Author Archive

Ariana Figueroa

DC Bureau Reporter

Ariana covers the nation's capital for States Newsroom. Her areas of coverage include politics and policy, lobbying, elections and campaign finance.
Ariana covers the nation's capital for States Newsroom. Her areas of coverage include politics and policy, lobbying, elections and campaign finance.
Updated News

2 National Guard members from West Virginia wounded in 'targeted' shooting in D.C.

Officials say both guardsmen are in critical condition and a suspect is in custody. President Trump says the attacker will “pay a very steep price.”

Management

As health costs spike, a sour and divided Congress escapes one shutdown to face another

Few of the divides that fueled the 43-day shutdown have been resolved, and a fractured Congress is on the clock to find a budgetary solution.

Management

​​​​​​​Shutdown fight in the Senate likely to drag through the weekend

Senators are staying in Washington through the weekend as talks continue on a short-term spending deal to end the government shutdown, with both parties trading proposals on health care subsidies and federal worker pay.

Management

Fresh from election wins, Dems demand Trump meeting over shutdown

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., sent a letter to President Donald Trump on Wednesday, calling for a bipartisan meeting to end the government shutdown.

Management

Two judges block Trump administration from cutting SNAP benefits

A pair of rulings have temporarily paused White House plans to halt funding to the food assistance program during the government shutdown.

Management

USDA won't shuffle funds to extend SNAP during shutdown, in about-face from earlier plan

Agriculture Department officials said Friday they cannot use a contingency fund to continue paying the SNAP program, despite earlier shutdown guidance allowing its use.

Workforce

With funding for courts in question, Congress stuck in shutdown gridlock for day 16

The Senate ensured that the government shutdown would last into next week when it failed to pass a stopgap government spending bill for a 10th time on Thursday.

Management

Trump Education Department to divert grants from colleges serving students of color

Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the department would withhold $350 million in minority-serving institution grants from 800 colleges and universities, saying the grants "discriminate by restricting eligibility to institutions that meet government-mandated racial quotas."

News

4 GOP states send nearly 1,000 National Guard to D.C. for Trump crackdown

Governors from Ohio, Mississippi, South Carolina and West Virginia agreed to send National Guardsmen to the nation's capital.

Management

Trump’s pick to lead Customs and Border Protection confirmed by Senate

Rodney Scott, the former Border Patrol chief, returns to a key role in Trump’s immigration agenda—despite renewed scrutiny over a migrant death under his past leadership.

Management

Judge grills DOJ official on order tying transportation funding to immigration enforcement

A lawsuit brought by 20 Democratic state attorneys general challenges an April directive from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

News

U.S. senators call for security funding boost after Minnesota assassination

Following shootings in Minnesota, senators called for more funding for the U.S. Capitol Police to provide member security.

Transition

Trump Customs and Border Protection nominee probed on 2010 death in custody

Rodney Scott served as chief of Border Patrol during the first Trump administration and was dismissed in 2021 by President Biden.

News

Final results may lag in deadlocked presidential contest, anxious election officials warn

Election officials, Congress and others are preparing for slow vote counts, legal challenges and the potential for violence this election season.

Oversight

Task force probing Trump assassination attempt to expand to include Florida incident

“We have a responsibility here in Congress to get down to the bottom of this, to figure out why these things are happening and what we can do about it,” the House speaker said in a statement.

News

Man arrested after poking rifle onto Trump golf course charged with federal gun crimes

The incident is being investigated as the second assassination attempt against the former president in two months.

News

Gunshots fired near Trump in Florida; campaign says former president is safe

Secret Service officials said “a protective incident” involving Trump occurred near Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, two months after an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania.

Management

Federal judge pauses a program that grants protections for undocumented spouses

A Homeland Security Department spokesperson said the agency will defend the program, known as Keeping Families Together, in court. DHS is still allowed to collect applications, but not allowed to approve them.

News

House Judiciary files suit to obtain audio tapes of Biden special counsel interview

The suit, filed against Attorney General Merrick Garland in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, asks to overturn Biden’s assertion of executive privilege over the recordings of his interviews with Robert K. Hur.

Management

Executive order limiting asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border signed by Biden

The White House order would cap asylum requests at the southern border at 2,500 daily crossings.