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 stalled again after rejecting Jim Jordan as speaker a second time

By: and - October 18, 2023

Centrist Republicans signaled they are unlikely to be swayed by the pressure Jordan allies have been using to whip votes. 

Ohio’s Jim Jordan fails in bid for U.S. House speaker, leaving chamber paralyzed again

By: , and - October 17, 2023

Rep. Jim Jordan was unable to clinch the votes needed to hold the speaker gavel amid concerns about his agenda.

Jim Jordan gains support as vote nears for U.S. House speaker, but outcome still in doubt

By: , and - October 17, 2023

Rep. Jim Jordan will need the backing of nearly all the chamber’s 221 GOP lawmakers in order to become House speaker.

Biden’s go-ahead for added border wall draws criticism from Democrats in Congress

By: - October 14, 2023

The criticism comes after the Biden administration moved to allow for 20 miles of additional border wall along the South of Texas planned under the Trump administration.

Scalise drops out of race for U.S. House speaker

By: and - October 13, 2023

More than a dozen Republican lawmakers said they wouldn’t vote to elect Scalise speaker on the floor.

Scalise nominated by U.S. House GOP as speaker in closed-door meeting

By: , and - October 11, 2023

The next step for Scalise, who currently is the majority leader, will be garnering the support of nearly all his GOP colleagues to win a floor vote.

Race for U.S. House speaker moves toward a vote as Scalise, Jordan make their pitches

By: and - October 11, 2023

House GOP lawmakers are expected to convene Wednesday morning to begin privately voting for their nominee.

McCarthy may jump into U.S. House speaker race, as crises overseas mount

By: , , and - October 9, 2023

House Republicans are set to meet both Monday night and Tuesday in private to discuss where the party should go in the months ahead and who should lead them

White House provides another $9 billion in student debt relief as pandemic pause ends

By: - October 4, 2023

The announcement comes days after federal student loan repayments restarted following a nearly three-year pause due to the pandemic.

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

By: , and - October 3, 2023

The 216-210 vote capped off months of growing dissent among a small group of House Republicans. 

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

By: , , and - September 29, 2023

Both chambers of Congress must approve and President Joe Biden must sign government funding legislation before midnight on Saturday, otherwise a funding lapse would begin on Oct. 1.

Shutdown would mean even more delays in overwhelmed U.S. immigration courts

By: - September 29, 2023

Canceling or rescheduling court cases that many immigrants have awaited for years will cause even more backlogs, immigration attorneys and judges have warned.