump after defeating Ilia Topuria in a lightweight title bout during UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House on June 15, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
National

Bloody UFC cage match on White House lawn marks Trump’s 80th birthday

Jun 15, 2026
Ashley Murray
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump celebrated his 80th birthday Sunday cageside at a multimillion-dollar bloody mixed martial arts event staged on the White House South Lawn, punctuated by fighter jet flyovers, a live military band and fireworks to mark the...
The Ultimate Fighting Championship branded its upcoming mix martial arts fight on the White House South Lawn, on Thursday, June 11, 2026, as a celebration of America's 250th birthday. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)
National

Judge allows UFC cage matches to go ahead on White House lawn

Jun 12, 2026
Ashley Murray
The Ultimate Fighting Championship cage matches set to take place on the White House South Lawn on Sunday will go on as scheduled, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled Friday. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta denied an emergency petition...