The US Senate approved <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/joe-biden">Joe Biden's</a> historic $1.2 trillion&nbsp;infrastructure&nbsp;plan on Tuesday, paving the way for a major victory to the president if it wins final passage in the lower chamber&nbsp;of Congress.

Some seven weeks after the Democratic leader stood with senators from both parties hailing a preliminary agreement to fix the nation's roads, bridges, ports and internet connections, the deal arrived on the Senate floor needing just a simple majority to pass.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/biden-backed-12-trillion-infrastructure-bill-passes-key-hurdle-404062">Biden-backed $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill passes key hurdle</a>

In the event, the package received rare bipartisan support among Washington's highly-polarized political elite, passing by 69 votes to 30 after winning the backing of a third of Republicans.

The measure now faces a make-or-break vote in the House of Representatives in the coming weeks, where its future is less certain as divisions have sprung up in the Democratic majority.

Democratic Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer credited Biden for winning approval of "the first major&nbsp;infrastructure&nbsp;package in over a decade on a bipartisan basis" after just seven months in office.

"It's been a long and winding road, but we have persisted," Schumer said. "The American people will now see the most robust injection of funds into&nbsp;infrastructure&nbsp;in decades."

The ambitious plan provides for $550 billion in new federal spending on transport&nbsp;infrastructure, but also for high-speed internet and efforts to fight climate change.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/us-senate-in-rare-saturday-session-on-1-trillion-infrastructure-bill-402098">US Senate in rare Saturday session on $1 trillion infrastructure bill</a>

The total price tag of the package, the equivalent of Spain's 2020 gross domestic product,&nbsp;relies on other public funds that already have been appropriated.

The passage looks less certain in the House of Representatives, however, where rifts have emerged within the narrow Democratic majority between the progressive and moderate wings.&nbsp;

Negotiations are likely to be drawn out, and a final vote in Congress may not come until the fall.

In a deeply divided Washington, the&nbsp;bill's approval would mark a resounding victory for Biden, a former senator who touts his ability to reach across the aisle.&nbsp;

Sweeping domestic agenda&nbsp;

The package is a primary element of Biden's sweeping domestic agenda aimed at transforming the United States with more than $4 trillion in federal spending.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/acknowledging-disagreements-biden-and-merkel-signal-warmer-us-german-ties-398544">Acknowledging disagreements, Biden and Merkel signal warmer US-German ties</a>

Democrats now are working on the next stage: a go-it-alone, $3.5 trillion budget framework that includes major investments in health, education, tackling climate change and expanding social welfare programs.

The budget resolution "will be the most consequential piece of legislation for working people, the elderly, the children, the sick and the poor since (president Franklin Delano Roosevelt) and the New Deal of the 1930s," independent Senator Bernie Sanders, chairman of the Budget Committee, said this week.&nbsp;

Democratic leaders intend to use a fast-track process known as reconciliation that allows budget-related legislation to pass by simple majority.

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With Republicans united against the broader budget&nbsp;bill, every Senate Democrat would need to support the package.

Biden has urged Congress to deliver on his priorities, saying in July that "we can't afford not to make these investments."

Making a last-minute plea for passage of the bipartisan&nbsp;bill&nbsp;over the weekend, the president tweeted that it represented a "historic, once-in-a-generation investment in our nation's&nbsp;infrastructure."

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The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal is a historic, once-in-a-generation investment in our nation’s infrastructure. It will create good-paying, union jobs repairing our roads and bridges, replacing lead pipes, and building energy transmission lines. 
 
We can’t afford not to do it.
— President Biden (@POTUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1424025037829464068?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Former Republican president Donald Trump however called it a "disgrace," noting the victory it would hand Biden, and threatened political reprisals against Republicans who voted for it.

In the wake of that threat, three Republican senators who participated in the&nbsp;infrastructure&nbsp;negotiations announced they would not vote to support for the plan, one of whom was absent from the session.&nbsp;

But top Republican Senator Mitch McConnell voted for it, aware of the program's huge popularity among voters tired of historic neglect of the nation's highways.&nbsp;

The US Senate approved Joe Biden's historic $1.2 trillion infrastructure plan on Tuesday, paving the way for a major victory to the president if it wins final passage in the lower chamber of Congress.

The US Senate approved Joe Biden's historic $1.2 trillion infrastructure plan on Tuesday, paving the way for a major victory to the president if it wins final passage in the lower chamber of Congress. Some seven weeks after the Democratic leader stood with senators from both parties hailing a preliminary agreement to fix the nation's roads, bridges, ports and internet connections, the deal arrived on the Senate floor needing just a simple majority to pass. Also read | Biden-backed $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill passes key hurdle In the event, the package received rare bipartisan support among Washington's highly-polarized political elite, passing by 69 votes to 30 after winning the backing of a third of Republicans. The measure now faces a make-or-break vote in the House of Representatives in the coming weeks, where its future is less certain as divisions have sprung up in the Democratic majority. Democratic Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer credited Biden for winning approval of "the first major infrastructure package in over a decade on a bipartisan basis" after just seven months in office. "It's been a long and winding road, but we have persisted," Schumer said. "The American people will now see the most robust injection of funds into infrastructure in decades." The ambitious plan provides for $550 billion in new federal spending on transport infrastructure, but also for high-speed internet and efforts to fight climate change. Also read | US Senate in rare Saturday session on $1 trillion infrastructure bill The total price tag of the package, the equivalent of Spain's 2020 gross domestic product, relies on other public funds that already have been appropriated. The passage looks less certain in the House of Representatives, however, where rifts have emerged within the narrow Democratic majority between the progressive and moderate wings. Negotiations are likely to be drawn out, and a final vote in Congress may not come until the fall. In a deeply divided Washington, the bill's approval would mark a resounding victory for Biden, a former senator who touts his ability to reach across the aisle. Sweeping domestic agenda The package is a primary element of Biden's sweeping domestic agenda aimed at transforming the United States with more than $4 trillion in federal spending. Also read | Acknowledging disagreements, Biden and Merkel signal warmer US-German ties Democrats now are working on the next stage: a go-it-alone, $3.5 trillion budget framework that includes major investments in health, education, tackling climate change and expanding social welfare programs. The budget resolution "will be the most consequential piece of legislation for working people, the elderly, the children, the sick and the poor since (president Franklin Delano Roosevelt) and the New Deal of the 1930s," independent Senator Bernie Sanders, chairman of the Budget Committee, said this week. Democratic leaders intend to use a fast-track process known as reconciliation that allows budget-related legislation to pass by simple majority. With Republicans united against the broader budget bill, every Senate Democrat would need to support the package. Biden has urged Congress to deliver on his priorities, saying in July that "we can't afford not to make these investments." Making a last-minute plea for passage of the bipartisan bill over the weekend, the president tweeted that it represented a "historic, once-in-a-generation investment in our nation's infrastructure." The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal is a historic, once-in-a-generation investment in our nation’s infrastructure. It will create good-paying, union jobs repairing our roads and bridges, replacing lead pipes, and building energy transmission lines. We can’t afford not to do it. — President Biden (@POTUS) August 7, 2021 × Former Republican president Donald Trump however called it a "disgrace," noting the victory it would hand Biden, and threatened political reprisals against Republicans who voted for it. In the wake of that threat, three Republican senators who participated in the infrastructure negotiations announced they would not vote to support for the plan, one of whom was absent from the session. But top Republican Senator Mitch McConnell voted for it, aware of the program's huge popularity among voters tired of historic neglect of the nation's highways.

US Senate passes Biden's massive infrastructure bill

In a rare example of bipartisanship in Washington, a $1.2 trillion bill aimed at improving the US' roads, highways, bridges, and high-speed internet gained the support of 18 Republican senators and 49 Democratic senators.

With the addition of Republican senators to Democrats, on Saturday, the&nbsp;massive infrastructure bill&nbsp;passed a key procedural hurdle, ensuring its final passage in the upper chamber.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/us-senate-in-rare-saturday-session-on-1-trillion-infrastructure-bill-402098">US Senate in rare Saturday session on $1 trillion infrastructure bill</a>

Republicans including Mitch McConnell, the party's Senate leader, supported the measure which was&nbsp;deemed historic by <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/joe-biden">US President Joe Biden</a>.

The bill needs 51 votes to clear senate passage. So, Saturday's vote greatly boosts its chances for passage, although fierce amendment arguments continue.

A second procedural step must be fulfilled before the bill can go to a final vote. The timing of this remained uncertain on Saturday evening, with the vote to be picked up again on Sunday.&nbsp;

The bill, which has been in development for months, calls for $550 billion in new federal spending to help the nation's ageing infrastructure, as well as to address climate change.

Totalling $1.2 trillion, the price tag equates to the 2020 GDP of Spain. This includes funds already approved but not yet spent.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/acknowledging-disagreements-biden-and-merkel-signal-warmer-us-german-ties-398544">Acknowledging disagreements, Biden and Merkel signal warmer US-German ties</a>

Making a last-minute plea for passage, Biden tweeted Saturday that the bill represented a "historic, once-in-a-generation investment in our nation's infrastructure."&nbsp;

"We can't afford not to do it," he added.&nbsp;

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The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal is a historic, once-in-a-generation investment in our nation’s infrastructure. It will create good-paying, union jobs repairing our roads and bridges, replacing lead pipes, and building energy transmission lines. 
 
We can’t afford not to do it.
— President Biden (@POTUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1424025037829464068?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Vice President Kamala Harris was also dispatched by Biden to Capitol Hill to shore up support for the bill.

The plan will move forward if approved by the Senate.&nbsp;

Next, it will go to the House of Representatives, where it is not guaranteed to pass. Democrats hold a slim majority there, and the liberal and centrist wings of the party have clashed over the bill's content.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/on-infrastructure-biden-tests-the-limits-of-having-it-both-ways-393986">On infrastructure, Biden tests the limits of having it both ways</a>

Final passage by both houses would represent a major victory for the Democratic president, who has been betting his political legacy on economic recovery,&nbsp;as well as fighting the destruction caused by <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/coronavirus">COVID-19</a>.

The Republican predecessor of Biden, Donald Trump, called the legislation "a disgrace" in a statement on Saturday.

While in office, Trump was unable to bring an infrastructure bill to passage. He&nbsp;stated that it was "very hard" for him to "endorse anyone foolish enough to vote in favor of this deal."&nbsp;&nbsp;

His position could make a final vote more problematic for Republicans looking ahead to the 2022 midterm elections.

In light of the 2022 midterm elections, his position could prove to be problematic during the final vote.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/white-house-lawmakers-strike-deal-on-infrastructure-393877">White House, lawmakers strike deal on infrastructure</a>

Despite this, Republicans know that the spending contained in the bill is very popular with voters.

(With inputs from agencies)

In a rare example of bipartisanship in Washington, a $1.2 trillion bill aimed at improving the US' roads, highways, bridges, and high-speed internet gained the support of 18 Republican senators and 49 Democratic senators.

In a rare example of bipartisanship in Washington, a $1.2 trillion bill aimed at improving the US' roads, highways, bridges, and high-speed internet gained the support of 18 Republican senators and 49 Democratic senators. With the addition of Republican senators to Democrats, on Saturday, the massive infrastructure bill passed a key procedural hurdle, ensuring its final passage in the upper chamber. Also read | US Senate in rare Saturday session on $1 trillion infrastructure bill Republicans including Mitch McConnell, the party's Senate leader, supported the measure which was deemed historic by US President Joe Biden. The bill needs 51 votes to clear senate passage. So, Saturday's vote greatly boosts its chances for passage, although fierce amendment arguments continue. A second procedural step must be fulfilled before the bill can go to a final vote. The timing of this remained uncertain on Saturday evening, with the vote to be picked up again on Sunday. The bill, which has been in development for months, calls for $550 billion in new federal spending to help the nation's ageing infrastructure, as well as to address climate change. Totalling $1.2 trillion, the price tag equates to the 2020 GDP of Spain. This includes funds already approved but not yet spent. Also read | Acknowledging disagreements, Biden and Merkel signal warmer US-German ties Making a last-minute plea for passage, Biden tweeted Saturday that the bill represented a "historic, once-in-a-generation investment in our nation's infrastructure." "We can't afford not to do it," he added. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal is a historic, once-in-a-generation investment in our nation’s infrastructure. It will create good-paying, union jobs repairing our roads and bridges, replacing lead pipes, and building energy transmission lines. We can’t afford not to do it. — President Biden (@POTUS) August 7, 2021 × Vice President Kamala Harris was also dispatched by Biden to Capitol Hill to shore up support for the bill. The plan will move forward if approved by the Senate. Next, it will go to the House of Representatives, where it is not guaranteed to pass. Democrats hold a slim majority there, and the liberal and centrist wings of the party have clashed over the bill's content. Also read | On infrastructure, Biden tests the limits of having it both ways Final passage by both houses would represent a major victory for the Democratic president, who has been betting his political legacy on economic recovery, as well as fighting the destruction caused by COVID-19. The Republican predecessor of Biden, Donald Trump, called the legislation "a disgrace" in a statement on Saturday. While in office, Trump was unable to bring an infrastructure bill to passage. He stated that it was "very hard" for him to "endorse anyone foolish enough to vote in favor of this deal." His position could make a final vote more problematic for Republicans looking ahead to the 2022 midterm elections. In light of the 2022 midterm elections, his position could prove to be problematic during the final vote. Also read | White House, lawmakers strike deal on infrastructure Despite this, Republicans know that the spending contained in the bill is very popular with voters. (With inputs from agencies)

Biden-backed $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill passes key hurdle

The deal will create millions of good jobs and make the US economy more robust, sustainable, resilient and just, the White House said in a statement.

US Senate agrees on trillion-dollar infrastructure package

US Senator Rand Paul and Dr Anthony Fauci, one of the government's top public health experts, had a heated confrontation during a hearing Tuesday after Paul accused Fauci of lying to Congress about the role of the National Institutes of Health in supporting research in Wuhan, China.

Paul questioned Fauci about an NIH-funded study that he claims qualifies as a gain of function research, which involves&nbsp;changing a pathogen to make it more transmissible to better forecast new diseases. 
 
Watch | Gravitas: Norovirus outbreak in UK amid Wuhan virus resurgence

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In prior Senate testimony, Fauci had denied that the NIH had actively financed research at a lab in Wuhan, China, which has been questioned as a possible source of the virus.

Watch | COVID-19 cases rapidly rising in US as Delta variant dominates

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“I have not lied before Congress. I have never lied. Certainly not before Congress. Case closed,” Fauci told Paul before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, saying a study the senator mentioned referenced a different sort of virus entirely from the one responsible for the coronavirus outbreak.

“Senator Paul, you do not know what you’re talking about, quite frankly,” Fauci said. "And I want to say that officially. You do not know what you’re talking about.”

He added, “If anybody is lying here, senator, it is you.”

(With inputs from agencies)

US Senator Rand Paul and Dr Anthony Fauci, one of the government's top public health experts, had a heated confrontation during a hearing Tuesday after Paul accused Fauci of lying to Congress about the role of the National Institutes of Health in supporting research in Wuhan, China.

US Senator Rand Paul and Dr Anthony Fauci, one of the government's top public health experts, had a heated confrontation during a hearing Tuesday after Paul accused Fauci of lying to Congress about the role of the National Institutes of Health in supporting research in Wuhan, China. Paul questioned Fauci about an NIH-funded study that he claims qualifies as a gain of function research, which involves changing a pathogen to make it more transmissible to better forecast new diseases. Watch | Gravitas: Norovirus outbreak in UK amid Wuhan virus resurgence In prior Senate testimony, Fauci had denied that the NIH had actively financed research at a lab in Wuhan, China, which has been questioned as a possible source of the virus. Watch | COVID-19 cases rapidly rising in US as Delta variant dominates “I have not lied before Congress. I have never lied. Certainly not before Congress. Case closed,” Fauci told Paul before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, saying a study the senator mentioned referenced a different sort of virus entirely from the one responsible for the coronavirus outbreak. “Senator Paul, you do not know what you’re talking about, quite frankly,” Fauci said. "And I want to say that officially. You do not know what you’re talking about.” He added, “If anybody is lying here, senator, it is you.” (With inputs from agencies)

‘If anybody is lying here, it is you’: Fauci and Paul clash on coronavirus origins

When Rep. John Curtis quietly approached fellow Republicans to invite them to discuss climate change at a clandestine meeting in his home state of Utah, he hoped a half-dozen members might attend.

Soon the guest list blew past expectations as lawmakers heard about the gathering and asked to be included. For two days in February, 24 Republicans gathered in a ballroom of the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City where they brainstormed ways to get their party to engage on a planetary problem it has ignored for decades.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/our-response-to-climate-change-is-missing-something-big-scientists-say-390706">Our response to climate change is missing something big, scientists say</a>

“Some came with the promise of being anonymous. It’s terrible that Republicans can’t even go talk about it without being embarrassed,” Curtis said in an interview.

For four years under President Donald Trump, even uttering the phrase “climate change” was verboten for many Republicans. His administration scrubbed the words from federal websites, tried to censor testimony to Congress and mocked the science linking rising fossil fuel emissions to a warming planet.

Now, many in the Republican Party are coming to terms with what polls have been saying for years: Independents, suburban voters and especially young Republicans are worried about climate change and want the government to take action.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/with-trump-gone-nato-wages-war-on-climate-threat-391185">With Trump gone, NATO wages war on climate threat</a>

“There is a recognition within the GOP that if the party is going to be competitive in national elections, in purple states and purple districts, there needs to be some type of credible position on climate change,” said George David Banks, a former adviser to Trump and now a senior fellow at the nonprofit Bipartisan Policy Center, a centrist Washington think tank. Republicans realize it is now “a political liability” to dismiss or even avoid discussing climate change, he said.

In Utah, where the furtive climate meeting occurred, a group of state Republican lawmakers this month called for polluters to pay a price for emitting carbon dioxide, the main heat-trapping gas.

The same week in Miami, a group of young Republicans carrying signs that read “This Is What an Environmentalist Looks Like,” held what was billed as the first rally for “conservative” climate action.

On Capitol Hill, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the House Republican leader, plans to start a Republican task force on climate change, his staff confirmed. McCarthy declined a request for an interview.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/we-could-lose-these-species-if-climate-change-heats-earth-by-over-15deg-celsius-388984">We could lose these species if climate change heats Earth by over 1.5° Celsius</a>

And on Wednesday Curtis plans to announce the formation of the Conservative Climate Caucus, aimed at educating his party about global warming and developing policies to counter what the caucus terms “radical progressive climate proposals.” So far 38 Republican House members have joined, his staff said.

“It’s my hope that any Republican that belongs to this caucus, if asked about climate in a town-hall meeting, will feel very comfortable talking about it,” Curtis said, adding, “I fear that too often Republicans have simply said what they don’t like without adding on ‘but here’s our ideas.’”

Those ideas include limited government, free-market policies to curb greenhouse gas emissions, as formulated by new conservative think tanks. One is C3 Solutions, which is co-led by a former aide to the late Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, who called global warming “crap.” The organization also recently attracted an energy policy expert from the Heritage Foundation, a conservative group that until recently promoted vociferous critics of climate change.

A package of bills McCarthy introduced on Earth Day championed carbon capture, a nascent and expensive technology that catches carbon emissions generated by power plants or factories and stores them before they escape into the atmosphere. It also promoted tree planting and expansion of nuclear energy, a carbon-free power source that many Republicans prefer over wind or solar energy.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-lawmakers-idea-to-reverse-climate-change-alter-the-orbit-of-the-moon-390689">US lawmaker's idea to reverse climate change: Alter the orbit of the Moon</a>

Those policies would do little to reduce the fossil fuel emissions that are driving up average global temperatures and causing more extreme heat, drought and wildfires; more intense storms; and rapid extinction of plant and wildlife species. Republicans have not offered any specific targets for cutting emissions.

Meanwhile, McCarthy and other Republicans remain opposed to President Joe Biden’s climate proposals, which include a clean electricity standard, which would require utilities to gradually increase the amount of electricity they produce from wind, solar and other renewable sources until they are no longer burning fossil fuels. And leading Republicans continue to spread a lie that Biden wants to force Americans to stop eating hamburgers, because of the environmental harm caused by beef production.

Still, the fact that a growing number of Republicans are crafting a climate strategy is significant.

“For two decades there were virtually no Republicans responsibly engaged on climate change. What you’re seeing today is the construction of the policymaking apparatus on the right in the climate space,” said Alex Flint, director of Alliance for Market Solutions, a conservative nonprofit group that promotes a tax on carbon emissions.

Benji Backer, the founder of the American Conservative Coalition who organized the Miami rally and also helped to put together the Utah meeting, said it is time for Republicans to embrace a climate change agenda.

“The conservative movement has to lean into this and it can’t be behind closed doors anymore,” he said. He described the Utah meeting as “almost like a ‘come to Jesus’ moment, where people started to realize we could take the offensive on these issues and become leaders, and we don’t have to keep being defensive.”

Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund welcomed the Republican shift. “It’s good that we’re no longer arguing over a problem, but discussing solutions,” he said. But he also noted that the Republican policies make only marginal reductions in emissions and propose investment in technologies not readily available.

“We need bold policies now to drive the emissions reductions that science requires,” Krupp said.

Critics question whether the recent moves by Republicans amount to little more than a rebranding campaign, lacking in substance.

Myron Ebell, director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Energy and Environment, who has long attacked the science of climate change, called the Republican moves “a way to win some suburban voters. I don’t take it very seriously.”

The proof is in behaviour, not rhetoric, said Rep. Kathy Castor, the Democratic chairwoman of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis.

“All of this is just greenwashing until they start to align their votes,” Castor said. “You can talk until the cows come home, but you have to follow it up with real action.”

