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.

Jan. 6 insurrection

Federal prosecutors file seditious conspiracy charges against Oath Keepers in Jan. 6 attack

By: - January 13, 2022

WASHINGTON — Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the far-right militia group the Oath Keepers, was charged with seditious conspiracy in organizing an attack on the U.S. Capitol and disrupting the Electoral College certification of the president, the Justice Department announced Thursday. Edward Vallejo, 63, of Phoenix is charged along with Rhodes in connection with events […]

Michigan woman arrested with guns her truck near U.S. Capitol

By: - January 13, 2022

WASHINGTON — The United States Capitol Police said in a press release that they arrested a Michigan woman Wednesday on charges of unlawful possession of multiple firearms. The woman, identified by officers as Kery Lynn McAttee, told police she was traveling from Michigan and went to the U.S. Capitol Police headquarters to talk about information […]

Biden sending medical teams to 6 states with COVID-19 surges

By: - January 13, 2022

Biden added that 500 million tests, in addition to 500 million promised earlier, will be distributed to Americans who request them, as well as high-quality masks.

Congressional Black Caucus calls for Senate action on voting rights

By: - January 12, 2022

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is expected to meet with Senate Democrats on Thursday to push for the swift passage of two voting rights bills, and members of the Congressional Black Caucus are applying pressure for action as well. During a press conference at the Capitol on Wednesday, caucus Chair Joyce Beatty said that members […]

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer

U.S. Senate showdown over voting rights could happen Wednesday

By: - January 11, 2022

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that the Senate will act as soon as Wednesday to attempt to again pass voting rights legislation. “Failure is not an option for the democracy of America,” the New York Democrat said at a Tuesday press conference with other Senate Democrats. “We’re running out of time.” Schumer […]

Senators air bipartisan beefs with Biden administration’s handling of COVID crisis

By: - January 11, 2022

WASHINGTON — Senators from both political parties expressed their frustration with the Biden administration coronavirus response team during a Tuesday hearing that keyed in on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance on vaccines, as well as the shortage of COVID-19 tests available for Americans. The hearing also was highlighted by a tense exchange […]

Biden in Jan. 6 speech decries ‘web of lies’ created by Trump about 2020 election

By: - January 6, 2022

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday warned of the dangers of a collapse of American democracy, standing in a historic chamber in the U.S. Capitol that was besieged by an angry mob of pro-Trump supporters who attempted to halt the certification of the 2020 presidential election. “We are in the battle for the soul […]

A mob of pro-Trump supporters attack the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, 2020

Here’s what’s happening in D.C. on the Jan. 6 anniversary

By: - January 6, 2022

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will deliver a speech Thursday in the heart of the U.S. Capitol to mark the first anniversary of the insurrection there. One year ago, former President Donald Trump incited a mob of his supporters, and encouraged them to storm the Capitol in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying the […]

Voters lined up at a polling precinct

Voting rights tops U.S. Senate agenda as Jan. 6 anniversary nears

By: - January 5, 2022

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday stressed that Democrats are prepared to change Senate rules to pass voting rights legislation — and linked the move to the attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump. “The election subversion efforts we’re seeing all across the country today are […]

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer

Schumer says U.S. Senate to consider changing the filibuster if voting rights stalls

By: - January 3, 2022

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer warned on Monday that the Senate is prepared to debate changes in the filibuster if Republicans continue to block the advancement of voting rights legislation. In a sternly worded letter to other senators, the New York Democrat set a deadline of Jan. 17 for the chamber to consider […]

LSU Student Union

Biden administration resists Democrats’ pleas on student debt relief as deadline nears

By: - December 21, 2021

WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats are urging the White House to extend the freeze on student loan repayments, and for the president to cancel up to $50,000 of student debt — but so far the administration is not budging. The standoff is one of the more noticeable splits between President Joe Biden and members of his […]

U.S. Capitol

Biden’s big social spending bill caught in snags in the Senate

By: - December 17, 2021

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s giant social and climate spending bill on Thursday night appeared stalled in the U.S. Senate for some time to come, a deep frustration for congressional Democrats who aimed to pass the ambitious package by the Christmas recess. At risk also is a temporary expansion of the child tax credit, the […]