Author

Ariana Figueroa

Ariana Figueroa

Ariana covers the nation's capital for States Newsroom. Her areas of coverage include politics and policy, lobbying, elections and campaign finance.

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, front, with GOP Rep. Garret Graves of Louisiana at left, speaks briefly to reporters about a deal to avoid a default on the nation's debt he said has been reached with the White House, on May 27, 2023. (Screenshot from speaker's office webcast)

Biden, McCarthy say they have brokered a debt limit deal to avert U.S. default

By: and - May 27, 2023

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced a deal in principle Saturday night that would stave off a first-ever default on the nation’s debt as long as it can clear both chambers of Congress before June 5. The agreement would address the nation’s debt limit and include a “historic” reduction in spending, McCarthy said, though […]

Activists call on President Biden to not resume student loan payments and to cancel student debt near the White House on Dec. 15, 2021, in Washington, D.C. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images for We, The 45 Million)

Biden student debt relief plan revoked in U.S. House vote

By: - May 24, 2023

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House on Wednesday voted to overturn the Biden administration’s one-time student debt relief plan that is currently on hold awaiting a Supreme Court decision expected within weeks. Before the 218-203 vote on the resolution, the the White House said President Joe Biden would veto it, arguing that the U.S. Department of […]

The exterior of the White House is seen from outside the security fencing on March 7, 2021, in Washington, D.C. (Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)

A default on the U.S. debt would be far worse than a government shutdown. Here’s how.

By: , , and - May 19, 2023

WASHINGTON — A U.S. default on its debt would have a significantly broader impact on federal operations, financial markets and the global economy than recent government shutdowns that have left ordinary Americans largely untouched. While the two have been confused frequently during debate over the debt limit, the federal government has had considerable practice with […]

U.S. Rep.-elect George Santos, R-New York, walks in the House Chamber during the second day of elections for Speaker of the House at the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 4, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Democratic attempt to expel Santos from U.S. House handed over to ethics panel

By: - May 17, 2023

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House on Wednesday agreed on a motion to refer to the Ethics Committee a Democratic-sponsored resolution to expel New York Republican Rep. George Santos from Congress. The motion led by Republicans was approved 221-204, with seven Democrats voting present. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, voted in favor of the motion. The […]

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona testifies to the House Education and the Workforce Committee on May 16, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Committee livestream screenshot)

U.S. House GOP questions education secretary on transgender athletes, student loans

By: - May 16, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans on Tuesday grilled the secretary of education about student debt cancellation and protections for transgender student athletes during a lengthy hearing on the president’s proposed budget request for the Department of Education. While the subject of the five-hour House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing was the fiscal 2024 budget […]

U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colorado, speaks to reporters following a meeting with House Republicans at the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 3, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

U.S. House GOP wants spending cuts — and also $10B in home-state earmarks

By: and - May 10, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans have requested more than $10 billion in earmarks to be included in next year’s appropriations bills, despite demanding massive spending cuts as a contingent for raising the nation’s debt ceiling. All but a handful of House Republicans barely pushed through a bill that would temporarily raise the U.S. borrowing limit, […]

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent, with advocates at a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol on raising the minimum wage, on May 4, 2023. (Ariana Figueroa/States Newsroom)

Bernie Sanders unveils push for $17-an-hour federal minimum wage, citing state increases

By: - May 4, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday announced Democrats’ plans to mark up legislation to increase the federal minimum wage to $17 an hour, pointing to an increase in the cost of living. Outside the U.S. Capitol, Sanders, a Vermont independent and chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said the panel […]

Lesser prairie chicken perform a dancing or "drumming" mating display in northern Oklahoma. (Getty Images)

Biden rule protecting lesser prairie-chicken overturned by U.S. Senate

By: - May 3, 2023

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Wednesday passed on a 50-48 vote a resolution overturning a Biden administration rule that listed a popular Southwestern game bird under a federal endangered species designation. The White House has vowed President Joe Biden would veto the resolution if it clears Congress. Similar legislation has been introduced in the […]

Rebekah Bruesehoff, a transgender student athlete, speaks at a press conference on LGBTQ rights at the U.S. Capitol on March 8, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Biden proposal on transgender student athletes met with praise but also questions

By: - April 28, 2023

WASHINGTON — Transgender legal scholars and advocates say they were relieved to see the Biden administration extend some protections for transgender students’ sports participation at a time when bans are being enacted by multiple states. But they say they remain cautious about the effect on high school and college sports.  For two years, the U.S. […]

Members of the U.S. House Republican Conference announce their new immigration proposal on April 27, 2023. From left, Reps. Michael McCaul of Texas, Michael Guest of Mississippi, Steve Scalise of Louisiana, Mark Green of Tennessee and Jim Jordan of Ohio. (Ariana Figueroa/States Newsroom)

Asylum limits, more border security funds proposed in U.S. House GOP immigration bill

By: - April 27, 2023

WASHINGTON — Top U.S. House Republican leaders on Thursday unveiled an immigration package of bills that appropriates millions in funds for border security and imposes sweeping restrictions on asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border. The plan is in sharp contrast with an announcement earlier Thursday  by the Biden administration on how it would begin to handle […]

An aerial view of the American flags flying over an international bridge as immigrants line up next to the U.S.-Mexico border fence to seek asylum on Dec. 22, 2022, in El Paso, Texas. (John Moore/Getty Images)

Biden administration to use processing centers in Latin America to handle migration

By: - April 27, 2023

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration Thursday announced the use of processing centers in Colombia and Guatemala to create legal pathways for migrants, in preparation for the ending of a pandemic-era tool used to expel migrants that is expected to cease in May. The migrant processing centers will open shortly and be run by international organizations. […]

U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona speaks at the 2023 American Indian Higher Education Consortium on Feb. 7, 2023. (U.S. Department of Education/Flickr, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)

Biden administration warns U.S. House GOP debt limit bill would slash education 

By: - April 25, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona on Tuesday said House Republicans’ debt limit proposal would cut vital education programs and harm vulnerable students across the U.S., such as those who are low income or have a disability. “It would be taking us backwards,” Cardona said on a call with reporters. U.S. House Speaker Kevin […]