Author

Robin Bravender was the States Newsroom Washington Bureau Chief from January 2019 until June 2020. She coordinated the network’s national coverage and reported on states’ congressional delegations, federal agencies, the White House and the federal courts. Prior to that, Robin was an editor and reporter at E&E News, a reporter at Politico, and a freelance producer for Reuters TV.
GOP previews 2020 messaging, but Senate nixes 2 late-term abortion bills
By: Robin Bravender - February 26, 2020
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell doesn’t allow many bills to get floor votes these days, but he made an exception Tuesday for two bills intended to curb abortion access. Two GOP-led anti-abortion bills failed on procedural votes Tuesday as expected. The politically charged bills have both failed during previous Senate floor votes […]
Peters outraises James in 2019 for U.S. Senate battle
By: Robin Bravender - February 15, 2020
Updated, 7:15 a.m., 2/16/20 Michigan will host some of the most closely watched down-ballot races in November, including a U.S. Senate contest and some House races that could be tight. Overall, freshman U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Bloomfield Twp.) raised $11.7 million through the end of December and ended the year with $8 million in the […]
Sanders pulls into the lead among Michigan Dem donors
By: Robin Bravender - February 14, 2020
WASHINGTON — Bernie Sanders was No. 1 among the Democratic presidential hopefuls when it came to raising cash from Michigan donors last year. The Vermont U.S. senator raised about $821,000 from Michiganders in 2019, according to the latest campaign finance reports, leading his rivals and reflecting his status as the top national fundraiser among the […]
Michigan Dems vote to remove ERA obstacle
By: Robin Bravender - February 13, 2020
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House voted on Thursday to remove one barrier to adding the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the U.S. Constitution, but plenty of legal and political obstacles remain. The House voted 232-183 on Thursday — largely along partisan lines — to approve a resolution that would remove an expired congressional deadline for the ratification of a […]
Stabenow, Peters vote to convict Trump, GOP Senate acquits
By: Robin Bravender and Susan J. Demas - February 5, 2020
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has survived impeachment, but he didn’t emerge unscathed. The U.S. Senate on Wednesday acquitted Trump on charges that he abused his power by pressuring a foreign government to interfere in a U.S. presidential election and then obstructed a congressional investigation into his actions. The vote was almost entirely partisan, but […]
Trump made his pitch for 4 more years. Pelosi ripped up the speech.
By: Robin Bravender - February 5, 2020
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump delivered his third — and possibly final — State of the Union address Tuesday night on the floor of the U.S. House, where he was impeached in December. And the partisan animosity that has gripped Washington throughout the impeachment proceedings was on stark display throughout the annual speech by the […]
Stabenow says founders ‘lived under a king,’ wonders why GOP seems ‘so eager to give it a try’
By: Robin Bravender - February 3, 2020
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Democrats on Monday made their closing arguments for removing President Donald Trump from office, insisting that leaving him in the White House guarantees he’ll cheat in the 2020 presidential election. “He has done it before. He will do it again. What are the odds if left in office, that he will […]
Senate GOP rejects witnesses in impeachment trial
By: Robin Bravender and Susan J. Demas - January 31, 2020
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate voted largely along party lines Friday evening to block additional witnesses and documents from being introduced in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial. Two Republican U.S. senators — Susan Collins of Maine and Mitt Romney of Utah — broke ranks to vote to allow witnesses in the Senate, but the chamber’s […]
‘Is this a fair trial?’ Dems say Trump can’t be exonerated without witnesses
By: Robin Bravender - January 31, 2020
‘WASHINGTON — U.S. House Democrats made an impassioned plea Friday afternoon for senators to allow for witness testimony in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, but the outcome appeared all but certain. Republican lawmakers were expected to vote later Friday against allowing for witnesses and additional documents. Two Republican U.S. senators, Susan Collins of Maine and […]
U.S. House votes to limit Trump’s war authority (again). Here’s how Michiganders voted.
By: Robin Bravender - January 30, 2020
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House voted Thursday to repeal the 2002 authorization for the use of military force (AUMF) that allowed the former President George W. Bush administration to wage war against Saddam Hussein’s government in Iraq. Most House Democrats joined 11 Republicans and one independent — U.S. Rep. Justin Amash (I-Cascade Twp.) — to […]
Climate takes center stage in Dems’ sweeping infrastructure plan
By: Allison Stevens, Robin Bravender and Susan J. Demas - January 30, 2020
WASHINGTON — U.S. House Democrats this week unveiled plans to spend $760 billion over five years on infrastructure upgrades throughout the country. A central theme throughout their plan: combating climate change. The announcement happened to take place hours before Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer gave her second State of the State address in Lansing. Whitmer, who […]
‘We have an emergency’: U.S. House panel examines Black mothers, babies dying in Michigan
By: Robin Bravender - January 29, 2020
WASHINGTON — Black mothers and babies are dying at staggering rates in Michigan and throughout the United States. The national statistics are alarming: Black women are three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related issues than white women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). American Indian women are also […]