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.

Rep. Gaetz Files Motion To Remove Rep. McCarthy As Speaker Of The House

U.S. House votes to remove Kevin McCarthy as speaker

By: , and - October 3, 2023

WASHINGTON — Dissident Republicans in the U.S. House voted with Democrats on Tuesday to oust Kevin McCarthy as speaker, a historic move that came just nine months after he secured the gavel following days of negotiating with the GOP’s right flank and 15 rounds of voting. It wasn’t immediately clear after the vote how the […]

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy takes questions from reporters Sept. 29, 2023, at the U.S. Capitol.

Government shutdown nears: U.S. House GOP fails to pass one-month spending plan

By: , , and - September 29, 2023

WASHINGTON — A sweeping government shutdown appeared inevitable on Friday, with the U.S. Senate stuck in a procedural holding pattern on its bipartisan stopgap bill and divided U.S. House Republicans unable to pass their short-term spending bill. Both chambers of Congress must approve and President Joe Biden must sign government funding legislation before midnight on […]

Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Meeting On Pending Nominations

U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California dies at 90

By: - September 29, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein died Thursday night in her home in Washington, D.C. The California Democrat was 90 and had announced in February she would not run for reelection in 2024. “She left a legacy that is undeniable and extraordinary,” her chief of staff, James Sauls, said in a statement. “Senator Feinstein was […]

Republicans will show evidence of how President Joe Biden “abused his public office for his family’s financial gain.”

GOP witnesses at Biden impeachment hearing see insufficient evidence of wrongdoing so far

By: - September 28, 2023

WASHINGTON — With two days before a partial government shutdown, House Republicans held their first impeachment inquiry hearing Thursday over unproven allegations that President Joe Biden benefited from his son’s business dealings overseas. Witnesses tapped by Republicans for the House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing acknowledged that there was no evidence showing that the president […]

Fall peppers and chili at Bloomingdale Farmers Market on Nov. 9, 2014, in Washington, D.C.

Food benefits for low income families at risk in a government shutdown, White House says

By: - September 25, 2023

WASHINGTON — As Congress barrels toward a partial government shutdown, the White House Monday warned that a program that helps millions of low income families afford healthy food could see substantial cuts. The White House released a state-by-state breakdown, estimating that nearly 7 million people who rely on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, […]

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Meets With U.S. Lawmakers On Capitol Hill

‘If we don’t get the aid, we will lose the war’: Zelenskyy asks Congress to help Ukraine

By: and - September 21, 2023

WASHINGTON — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday traveled to Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers to reiterate the need for continued aid to support his country’s fight against the Russian invasion, even as the U.S. faces a partial government shutdown as soon as the end of the month. “If we don’t get the aid, […]

Migrants from Venezuela wait in line for dinner

Biden administration offers temporary protection to Venezuelan migrants 

By: - September 21, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced late Wednesday that the agency will expand protected status to nearly half a million Venezuelan nationals, allowing them to live and work in the United States. The move comes after multiple requests from cities that have struggled to house asylum seekers and calls from […]

U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy

U.S. House GOP spending bills falter as Congress struggles to avoid a shutdown

By: and - September 19, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats said Tuesday they are preparing their own short-term spending bill that they believe will garner bipartisan support, a decision that could stave off a partial government shutdown — and as House Republicans failed to advance two spending bills. The Senate move would work as long as the House votes to […]

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy addresses reporters at a news conference Sept. 12, 2023, in the U.S. Capitol

U.S. House Speaker McCarthy tells committees to launch Biden impeachment probe

By: - September 12, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday announced that he has directed several House committees to open a formal impeachment inquiry into unproven GOP allegations that President Joe Biden profited from his son’s business dealings when he was vice president in the Obama administration. “These allegations paint a picture, a picture of corruption,” […]

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks during a news conference Sept. 6, 2023, following a closed-door lunch meeting with Senate Democrats at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Battles over spending, farm bill, Ukraine and yet more loom over a divided Congress

By: , , and - September 12, 2023

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House and Senate are both back in D.C. on Tuesday following a long summer recess, facing an overwhelming agenda of unfinished work — funding the federal government and reauthorizing major programs set to expire at the end of the month. Congressional leaders and President Joe Biden have only a few weeks […]

Applying for student loan. Filling up the loan form with calculator, pen, note pad on the desk

Here’s what to know about new federal policies for repaying student loans

By: - August 22, 2023

WASHINGTON — Following the Supreme Court’s summer ruling against 40 million federal student loan borrowers who would have qualified for debt relief, the Biden administration crafted a year-long delay in repayments. The policy, known as an on-ramp, is set to begin next month. Additionally, hours after the Supreme Court’s decision, the Department of Education unveiled […]

U.S. Air Force loadmasters and pilots assigned to the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron load passengers aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III in support of the Afghanistan evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport on Aug. 24, 2021, in Kabul, Afghanistan

Afghan refugees who aided the U.S. stuck in legal limbo, two years after Kabul’s fall

By: - August 20, 2023

WASHINGTON — Two years ago, Farzana Jamalzada and her husband made the difficult decision to separately flee Afghanistan, after U.S. troops withdrew from the country and the Taliban took over. It took days for the couple to be reunited at an airport in Qatar, where Jamalzada would show people a picture of her husband on […]