But Curtis, holding a framed 1979 Jerusalem Post front page that he keeps in his office showing the famous “triple handshake” between President Jimmy Carter, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin — a souvenir from his time on a Brigham Young University study program in Israel — said he keeps the photo as a reminder that even the most bitter of enemies can find common ground.

“If we’re not successful working with Democrats then we’ll fail,” Curtis said. “If this is only about getting Republicans talking about climate and it just increases the partisan nature of climate, that’s a failure for me. We have to learn how to engage our Democratic colleagues to move forward legislation.”

When Rep. John Curtis quietly approached fellow Republicans to invite them to discuss climate change at a clandestine meeting in his home state of Utah, he hoped a half-dozen members might attend.

When Rep. John Curtis quietly approached fellow Republicans to invite them to discuss climate change at a clandestine meeting in his home state of Utah, he hoped a half-dozen members might attend. Soon the guest list blew past expectations as lawmakers heard about the gathering and asked to be included. For two days in February, 24 Republicans gathered in a ballroom of the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City where they brainstormed ways to get their party to engage on a planetary problem it has ignored for decades. Also read | Our response to climate change is missing something big, scientists say “Some came with the promise of being anonymous. It’s terrible that Republicans can’t even go talk about it without being embarrassed,” Curtis said in an interview. For four years under President Donald Trump, even uttering the phrase “climate change” was verboten for many Republicans. His administration scrubbed the words from federal websites, tried to censor testimony to Congress and mocked the science linking rising fossil fuel emissions to a warming planet. Now, many in the Republican Party are coming to terms with what polls have been saying for years: Independents, suburban voters and especially young Republicans are worried about climate change and want the government to take action. Also read | With Trump gone, NATO wages war on climate threat “There is a recognition within the GOP that if the party is going to be competitive in national elections, in purple states and purple districts, there needs to be some type of credible position on climate change,” said George David Banks, a former adviser to Trump and now a senior fellow at the nonprofit Bipartisan Policy Center, a centrist Washington think tank. Republicans realize it is now “a political liability” to dismiss or even avoid discussing climate change, he said. In Utah, where the furtive climate meeting occurred, a group of state Republican lawmakers this month called for polluters to pay a price for emitting carbon dioxide, the main heat-trapping gas. The same week in Miami, a group of young Republicans carrying signs that read “This Is What an Environmentalist Looks Like,” held what was billed as the first rally for “conservative” climate action. On Capitol Hill, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the House Republican leader, plans to start a Republican task force on climate change, his staff confirmed. McCarthy declined a request for an interview. Also read | We could lose these species if climate change heats Earth by over 1.5° Celsius And on Wednesday Curtis plans to announce the formation of the Conservative Climate Caucus, aimed at educating his party about global warming and developing policies to counter what the caucus terms “radical progressive climate proposals.” So far 38 Republican House members have joined, his staff said. “It’s my hope that any Republican that belongs to this caucus, if asked about climate in a town-hall meeting, will feel very comfortable talking about it,” Curtis said, adding, “I fear that too often Republicans have simply said what they don’t like without adding on ‘but here’s our ideas.’” Those ideas include limited government, free-market policies to curb greenhouse gas emissions, as formulated by new conservative think tanks. One is C3 Solutions, which is co-led by a former aide to the late Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, who called global warming “crap.” The organization also recently attracted an energy policy expert from the Heritage Foundation, a conservative group that until recently promoted vociferous critics of climate change. A package of bills McCarthy introduced on Earth Day championed carbon capture, a nascent and expensive technology that catches carbon emissions generated by power plants or factories and stores them before they escape into the atmosphere. It also promoted tree planting and expansion of nuclear energy, a carbon-free power source that many Republicans prefer over wind or solar energy. Also read | US lawmaker's idea to reverse climate change: Alter the orbit of the Moon Those policies would do little to reduce the fossil fuel emissions that are driving up average global temperatures and causing more extreme heat, drought and wildfires; more intense storms; and rapid extinction of plant and wildlife species. Republicans have not offered any specific targets for cutting emissions. Meanwhile, McCarthy and other Republicans remain opposed to President Joe Biden’s climate proposals, which include a clean electricity standard, which would require utilities to gradually increase the amount of electricity they produce from wind, solar and other renewable sources until they are no longer burning fossil fuels. And leading Republicans continue to spread a lie that Biden wants to force Americans to stop eating hamburgers, because of the environmental harm caused by beef production. Still, the fact that a growing number of Republicans are crafting a climate strategy is significant. “For two decades there were virtually no Republicans responsibly engaged on climate change. What you’re seeing today is the construction of the policymaking apparatus on the right in the climate space,” said Alex Flint, director of Alliance for Market Solutions, a conservative nonprofit group that promotes a tax on carbon emissions. Benji Backer, the founder of the American Conservative Coalition who organized the Miami rally and also helped to put together the Utah meeting, said it is time for Republicans to embrace a climate change agenda. “The conservative movement has to lean into this and it can’t be behind closed doors anymore,” he said. He described the Utah meeting as “almost like a ‘come to Jesus’ moment, where people started to realize we could take the offensive on these issues and become leaders, and we don’t have to keep being defensive.” Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund welcomed the Republican shift. “It’s good that we’re no longer arguing over a problem, but discussing solutions,” he said. But he also noted that the Republican policies make only marginal reductions in emissions and propose investment in technologies not readily available. “We need bold policies now to drive the emissions reductions that science requires,” Krupp said. Critics question whether the recent moves by Republicans amount to little more than a rebranding campaign, lacking in substance. Myron Ebell, director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Energy and Environment, who has long attacked the science of climate change, called the Republican moves “a way to win some suburban voters. I don’t take it very seriously.” The proof is in behaviour, not rhetoric, said Rep. Kathy Castor, the Democratic chairwoman of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. “All of this is just greenwashing until they start to align their votes,” Castor said. “You can talk until the cows come home, but you have to follow it up with real action.” But Curtis, holding a framed 1979 Jerusalem Post front page that he keeps in his office showing the famous “triple handshake” between President Jimmy Carter, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin — a souvenir from his time on a Brigham Young University study program in Israel — said he keeps the photo as a reminder that even the most bitter of enemies can find common ground. “If we’re not successful working with Democrats then we’ll fail,” Curtis said. “If this is only about getting Republicans talking about climate and it just increases the partisan nature of climate, that’s a failure for me. We have to learn how to engage our Democratic colleagues to move forward legislation.”

