48m ago
Senate will not vote on Yellen or Blinken nominations today
An aide to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer tells CBS News that there will be no other votes in the Senate on Friday, meaning that the Senate will not be voting to confirm Janet Yellen as Treasury secretary or Antony Blinken as secretary of State. Yellen’s nomination was advanced by the Senate Finance Committee by a unanimous vote today.
2:57 PM
White House warns of “even more serious” economic hole without “decisive action”
The U.S. will have to dig itself out of a much deeper economic hole if more economic relief doesn’t happen and soon, warned National Economic Council Director Brian Deese on Friday. Outlining new executive actions by President Joe Biden, Deese said more relief is needed from Congress.
“We’re at a precarious moment for the virus and the economy. Without decisive action, we risk falling into a veryRead more here. serious economic hole, even more serious than the crisis we find ourselves in,” Deese said.
Deese added the president’s actions are “not a substitute for comprehensive legislative relief,” but will extend a “critical” lifeline to families.
Mr. Biden is pushing Congress to pass a $1.9 trillion stimulus package that includes funds to combat the spread of COVID-19 and funds allocated to support vaccine distribution.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the White House is keen on a big package, which is certain to meet opposition from Republicans on the Hill.
A bipartisan group of senators are scheduled to have a call with Deese on Sunday. Deese didn’t directly answer whether Mr. Biden would be on the call, but said he would be and other senior members of the Biden administration would also be expected to engage with congressional members.
Read more here.
By Jack Turman and Kathryn Watson
2:22 PM
Biden administration announces new steps to fight extremism
The Biden administration is taking several steps to fight extremism following the January 6 attack on the Capitol, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday.
The administration is requesting a threat assessment from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, working with the Department for Homeland Security and the FBI.
The White House is also building out the National Security Council’s capability to counter extremism, and coordinating various federal government entities to counter radicalization.
Much of the radicalization and communication regarding the assault on the Capitol took place online.
12:19 PM
Pelosi confirms article of impeachment will be sent Monday
Shortly after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that Speaker Nancy Pelosi told him the House would deliver the article of impeachment against President Trump on Monday, Pelosi confirmed that the impeachment managers would indeed do so on January 25.
“The article of impeachment for incitement of insurrection by Donald Trump will be delivered to the Senate on Monday, January 25,” Pelosi said in a statement.
Pelosi also implicitly pushed back against Republican criticism that the impeachment process is moving too quickly.
“We are respectful of the Senate’s constitutional power over the trial and always attentive to the fairness of the process, noting that the former president will have had the same amount of time to prepare for trial as our Managers. Our Managers are ready to begin to make their case to 100 Senate jurors through the trial process,” Pelosi said.
11:25 AM
Austin confirmed as defense secretary in bipartisan vote
The Senate voted to confirm Lloyd Austin as defense secretary by a vote of 93-2 on Friday, after Congress passed a waiver on Thursday to allow for Austin’s confirmation, even though he retired from military service just four years ago. Austin will be the first African American Defense secretary in U.S. history.
Austin is expected to arrive at the Pentagon at noon on Friday, CBS News’ David Martin reports. One of his first meetings will be with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and one of the items on the agenda is what the military can do to improve the distribution of the coronavirus vaccine.
11:13 AM
McConnell argues that Senate should not immediately proceed with Trump impeachment trial
After Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced the Senate would receive the article of impeachment against former President Trump on Monday, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell argued that the Senate should delay receipt because, he said, Senate rules dictate that the impeachment trial begin immediately after the article is received.
“Senate Republicans strongly believe we need a full and fair process where the former president can mount a defense and the Senate can properly consider the factual, legal and constitutional questions at stake,” McConnell said on the floor.
He and Schumer are still negotiating on a power-sharing agreement, since the Senate is evenly divided, with 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats. Democrats control the Senate, however, because Vice President Kamala Harris would decide any ties. McConnell is trying to convince Schumer that the filibuster should not be eliminated. The modern filibuster has meant that most legislation in the Senate must have the support of 60 senators to be considered and voted upon. He pointed out that when he oversaw the majority, he did not dispense with the filibuster, even though President Trump attacked him on social media for not doing so. He also cited a 2017 bipartisan letter where Democrats signed onto in support of preserving the filibuster.
McConnell also said that he will vote to confirm Austin to be Secretary of Defense.
10:37 AM
Yellen nomination receives unanimous support from Senate Finance Committee
The nomination of former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen to be treasury secretary received unanimous support from the Senate Finance Committee, with a 26 to 0 vote, clearing her for confirmation by the full Senate.
