Author
![Ariana Figueroa](png/ariana-figueroa-300x300.png)
Ariana covers the nation's capital for States Newsroom. Her areas of coverage include politics and policy, lobbying, elections and campaign finance.
Nevada Current is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
Biden immigration overhaul would open a door to citizenship
By: Ariana Figueroa - January 22, 2021
The immigration reform bill President Joe Biden is sending to Congress would lay out a path for nearly 11 million undocumented people to obtain citizenship within eight years. Immigration has been one of the toughest issues for Congress to tackle, and the legislation’s fate is unclear in a House in which Democrats wield narrower control […]
Capitol chaos as pro-Trump mob turns lawless
By: Laura Olson and Ariana Figueroa - January 6, 2021
WASHINGTON – A mob derailed the typically routine process of Congress certifying the presidential election results on Wednesday, with both chambers abruptly recessing after President Donald Trump’s supporters clashed with police and forced their way into the U.S. Capitol. A House office building was evacuated, and the Capitol and surrounding office buildings were locked down […]
What’s in the $900B relief bill—and what’s out
By: Laura Olson and Ariana Figueroa - December 22, 2020
WASHINGTON — Congress passed a bipartisan emergency relief bill intended to aid Americans affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Summaries from House Democratic appropriators say it includes: DIRECT CHECKS —$166 billion in another round of economic impact payments that will go directly to Americans. —$600 direct checks for individuals that begin phasing out at an income […]
Immigration advocates push Biden to not just bring back DACA but expand it
By: Ariana Figueroa - November 24, 2020
President-elect Joe Biden is promising to reinstate an Obama-era program that shields deportation for some undocumented people who were brought to the United States by their parents when they were children. But immigration advocates are pushing for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to not just be reaffirmed but expanded, and written into law. […]
Hoping for gains, congressional Democrats got setbacks
By: Ariana Figueroa - November 5, 2020
Tuesday’s election did not go as planned for congressional Democrats, who were expected to pick up nearly a dozen GOP seats in the House but instead lost races while also failing to flip Senate seats held by vulnerable Republicans. The outlook for Democratic control of the Senate did not improve the day after the election, […]
In races that will decide Senate control, Democrats raised more money
By: Laura Olson and Ariana Figueroa - October 31, 2020
If you had to chair the Democratic effort to help U.S. Senate candidates raise money, 2020 was a good cycle to do it. Nevada Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto is the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee this cycle, (a job has pitted her efforts against those of deep-pocketed resort industry donors right in […]
Trump to stay ‘the next few days’ at military hospital for COVID-19 treatment
By: Jane Norman, Ariana Figueroa and Laura Olson - October 2, 2020
WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump was taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in suburban Maryland late Friday afternoon, where White House officials said he is expected to stay for “the next few days” for treatment of COVID-19. White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany described Trump, who disclosed his diagnosis earlier Friday, as having mild symptoms […]
The ‘stand back and stand by’ candidate turns debate into dumpster fire
By: Ariana Figueroa - September 30, 2020
President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden in Tuesday night’s chaotic and messy presidential debate were each asked how they would deal with the nation’s institutional racism. Trump directly addressed a far-right group, the Proud Boys, telling them to “stand back and stand by,” and failed to answer a question about why Americans should […]
Nevada senators zero in on threat to health care after Barrett’s nomination
By: Ariana Figueroa - September 26, 2020
President Donald Trump’s nomination Saturday of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court drew dire predictions from Nevada’s Democratic senators: Once Barrett is confirmed and the right’s majority on the court is expanded, Nevadans can say goodbye to the Affordable Care Act, including the act’s provisions covering people with preexisting conditions. “I’m certain that […]