The U.S. Capitol is pictured on March 14, 2024. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — Senior reporter Jennifer Shutt of the States Newsroom Washington, D.C., Bureau has been named the recipient of the 2025 Everett McKinley Dirksen Award for Distinguished Reporting of Congress, the National Press Foundation announced.

In a press release, the foundation said a panel of judges recognized Shutt’s reporting on the potential impact of Medicaid cuts on rural hospitals, changes in FEMA that could affect states and funding of tribal radio stations.

Shutt is one of six members of the Washington Bureau of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization, with reporting from every state capital as well as the nation’s capital.

“Jennifer Shutt stands out by demonstrating clear, accessible reporting that connects national policy to real people rather than to political insiders,” the judging panel said. “States Newsroom ‘punches above its weight’ among more resourced news organizations by focusing on issues that matter to readers and presenting them in readable, straightforward language.”

The judges said “by avoiding ‘horse race’ political coverage she delivered meaningful, impactful journalism.”

Before joining States Newsroom in 2022, Shutt, a Pennsylvania native and graduate of Penn State University, covered budget and appropriations in Congress for CQ Roll Call and worked as a reporter for the Daily Times in Maryland and as a web producer for Politico.

Shutt will accept the $5,000 award at the National Press Foundation’s Annual Awards Dinner on March 12 in Washington, D.C. The award is named for the late Republican Sen. Everett McKinley Dirksen of Illinois and recognizes reporters “whose work shows thoughtful appraisal and insight into the workings of the U.S. Congress,” the foundation said.

Recent past winners include Benjamin Guggenheim of Politico, a team from the Los Angeles Times and Lisa Desjardins of PBS NewsHour.

This is the second major award for the States Newsroom D.C. bureau this year. Senior reporter Ashley Murray received the 2025 Correspondent Award in the Dateline competition from the D.C. Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists for “distinguished coverage of the Washington area by a correspondent based in the Washington, D.C., area, whose work is published or broadcast for an audience outside” the nation’s capital. Shutt was among the finalists for that award.