Some Republicans find failure to grapple with climate change a ‘political liability’

Democrats brought the "For the People Act" to the floor as a test vote, in reaction to controversial efforts by Republicans to enact strict new voting laws in dozens of states.

Senate Republicans block sweeping US voting rights bill

Republicans in US Senate derailed an inquiry into deadly Capitol riots that took place in January this year.&nbsp;

Democrats along with some moderate Republicans had sought a commission to probe events leading up to the US Capitol attack. The measure failed by a vote of 54 to 35, short of the 60 votes needed to advance the legislation in the 100-member Senate. The 35 no votes were all Republicans.

It was the first time this year that Republicans were able to use the 60-vote hurdle, known as a filibuster, to defeat legislation.

The vote underscores the steep challenges for Democrats in the evenly divided chamber, as they will have to win at least some Republican support in order to pass policing reforms, voting-rights legislation and other priorities.

Hundreds of Trump supporter had stormed the Capitol building on January 6 as US Congress was in session. The rioters fought with police, urging violence against lawmakers and delaying the formal certification of President Joe Biden's election victory.&nbsp;

The violence left five people dead including a Capitol Police officer.

(With inputs from agencies)

Republicans in US Senate derailed an inquiry into deadly Capitol riots that took place in January this year. Democrats along with some moderate Republicans had sought a commission to probe events leading up to the US Capitol attack.

Republicans in US Senate derailed an inquiry into deadly Capitol riots that took place in January this year. Democrats along with some moderate Republicans had sought a commission to probe events leading up to the US Capitol attack. The measure failed by a vote of 54 to 35, short of the 60 votes needed to advance the legislation in the 100-member Senate. The 35 no votes were all Republicans. It was the first time this year that Republicans were able to use the 60-vote hurdle, known as a filibuster, to defeat legislation. The vote underscores the steep challenges for Democrats in the evenly divided chamber, as they will have to win at least some Republican support in order to pass policing reforms, voting-rights legislation and other priorities. Hundreds of Trump supporter had stormed the Capitol building on January 6 as US Congress was in session. The rioters fought with police, urging violence against lawmakers and delaying the formal certification of President Joe Biden's election victory. The violence left five people dead including a Capitol Police officer. (With inputs from agencies)

Senate Republicans block bill on probe of deadly Capitol riot

&nbsp;A US&nbsp;legislative proposal to allocate $112&nbsp;billion for basic and advanced technology research and science in the face of rising competitive pressure from China will be delayed by at least two weeks, US&nbsp;Senate&nbsp;Republicans and staffers said on Monday.

The bipartisan "Endless Frontier" measure was scheduled to be debated by the&nbsp;Senate&nbsp;Commerce Committee on Wednesday, having been formally introduced on April 21. But with more than 230 amendments filed for consideration,&nbsp;Senate&nbsp;Republicans said the markup would not go forward until after a one-week&nbsp;Senate&nbsp;recess than ends May 10.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="US increases pressure on China through new strategic competition policy">US increases pressure on China through new strategic competition policy</a>

Senator Roger Wicker, the top Republican on the Commerce Committee, told reporters that lawmakers needed more time "for some consensus&nbsp;to develop."

A spokesman for Senator Todd Young, the primary Republican sponsor told Reuters the&nbsp;bill&nbsp;will not be heard in committee "this week but we expect it to happen after the recess."

The measure, sponsored by&nbsp;Senate&nbsp;Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, Young and others, would also authorize another $10&nbsp;billion to designate at least 10 regional technology hubs and create a supply chain crisis response program to address issues like the shortfall in semiconductor chips harming auto production.

A spokesman for Senator Maria Cantwell, who chairs the Commerce Committee, did not immediately comment on Monday night.

Many lawmakers want to&nbsp;use the legislation to advance other priorities and attach additional proposals. Senators Gary Peters and John Thune want to&nbsp;use the&nbsp;bill&nbsp;to speed the deployment of thousands of self-driving cars.

Republican Representative Mike Gallagher, another sponsor, said US&nbsp;superiority in science and technology "is at risk. The Chinese Communist Party has&nbsp;used decades of intellectual property theft and industrial espionage to close this technological gap in a way that threatens not only our economic security, but also our way of life."

Schumer said separately last week he will push for "emergency spending" to implement semiconductor manufacturing provisions in last year’s defense&nbsp;bill.

A US legislative proposal to allocate $112 billion for basic and advanced technology research and science in the face of rising competitive pressure from China will be delayed by at least two weeks, US Senate Republicans and staffers said on Monday.

A US legislative proposal to allocate $112 billion for basic and advanced technology research and science in the face of rising competitive pressure from China will be delayed by at least two weeks, US Senate Republicans and staffers said on Monday. The bipartisan "Endless Frontier" measure was scheduled to be debated by the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday, having been formally introduced on April 21. But with more than 230 amendments filed for consideration, Senate Republicans said the markup would not go forward until after a one-week Senate recess than ends May 10. Also read: US increases pressure on China through new strategic competition policy Senator Roger Wicker, the top Republican on the Commerce Committee, told reporters that lawmakers needed more time "for some consensus to develop." A spokesman for Senator Todd Young, the primary Republican sponsor told Reuters the bill will not be heard in committee "this week but we expect it to happen after the recess." The measure, sponsored by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, Young and others, would also authorize another $10 billion to designate at least 10 regional technology hubs and create a supply chain crisis response program to address issues like the shortfall in semiconductor chips harming auto production. A spokesman for Senator Maria Cantwell, who chairs the Commerce Committee, did not immediately comment on Monday night. Many lawmakers want to use the legislation to advance other priorities and attach additional proposals. Senators Gary Peters and John Thune want to use the bill to speed the deployment of thousands of self-driving cars. Republican Representative Mike Gallagher, another sponsor, said US superiority in science and technology "is at risk. The Chinese Communist Party has used decades of intellectual property theft and industrial espionage to close this technological gap in a way that threatens not only our economic security, but also our way of life." Schumer said separately last week he will push for "emergency spending" to implement semiconductor manufacturing provisions in last year’s defense bill.

US legislation on China to be delayed, lawmakers say

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will consider sweeping legislation to counter China`s influence on April 21 instead of the planned date of April 14, committee aides said on Friday.

Democratic and Republican leaders of the panel announced the "Strategic Competition Act of 2021" on Thursday. It includes a range of diplomatic and strategic initiatives to counteract Beijing, reflecting hard-line sentiment on dealings with China members of both political parties.

The 280-page bill addresses economic competition with China, but also humanitarian and democratic values, such as imposing sanctions over the treatment of the minority Muslim Uighurs and supporting democracy in Hong Kong.

China is one of the most bipartisan issues in Washington, with both Democrats and Republicans generally backing efforts to do more to compete against Beijing.

However, Democrats had said they hoped the committee would pass the bill on April 14 to clear the way for the full Senate to schedule a vote quickly. Republicans said the week-long delay would give committee members more time to understand the bill and draft amendments.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will consider sweeping legislation to counter China`s influence on April 21 instead of the planned date of April 14, committee aides said on Friday.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will consider sweeping legislation to counter China`s influence on April 21 instead of the planned date of April 14, committee aides said on Friday. Democratic and Republican leaders of the panel announced the "Strategic Competition Act of 2021" on Thursday. It includes a range of diplomatic and strategic initiatives to counteract Beijing, reflecting hard-line sentiment on dealings with China members of both political parties. The 280-page bill addresses economic competition with China, but also humanitarian and democratic values, such as imposing sanctions over the treatment of the minority Muslim Uighurs and supporting democracy in Hong Kong. China is one of the most bipartisan issues in Washington, with both Democrats and Republicans generally backing efforts to do more to compete against Beijing. However, Democrats had said they hoped the committee would pass the bill on April 14 to clear the way for the full Senate to schedule a vote quickly. Republicans said the week-long delay would give committee members more time to understand the bill and draft amendments.

US Senate panel's consideration of China bill now set for April 21

If the filibuster did not exist, Senate Democrats could use the hair-thin majority they won in January to pursue an ambitious legislative agenda.

Some Democrats have called for abolishing the filibuster, a procedural tactic that essentially makes it impossible to pass legislation without a 60-vote supermajority.

They lack the votes to do it. But this week, President Joe Biden signalled support for something else: a return to a more old-fashioned way of filibustering.

“I don’t think that you have to eliminate the filibuster; you have to do it, what it used to be when I first got to the Senate back in the old days,” the president said in an ABC News interview. “You had to stand up and command the floor, and you had to keep talking.”

The president’s comments came after a Democratic senator who opposes ending the filibuster, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, told an interviewer he was open to making the procedure “a little more painful.”

Mr. Smith talks a long time in Washington

The tactic Biden referred to, sometimes called a talking filibuster, is the kind illustrated in the 1939 movie “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” in which the title character, portrayed by Jimmy Stewart, takes a stand against corruption by sermonizing on the Senate floor until he faints.

In the real-life chamber, where proceedings are often bogged down by bureaucracy behind the scenes, filibusters can drum up public drama.

They can be policy-focused, as when Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent who caucuses with the Democrats, railed for eight hours in 2010 against tax breaks for the richest Americans. And they can be irreverent, as when Sen. Alfonse D’Amato, R-N.Y., sang a Gene Autry song in 1992 during a 15-hour speech as part of an effort to keep a typewriter company from moving hundreds of jobs to Mexico.

Before the Civil War, the filibuster was used to protect the interests of slaveholding states. And in the 20th century, conservative Southern Democrats repeatedly used filibusters to block civil-rights legislation, including an anti-lynching bill.

Since then, senators from both parties have used marathon speeches to challenge majority rule on issues including gun control, judicial nominees and health care.

But colorful, marathon speeches are increasingly rare. The Senate began modifying the rules in the 1970s, when senators became concerned that talking filibusters reflected poorly on the Senate and endangered the health of older members. Today, the mere threat of a filibuster is enough: Senators can keep contentious measures from reaching the floor just by registering their objections privately.

It can be a test of stamina

An early practitioner of the dramatic filibuster was Sen. Huey Long, D-La., who fought against provisions of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal.