10:26 AM
Schumer says Pelosi will send Trump article of impeachment to Senate on Monday
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi informed him that the House would deliver the article of impeachment against former President Trump on Monday. This would trigger the beginning of the impeachment trial in the Senate.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell released a proposal on Thursday requesting that the trial not begin until February. If the article is sent to the Senate early next week, it will all but ensure that the trial would begin earlier than McConnell had hoped.
In his speech on the Senate floor on Friday, Schumer also pushed back against McConnell’s insistence that Democrats provide a guarantee that they would not eliminate the legislative filibuster.
“Leader McConnell’s proposal is unacceptable and it won’t be accepted,” Schumer said.
Updated 9:56 AM
Biden plans executive action to expand food stamps and and streamline stimulus checks
President Biden will sign an executive order on Friday to increase federal food assistance and streamline the delivery of stimulus checks, as the president attempts to stabilize the economy without congressional assistance amid the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr. Biden will ask the U.S. Department of Agriculture to allow states to increase Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits — commonly known as food stamps — by 15%. Congress recently passed a $1 trillion relief bill that boosted the maximum SNAP benefit by 15%, but that did not help the 40% of SNAP recipients who were already at the maximum benefit.
Mr. Biden’s order would tell the USDA to “consider issuing new guidance that would allow states to increase SNAP emergency allotments for those who need it most,” according to a fact sheet provided by the White House, which would mean that an additional 12 million people get enhanced benefits.
The order would also increase Pandemic-EBT, an electronic debit card program for students who would have qualified for free or reduced-price meals at school. Mr. Biden is directing the USDA to “consider issuing new guidance increasing P-EBT benefits by approximately 15% to accurately reflect the costs of missing meals and make it easier for households to claim benefits.” According to the White House, this could provide a family with three children an additional $100 in support per month.
Under the order, the USDA would also reassess the Thrifty Food Plan, the basis for determining SNAP benefits. According to the fact sheet from the White House, the plan “is out of date with the economic realities most struggling households face when trying to buy and prepare healthy food.”
Updated 9:55 AM
Congress poised for quick action on Biden’s Pentagon nominee
The Democratic-controlled Congress has easily passed legislation required to confirm retired Gen. Lloyd Austin as President Joe Biden’s secretary of defense, brushing aside concerns that his retirement occurred inside the seven-year window that safeguards civilian leadership of the military.
It would be the first measure to be signed into law by brand-new President Joe Biden.
The Senate sent the measure exempting Austin from the seven-year rule to Biden on Thursday after a 69-27 Senate tally that came moments after a comparably lopsided 326-78 House vote. The back-to-back votes put Austin in position to be confirmed as secretary by Friday.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, confirmed that the confirmation vote on Austin would be conducted Friday.
Austin, a 41-year veteran of the Army, has promised to surround himself with qualified civilians and include them in policy decisions. He said he has spent nearly his entire life committed to the principle of civilian control over the military.
While the waiver is expected to be approved, the vote puts some Democrats in a position to look like they’ve flip-flopped. Many of them opposed a similar waiver in 2017 for Jim Mattis, former President Donald Trump’s first secretary of defense.
Austin said he understands why some have questioned the wisdom of putting a recently retired general in charge of the Defense Department. Much of his focus this week, including in his remarks at his Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday, has been on persuading members of Congress that although he has been out of uniform for less than five years, he sees himself as a civilian, not a general.
Updated 9:40 AM
Capitol Police reverse request that National Guard members guarding Capitol rest in parking garage
After spending days in the cold securing the U.S. Capitol following the deadly siege two weeks ago, citizen members of the National Guard were asked to leave the Capitol building and relocate to a nearby parking garage to rest during their shifts. The decision drew swift condemnation from lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who called the move “outrageous.”
Just heard that our troops will be moved back inside tonight. We owe our National Guard and law enforcement officials a debt of gratitude that we can never truly repay. They’ve put everything on the line to protect us. I’m glad to hear they’ll be back indoors tonight. https://t.co/TsNJ30QjCo
— Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) January 22, 2021
Several pressed to have it reversed.
And it was, late Thursday night.
The Guard issued a statement saying, “Brig. Gen. Janeen Birckhead, Inauguration Task Force Commander confirms that troops are out of the garage and back into the Capitol building as authorized by the USCP (U.S. Capitol Police) Watch Commander and the troops will take their breaks near Emancipation Hall going forward.”
Read more here.