Based in Washington, Jen manages Aviation Week’s worldwide defense, space and security coverage.
Prior to taking on her current role, Jen was Aviation Week's Congressional Editor. Jen came to Aviation Week in March 2011 from Politico, where she covered the intersection of defense and politics. She also worked as a reporter and editor for Defense Daily, Inside the Army, The Other Paper and The Columbus Dispatch.
Jen received a Master’s degree in journalism as a Kiplinger Fellow at the Ohio State University. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in history and journalism from the University of Michigan.
After months of fighting against the possibility of nearly $1 trillion in across-the-board budget cuts, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) says he will not accept a deal to prevent sequestration that does not contain other concessions on issues such as taxation and entitlement reform. Talks between President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) had been progressing. Without a deal, Boehner plans to proceed with a “Plan B” that the White House is dismissing as not viable in the Senate.
The death of Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), the chairman of the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee, is setting off a shuffling of committee chairmanships. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) is likely to take over as the chairman of the full appropriations committee, leaving a spot open on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) is likely to move into that slot, and Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) tells Aviation Week she is preparing to fill Feinstein’s role as the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee.