Lissandra Villa

Recent Articles

Bipartisan Talks on Police Reform Advance—Delicately

A small bipartisan group of lawmakers in Washington are making an urgent push to get a police reform bill passed in Congress in the wake of a Minneapolis jury finding Derek Chauvin, a white former...

By Abby Vesoulis and Lissandra Villa

Kevin McCarthy’s Gamble on a “Big Tent” GOP

Kevin McCarthy was almost to the end of the press conference when a reporter asked whether Donald Trump should speak at an upcoming conservative conclave in Florida. It was Feb. 24, just over a month...

By Lissandra Villa

John Boehner on His New Book and the Rise of Trump

John Boehner left office months before the biggest political story of the decade played out: Donald Trump won the Republican presidential nomination, became President, and redefined the Republican Party. Boehner, who announced his resignation in...

By Lissandra Villa

A Capitol Police Officer Is Killed in Another Deadly Attack at U.S. Capitol

A U.S. Capitol Police officer was killed and a second was injured on Friday afternoon following an attack on the Capitol, in which authorities say a suspect rammed a vehicle into the officers. The attack...

By Lissandra Villa

A Democrat Is Challenging the Election Result in Her District. Republicans Are Seizing the Moment

One absentee ballot was not counted because its secrecy envelope arrived already sealed, and so the voter had to open it and seal it back up with tape. Two ballots were excluded from the initial...

By Lissandra Villa

Is U.S. Immigration Reform Possible?

The bills would provide a pathway to citizenship for millions, including DREAMers

By Lissandra Villa

Trump's South Texas Gains Vex Democrats

More than four months later, Democrats are still trying to understand what went awry.

By Lissandra Villa/Zapata, Texas

Republicans Want Trump to Help Retake Congress. Will He?

Former President Donald Trump wants to play a role in leading the Republican Party to victory in future elections, but it’s becoming clear that he means to provide his help only to those who’ve never...

By Lissandra Villa

How Republicans Downplayed the Capitol Riot at CPAC

Republican speakers at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Friday downplayed the deadly Jan. 6 storming of the United States Capitol by a pro-Trump mob that disrupted the peaceful transfer of power, sidestepping former...

By Lissandra Villa

We Still Don't Know What Went Wrong at Capitol

Law enforcement leaders offered little insight into how the chain of command broke down, resulting in the deadly breach of the Capitol

By Lissandra Villa

'I Am Not the President's Lawyer'

U.S. Attorney General nominee Merrick Garland assured Congress on Monday that he would remain independent of partisan influences if he is confirmed to the post. Garland, one of President Joe Biden’s highest-profile nominees, would oversee...

By Lissandra Villa

Trump Faces Uncertain Road Despite Acquittal

In the silent security video, Republican Senator Mitt Romney of Utah is making his way toward his hideaway office in the United States Capitol. He’s past the Ohio clock, with his back to the Senate...

By Lissandra Villa

Trump’s Lawyers Say He Didn’t Incite Capitol Riot

Donald Trump’s attorneys defended the former President against the charge that he incited an insurrection before the Senate on Friday, presenting their entire argument in less than three hours. House managers “chose to spend 14-plus...

By Tessa Berenson and Lissandra Villa

Republicans Remain Unmoved

The House impeachment managers finished their opening arguments after two days of wrenching presentations about the deadly riot at the Capitol

By Tessa Berenson and Lissandra Villa

Democrats Make an Emotional Case to America

House impeachment managers are creating a public record of the dramatic assault on American democracy

By Lissandra Villa and Tessa Berenson

Confused by Trump's Defense? So Were Republican Senators

If you didn’t quite follow former President Donald Trump’s defense team’s argument on the opening day of the Senate impeachment trial, Republican Senators were right there with you. “I thought I knew where he was...

By Lissandra Villa

How the House Is Testing Kevin McCarthy

Kevin McCarthy, the House Republican minority leader, is trying to have it both ways. The question for him and Republicans everywhere is: can he? The Republican party is at a crossroads, and the diverging paths...

By Lissandra Villa

Liz Cheney Under Pressure for Voting to Impeach Trump

The fight for the future of the Republican party is here, and an early battle is playing out in the House

By Lissandra Villa

Trump's Impeachment Trial Raises Constitutional Questions

Sen. Rand Paul forced a vote on the constitutionality of Donald Trump's second impeachment trial

By Tessa Berenson and Lissandra Villa

Congress Remains Divided After Deadly Capitol Attack

Americans and their representatives in Congress might have found an opportunity to come together after a deadly mob stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, threatening lives and upending the prospect for a peaceful transfer...

By Lissandra Villa
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