Arkies in the Beltway

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of June 9, 2024. I'm Alex Thomas, Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, with your look at national politics and the Arkansans influencing the discussions. As the Israel-Hamas war enters its eighth month, family members of American hostages continue pushing lawmakers and government officials to take action to get their loved ones ba...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of May 26, 2024. I'm Alex Thomas, Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, with your look at national politics and the Arkansans influencing the discussions. Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives used two congressional hearings to ask questions surrounding the March 19 raid at Little Rock airport official Bryan Malinowski's...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of May 19, 2024! I'm Alex Thomas, Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, with your look at national politics and the Arkansans influencing the discussions. Arkansas' federal lawmakers backed the recent measure reauthorizing Federal Aviation Administration programs, with some members of the congressional delegation touting provisions...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway," the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's podcast looking at national politics and the Arkansans influencing the discussions. I'm Washington Correspondent Alex Thomas with your episode for the week of May 12, 2024 There was no bigger story on Capitol Hill last week for Arkansans than the unveiling of the new Daisy Bates statue at the U.S. Capitol. Bates — the civil rights ad...

Welcome to "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of May 5, 2024. 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. Capitol will be buzzing with excitement on Wednesday as lawmakers and Arkansans celebrate the unveiling of a new statue honoring civil rights activist Daisy Bates. T...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of April 28, 2024. I'm Alex Thomas — Washington Correspondent at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette — with your look at national politics and the Arkansans influencing the discussions. After months of inaction and much talk on Capitol Hill, Congress finally passed an international aid package to assist Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific. The U.S. House of...

Welcome to "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of April 21, 2024. 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 opted to drop impeachment charges against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Senators dismissed the two charges along party lines; Arkansas' s...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of April 14, 2024. I'm Alex Thomas — Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette — with your look at national politics and the Arkansans influencing the discussions. Plans are in motion to place two new statues of Arkansas icons at the U.S. Capitol. Crews removed statues of Uriah Rose and James Paul Clarke on April 5 in anticipation of in...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of April 7, 2024. 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 Congress have spent the last two weeks away from Capitol Hill conducting work in their states and districts. For this week's episode, we take a look back at some of...

Thank you for checking out this week's episode of "Arkies in the Beltway!" I'm Alex Thomas — Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette — with your look at national politics and the Arkansans influencing the discussions. As discussed during our March 24 episode, Congress approved the second spending package necessary for funding the rest of the federal government and avoiding a gov...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of March 24, 2024! I'm Alex Thomas — Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette — with your look at national politics and the Arkansans influencing the discussions. Congress has finally approved all 12 spending bills for the current fiscal year. The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives passed a $1.2 trillion package to end last week....

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of March 17, 2024! I'm Alex Thomas — Washington correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette — with your look at national politics and the Arkansans influencing the discussions. After federal lawmakers missed the initial deadline for approving a new compact with the Marshall Islands, Congress finally agreed to extend the relationship with the Pacific...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of March 10, 2024! I'm Alex Thomas — Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette — with your weekly guide on the Arkansans influencing the national political discourse. Arkansas' federal lawmakers had cold responses to President Joe Biden's State of the Union address. Biden gave the third such address before a joint session of Congress la...

Welcome to the first "Arkies in the Beltway" for March! I'm Alex Thomas — Washington correspondent at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette — with your look at national politics for the week of March 3, 2024. The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have a plan for passing Congress' annual spending bill, ending this legislative body's cycle of passing stopgap funding measures extending current funding...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of February 25, 2024. I'm Alex Thomas — Washington Correspondent at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette — with your look at happenings in the nation's capital and the Arkansans influencing the political discussions. Usually, the U.S. Capitol is a place bustling with legislative business, reporters working on stories, and tourists interested in the sights of C...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of Feb. 18, 2024. 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 approved its $95.3 billion security package last Tuesday. The legislation includes billions of dollars in assistance for Ukraine, Israel and the United States'...

Welcome to "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of February 11, 2024! I'm Alex Thomas, Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, with a recap of a busy week in the nation's capital. The U.S. House of Representatives failed to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. House Republicans put forward two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas over the Biden administra...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of Feb. 4, 2024. I'm Alex Thomas, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Washington correspondent, with your look at national politics and the Arkansans influencing the discussions. U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., caught the attention of many political observers following last week's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, during which Cotton spent his allotted time...

Welcome to this edition of "Arkies in the Beltway!" I'm Alex Thomas, Washington correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, with your news from the nation's capital for the week of Jan. 28, 2024. It was a rather low-key week at the U.S. Capitol as the Senate considered nominations and members of the House of Representatives conducted business away from Capitol Hill.  Arkansas' senators, howev...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of Jan. 21, 2024. I'm Alex Thomas, the Washington correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson has left the campaign trail. Hutchinson — who served as Arkansas' governor from January 2015 to January 2023 — suspended his presidential bid after a sixth-place finish in the Iowa caucuses. He spoke to the Arkansas Demo...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of Jan. 14, 2024. I'm Alex Thomas, the Washington correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. The new year has been busy so far. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., led a coalition of lawmakers to the southern border to begin 2024. Congressional Republicans continue to press the Biden administration to implement stricter immigration policies. Arkans...

Welcome to "Arkies in the Beltway," the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's podcast looking at national politics and the Arkansans influencing the discussions. I'm Alex Thomas, the Democrat-Gazette's Washington Correspondent. It's difficult to select a singular word to describe the U.S. House of Representatives' year. House Republicans took majority control in January, but most of the headlines throughout...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of Dec. 17, 2023. I'm Alex Thomas, Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives last week overwhelmingly approved Congress' annual defense package. The $886.3 billion National Defense Authorization Act includes multiple provisions regarding military-related construction and munition procurement...

This is "Arkies in the Beltway" for the week of Dec. 10, 2023. I'm Alex Thomas , Washington correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. The National Association of Christian Lawmakers held its annual meeting and awards gala last week at the Museum of the Bible in Washington. The Conway-based organization focuses on uniting local, state and federal lawmakers on policies addressing issues throu...

Welcome to "Arkies in the Beltway!" I'm Alex Thomas, Washington Correspondent for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazaette, and here's your look at national politics through an Arkansas lens for the week of Dec. 3, 2023. The U.S. House of Representatives ended last week with a historic vote to expel New York Republican George Santos from the chamber. The House had only removed five members from the chamber...