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. Capitol

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 […]

Rep. Virginia Foxx

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

By: - May 25, 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 White House said President Joe Biden would veto it, arguing that the U.S. Department of Education […]

immigrants seeking asylum

New bipartisan immigration legislation proposed in U.S. House

By: - May 24, 2023

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of six U.S. House lawmakers on Tuesday described details of proposed legislation that would create a legal pathway for citizenship for undocumented people through work requirements, and would also fund border security measures.  The two Latinas who spearheaded the bill, Reps. Veronica Escobar, a Texas Democrat, and María Elvira Salazar, […]

a dollar bill as a puzzle

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

By: , , and - May 22, 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 […]

George Santos

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

By: - May 18, 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. The expulsion resolution introduced by freshman California Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia was […]

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

By: - May 17, 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 […]

federal debt

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

By: and - May 11, 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, […]

An aerial view of the American flag flying over an international bridge

Title 42 nears an end, marking a shift in U.S. immigration policy at the border

By: - May 10, 2023

WASHINGTON — A pandemic-era measure that allowed for the swift expulsion of millions of migrants at the Southwest border is set to end Thursday, and the Biden administration and state officials across the U.S. are bracing for a potential increase in asylum seekers. At the same time, House Republicans this week are pushing through a […]

Senator Bernie Sanders speaks outside the U.S. Capitol

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 […]

A McDonald's restaurant sign

At a McDonald’s in Kentucky, 10-year-olds worked past midnight, Department of Labor finds

By: - May 3, 2023

WASHINGTON — Children as young as 10 were found working past midnight at a McDonald’s restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky, the U.S. Department of Labor said in announcing numerous civil penalties levied on fast-food franchises. As part of an investigation into federal child labor law violations in the Southeast, the Department of Labor said that three […]

Transgender student speaks in favor of LGBTQI+ rights

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. […]

a migrant family at the Texas-Mexico border

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. […]