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. Senate votes to block student loan relief, White House will veto

By: - June 2, 2023

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted to overturn the Biden administration’s one-time student debt relief plan that is on hold due to a pending Supreme Court decision. President Joe Biden has vowed to veto the resolution, but the 52-46 vote forced vulnerable Senate Democrats up for reelection in 2024 to take a public […]

U.S. Capitol

Debt limit deal hits turbulence in Congress as leaders prep for vote

By: and - May 30, 2023

WASHINGTON — Congress began moving the bipartisan debt limit package forward Tuesday, though frustrations with provisions in the bill could make for narrow passage in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate. Conservative Republicans and progressive Democrats both aired their disappointment with the agreement forged over the weekend, but only GOP lawmakers are looking to possibly […]

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, front, with GOP Rep. Garret Graves of Louisiana at left, speaks briefly to reporters about a deal on the debt ceiling 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 29, 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 […]

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

U.S. Rep. María Salazar, R-Fla., speaks to reporters following a press conference at the U.S. Capitol about immigration legislation, on May 23, 2023. Ariana Figueroa/States Newsroom

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, […]

U.S. Capitol

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 […]

Gavel courtroom sitting vacant

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. The expulsion resolution introduced by freshman California Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia was […]

Miguel Cardona (Photo by Joshua Roberts/Getty Images)

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 […]

A woman cries as she is allowed through Gate 42 after days of waiting on the south side of the border wall to be accepted for processing. (Photo by Corrie Boudreaux for Source NM)

U.S. House passes bill to reinstate Trump-era immigration policies

By: - May 12, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans on Thursday pushed through a border security package that mirrors Trump-era immigration policies, aiming criticism at the Biden administration for ending a pandemic-era public health measure used to expel millions of migrants from the country. The House passed the measure in a 219-213 vote. Only two Republicans voted in opposition, […]

U.S. Sens. Thom Tillis and Kyrsten Sinema on a Jan. 9, 2023, visit to the border in El Paso, Texas. Photo courtesy U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's Office

Sinema says Arizona ‘bears the brunt of the crisis’ as Title 42 immigration policy ends

By: - May 11, 2023

WASHINGTON — In a rare sit-down with reporters, U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona said Thursday that border states are not prepared for the end of a pandemic-era measure called Title 42 used to expel millions of migrants at the border. Sinema, an independent, was joined at the press event at the U.S. Capitol by […]

Piggy bank | Getty Images

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, […]

EL PASO, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 22: (L-R) Jheanpiere Contreras, Genesis Contreras, and Daniel Soto, who two days ago arrived from Venezuela after crossing the U.S. border from Mexico, wait in line for dinner at a hotel provided by the Annunciation House on September 22, 2022 in El Paso, Texas. The Venezuelans will stay for a day or two at the hotel before being sent on to Ohio where their sponsors live. In recent weeks, Venezuelans have arrived in increasing numbers in El Paso. Annunciation House and other migrant shelters have been at capacity as they struggle to find housing and other aid for the migrants. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

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 […]