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. Rep. María Salazar, R-Fla.,

New bipartisan immigration legislation proposed in U.S. House

By: - May 23, 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. It would also fund border security measures.  The two Latinas who spearheaded the bill, Reps. Veronica Escobar, a Texas Democrat, and María Elvira Salazar, […]

President Joe Biden meets with congressional leaders about debt limit negotiations

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 […]

U.S. Rep. George Santos (R-NY)

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 […]

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona

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 […]

asylum seeker from Mexico

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

By: - May 11, 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 […]

Lauren Boebert and Matt Gaetz

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, […]

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 […]

abortion pills

Congressional Democrats urge reversal of district court ruling on mifepristone

By: - May 2, 2023

WASHINGTON — More than 250 congressional Democrats have filed a brief urging an appeals court to reverse a Texas federal judge’s decision to suspend the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s two-decade-old approval of the abortion pill. In an emergency order, the U.S. Supreme Court in April issued a stay, meaning the abortion pill known as […]

Rebekah Bruesehoff, a transgender student athlete, speaks at a press conference

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

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 […]

President Joe Biden signs a resolution in the Oval Office

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

By: - April 27, 2023

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on 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 […]

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona

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 […]