United States Senate

U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday that CEOs should "stay out of politics" after several companies issued statements regarding the new election law in Georgia.

"My advice to the corporate CEOs of America is to stay out of politics. Don’t pick sides in these big fights," so McConnell. "Corporations will invite serious consequences if they become a vehicle for far-left mobs to hijack our country from outside the constitutional order."

Rachel Levine was confirmed as assistant secretary of health by the US Senate on Wednesday, making her the first openly transgender to be confirmed as a federal official. The vote was 52-48, with only two Republicans (Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski) joining the Democrats.

Former Florida senator Bill Nelson is poised to be nominated to head the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) by President Joe Biden. Nelson, a three-term US senator and one-time astronaut, would succeed Trump appointee Jim Bridenstine.

The news was followed by criticism as many had hoped Biden would nominate a woman for this position. “Given how many qualified and talented women were rumored to be in consideration, he’s putting great trust in his former Senate colleague,” so Lori Garver, a former deputy administrator of NASA.

In a 51 to 40 vote, the US Senate confirmed Deb Haaland as secretary of the interior on Monday, making her the first Native American cabinet member.

"The historic nature of my confirmation is not lost on me, but I will say, it is not about me. Rather, I hope this nomination would be an inspiration for Americans -- moving forward together as one nation and creating opportunities for all of us," Haaland said during her confirmation hearing.

The United States Senate confirmed President Joe Biden’s nominee US Appeals Court Judge Merrick Garland as Attorney General with a 70-30 vote. Garland, who was previously nominated for the Supreme Court by former President Barack Obama, will oversee the US Department of Justice.

The US House of Representatives voted 220 to 211 to pass the $1.9tn Covid relief bill on Wednesday and, according to press secretary Jen Psaki, President Joe Biden is expected to sign the bill on Thursday.

Kyle Griffin from MSNBC tweeted that "President Biden will sign the American Rescue Plan in the Oval Office TODAY. The Vice President will attend."

The US Senate has voted, 50 to 49, to approve the $1.9 trillion relief bill on Saturday, and will now head to the House of Representatives. The Democratic-held House aims to pass the bill on Tuesday and send it to President Joe Biden for his signature before a March 14 deadline to renew unemployment aid programs.

Republicans senators opposed another major spending plan, contending the state of the economy does not warrant it.

US authorities have revealed possible plans by extremists for another attack on the Capitol this Thursday. "We have received intelligence showing possible plans by an identified militia to infiltrate the Capitol on Thursday, 4 March," Capitol Police in Washington wrote in a statement. Police were prepared for possible threats against members of Congress or the Capitol complex, it said. The Capitol Police did not say who exactly had planned the attack.

On Wednesday evening, the US House of Representatives brought forward a vote scheduled for this Thursday. A House spokeswoman confirmed that there would be no more votes this session week after Wednesday night. The Washington Post reported that the Senate - the other chamber in Congress - still planned to meet at the Capitol on Thursday.

The United States House of Representatives has passed Biden's $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief package in a 219 to 212 vote on Saturday. The legislation is now sent to the US Senate and Democrats are trying to finish before federal unemployment assistance is expiring on March 14.

“The numbers speak volumes. 18 million Americans on unemployment. 24 million people are going hungry,” so Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “The time for decisive action is long overdue.”

At least 37 people have died in the US state of Texas due to a severe winter onset, and hundreds of thousands of people are cut off from electricity after heavy storms. The information has now surfaced that Republican Senator Ted Cruz travelled to Cancún, Mexico, for a holiday. Cruz himself did not initially comment on the trip and did not respond to numerous media enquiries.

US senators have declared the impeachment process against former President Donald Trump constitutional. In a vote on Tuesday, 44 senators voted against continuing the process. Fifty-six senators declared the process constitutional in the vote. This means that debate on impeachment can begin on Wednesday, which is expected to drag on for several days.

The US Senate approved a budget resolution on Friday, that sets up the ability to pass President Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill without the threat of a filibuster from Republicans. Vice President Kamala Harris cast the tie-breaking vote.

The US Senate voted Tuesday to confirm Alejandro Mayorkas to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the first Latino and immigrant to lead the department. Mayorkas will play a central role in the Biden administration's response to the Covid-19 pandemic, national security threats and immigration policies.

The US Senate confirmed Pete Buttigieg as transportation secretary on Tuesday, making him the first Senate-confirmed LGBTQ secretary. Buttigieg will oversee aviation safety, railroads, transit, highways and other transportation fields.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell denounced Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Monday, calling her embrace of conspiracy theories "loony lies" and a "cancer of the Republican Party".

"Loony lies and conspiracy theories are cancer for the Republican Party and our country," McConnell said in a statement. "Somebody who's suggested that perhaps no airplane hit the Pentagon on 9/11, that horrifying school shootings were pre-staged, and that the Clintons crashed JFK Jr.'s airplane is not living in reality. This has nothing to do with the challenges facing American families or the robust debates on substance that can strengthen our party."

Sen. Thomas R. Carper has introduced a bill to provide for the admission of the State of Washington, D.C. into the Union, meaning if passed, the US capital would become the 51st state of the United States.

Former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will be Treasury Secretary in the new U.S. administration. The Senate confirmed the economist on Monday with 84 to 15 votes.

For the first time in the history of the United States, the influential ministry is thus led by a woman. Yellen had also easily cleared the first hurdle last week when her nomination was unanimously approved in the Senate Finance Committee.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that the House will transmit article of impeachment "soon", but did not provide any further details on when the trial might begin.

"I’m not going to be telling you when it is going," so Pelosi. "The other questions are about how a trial would proceed. We are ready."

Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell said on the Senate floor that President Donald Trump helped provoke the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol, blaming the president directly for the attack on the Capitol.

"The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people," so McConnell.

Rudy Giuliani has announced he won't be part of Donald Trump's legal team when Trump faces his second impeachment trial for "incitement of insurrection" in the US Senate, citing to his involvement in the "Save America Rally" on January 6 where he called for a "trial by combat".

“Because I gave an earlier speech. I am a witness and therefore unable to participate in court or Senate chamber,” Giuliani told ABC News.