Arkies in the Beltway

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of Dec. 21, 2025! I'm Alex Thomas, Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, with one last look for the year at national politics and the Arkansans influencing the discussions. The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have completed legislative business for the year, as lawmakers left Capitol Hill last week for the holidays. One of...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of Dec. 14, 2025! I'm Alex Thomas, Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, with your look at national politics and the Arkansans influencing the discussions. Arkansas farm leaders are thankful for the White House’s plan to help agriculture, but they remain uneasy about farming's immediate future. The Trump administration plans to pro...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of Dec. 7, 2025! I'm Alex Thomas, Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, with your look at national politics and the Arkansans influencing the discussions. Members of Arkansas' congressional delegation back recent U.S. military strikes against boats traveling from Latin America. The Trump administration has embraced these attacks as...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of Nov. 23, 2025! I'm Alex Thomas, Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, with your look at national politics and the Arkansans influencing the discussions. The Justice Department has less than 30 days to release unclassified records about Jeffrey Epstein. President Donald Trump signed legislation last Wednesday requiring the depart...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of Nov. 16, 2025! I'm Alex Thomas, Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, with your look at national politics and the Arkansans influencing the discussions. The federal government shutdown ended last Wednesday when President Donald Trump signed a Senate plan to restore funding across the government. All six members of Arkansas' cong...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of Nov. 9, 2025! I'm Alex Thomas, Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, with your look at national politics and the Arkansans influencing the discussions. Arkansas will deploy around 100 Arkansas National Guard members to Washington, D.C., after Thanksgiving to assist with the Trump administration's efforts to address crime in the ...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of Nov. 2, 2025! I'm Alex Thomas, Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, with your look at national politics and the Arkansans influencing the discussions. Saturday marked one month of the federal government shutdown, and its impact is apparent. The state of Arkansas has not received funding for federally supported programs, and tho...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of Oct. 26, 2025! I'm Alex Thomas, Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, with your weekly look at national politics and the Arkansans influencing the discussions. The federal government shutdown enters a new week, and advocacy leaders in the Natural State are sharing their concerns about how the ongoing funding lapse will impact Ar...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of Oct. 19, 2025! I'm Alex Thomas, Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, with your weekly look at national politics and the Arkansans influencing the discussions. The federal government shutdown continues into a new week, but the funding lapse has not prevented Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ark., from announcing new legislation aimed at he...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of Oct. 12, 2025! I'm Alex Thomas, Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, with your weekly look at national politics and the Arkansans influencing the discussions. The federal government shutdown continues, keeping much of Capitol Hill at a standstill. Democrats have pushed back against a short-term spending measure from their Repub...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of Oct. 5, 2025! I'm Alex Thomas, Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, with your weekly look at national politics and the Arkansans influencing the discussions. It appears the government shutdown will enter a second week as the U.S. Senate remains at a stalemate. Republicans have pushed a continuing resolution to extend government...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of Sept. 28, 2025! I'm Alex Thomas, Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, with your weekly look at national politics and the Arkansans influencing the discussions. If you recall the start of Donald Trump's second presidency, his first actions upon returning to office caused the closure of the nation's most significant agency for di...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of Sept. 21, 2025! I'm Alex Thomas, Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, with your weekly look at national politics and the Arkansans influencing the discussions. There is still time for Congress to pass a funding measure averting a government shutdown at month's end, but the chances of such an event on Oct. 1 increased last Frida...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of Sept. 14, 2025! I'm Alex Thomas, Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, with your look at national politics and the Arkansans influencing the discussions. Members of Arkansas' congressional delegation were among the public officials who condemned political violence following last Wednesday's assassination of conservative activist...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of Sept. 7, 2025! I'm Alex Thomas, Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, with your look at national politics and the Arkansans influencing the discussions. Two Arkansas agricultural leaders spent part of last week in Washington, D.C., urging the Trump administration and Congress to take action to help farmers in the Natural State....

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of August 31, 2025! I'm Alex Thomas, Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, with your look at national politics and the Arkansans influencing the discussions. As Republicans and Democrats in other states debate drawing new congressional districts before next year's midterm elections, Arkansas' state lawmakers are not in a position t...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of August 24, 2025! I'm Alex Thomas, Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, with your look at national politics and the Arkansans influencing the discussions. Members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are preparing to resume legislative duties on Capitol Hill after Labor Day. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., hopes lawmake...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of August 17, 2025! I'm Alex Thomas, Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, with your look at national politics and the Arkansans influencing the discussions. It's been more than a month since President Donald Trump signed Republicans' tax and spending package into law. Much of the attention surrounding the One Big, Beautiful Bill A...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of August 10, 2025! I'm Alex Thomas, Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, with your look at national politics and the Arkansans influencing the discussions. U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ark., is back in the United States after leading a bipartisan congressional delegation on a trip to Israel. Crawford, of Jonesboro, and colleagues h...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of August 3, 2025! I'm Alex Thomas, Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, with your look at national politics and the Arkansans influencing the discussions. Capitol Hill will be quiet for the foreseeable future as members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives take part in their annual August recess. Members of the House l...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of July 27, 2025! I'm Alex Thomas, Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, with your look at national politics and the Arkansans influencing the discussions. The U.S. Senate is in its final week of legislative business before its August recess period. The House of Representatives started its annual break early as House Republican lea...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of July 20, 2025! I'm Alex Thomas, Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, with your look at national politics and the Arkansans influencing the discussions. The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives passed a rescissions package at the end of last week, clawing back $9 billion for international aid and public broadcasting. All six...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of July 13, 2025! I'm Alex Thomas, Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. This podcast typically focuses on national political issues and the Arkansans influencing the related discussions. This week's episode, however, is putting a spotlight on a more light-hearted subject matter: the Congressional Art Competition. High school stude...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of July 6, 2025! I'm Alex Thomas, Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, with your look at national politics and the Arkansans influencing the discussions. Members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives were supposed to be spending the week of July 4 away from Capitol Hill, but lawmakers were instead in Washington, D.C., to...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of June 29, 2025! I'm Alex Thomas, Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, with your look at national politics and the Arkansans influencing the discussions. Congressional Republicans hope to meet President Donald Trump's July 4 deadline for passing their sweeping tax and spending measure, but trying to reach this goal has not come w...