In one 1935 speech, lasting more than 15 hours, Long read from the Constitution and shared recipes for fried oysters and pot liquor. He was foiled by a 4 a.m. bathroom break. (To hold the floor, you have to be present on the floor.)

In 2010, when Sanders used a filibuster to protest the Obama administration’s plan to continue the tax policies of former President George W. Bush, his monologue lasted eight hours. Sanders, fueled by oatmeal and coffee, felt his legs cramping and his speech growing hoarse.

“I was afraid that after two or three hours I’d have nothing more to say or I’d be tired or have to go to the bathroom,” he said afterward. “But I was pleased.”

One of the most memorable performances of the past decade came from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in 2013. It was a procedural tactic and not technically a filibuster, but it might hint at things to come with so many presidential aspirants in the chamber.

In a bid to defund the Affordable Care Act, Cruz spent 21 hours blasting politicians in “cheap suits” and “bad haircuts,” praising the hamburgers at White Castle and even reading some of his daughters’ favorite stories, including “Green Eggs and Ham” by Dr. Seuss.

That same year, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., used a real filibuster to delay the nomination of John Brennan to lead the CIA. Paul said his real goal was to get the Obama administration to say that it would not use drone strikes against American citizens on U.S. soil.

After 13 hours, he yielded the floor.

“I’ve discovered that there are some limits to filibustering,” he said, “and I’m going to have to go take care of one of those in a few minutes here.”

Tradition? Or a ‘Jim Crow relic’?

Critics of the filibuster note that its most significant use was to impede progress on civil rights for Black people. Last year, former President Barack Obama called the tactic a “Jim Crow relic” as he gave a eulogy for John Lewis, the Georgia congressman and civil rights pioneer who died in July.

Southern Democrats used the filibuster to block or delay anti-lynching measures in the 1930s, bills outlawing employment discrimination in the 1940s and other civil rights legislation in the 1950s and ’60s.

“The fights over filibuster reform for most of the 20th century were intricately tied to its impact on civil rights,” said Sarah A. Binder, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a professor of political science at George Washington University.

The record-holder for the longest solo filibuster remains Strom Thurmond, the segregationist senator from South Carolina who gave a 1957 speech lasting more than 24 hours, sustaining himself on sips of orange juice, pieces of hamburger meat and bits of pumpernickel.

Thurmond and other Southern Democrats failed in that attempt to block the bill, but they used their clout on other occasions to stall other civil rights changes. In 1964, despite a 14-hour filibuster by Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., President Lyndon Johnson won passage of a civil rights bill with bipartisan help. Thurmond became a Republican, but Byrd remained a Democrat, serving 51 years.

His successor, Manchin, counted Byrd as a mentor and said he would do his best to follow in his footsteps in preserving Senate traditions. Today, he wields outsize influence as a centrist Democrat in an evenly divided chamber, making his position on filibuster rules critical.

How the filibuster started as a loophole and evolved

The filibuster was not something the Founding Fathers of the United States had envisioned.

In the late 18th century, both the Senate and the House had rules allowing majorities of their members to cut off debates and bring measures to a vote. But in an 1806 effort to clean up its rule book, the Senate scrapped that regulation.

The filibuster was an unanticipated outcome of that procedural change, Binder said.

In 1917, amid bitter debates over U.S. participation in World War I, the Senate adopted the cloture rule, allowing two-thirds of the senators to close debates and bring a measure to a vote.

The Senate made further changes in the 1970s, including reducing the supermajority requirement to 60 votes, from 67, and allowing more than one pending bill on the floor simultaneously. The changes permitted the Senate to move on to other business while theoretical debates on blocked items continued indefinitely and essentially rendered talking filibusters obsolete — except for dramatic effect.

At the time, Democrats held a commanding majority, but the margins have narrowed, with Republicans taking control for extended periods.

In 2013, Senate Democrats had the upper hand, 53-45, and ended the minority party’s ability to filibuster most presidential nominees after years of frustration over Republicans’ blocking of Obama’s choices for federal judgeships and Cabinet posts. They left the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees untouched.

Then they lost control of the Senate. Four years later, when Republicans held both the presidency and the Senate, they voted to lower the threshold for advancing Supreme Court nominations from 60 votes to a simple majority.

But the supermajority rule remained unchanged for legislation, to the frustration of President Donald Trump, who unsuccessfully lobbied Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky to use his power as majority leader to scrap the filibuster.

In the first months of Biden’s administration, Republicans have yet to use the rules to block any of his legislation, but battles are on the horizon. Some Democrats argue that filibuster reform is the only way to overcome united Republican opposition to pass a voting-rights bill or laws to bolster labor rights or to reform immigration policy.

McConnell, who in January tried and failed to extract a pledge from Democrats to leave the filibuster alone, defended the status quo in dramatic terms Tuesday, warning of a “scorched earth” response if Democrats should dare to “break the Senate.”

If the filibuster did not exist, Senate Democrats could use the hair-thin majority they won in January to pursue an ambitious legislative agenda. Some Democrats have called for abolishing the filibuster, a procedural tactic that essentially makes it impossible to pass legislation without a 60-vote supermajority.

If the filibuster did not exist, Senate Democrats could use the hair-thin majority they won in January to pursue an ambitious legislative agenda. Some Democrats have called for abolishing the filibuster, a procedural tactic that essentially makes it impossible to pass legislation without a 60-vote supermajority. They lack the votes to do it. But this week, President Joe Biden signalled support for something else: a return to a more old-fashioned way of filibustering. “I don’t think that you have to eliminate the filibuster; you have to do it, what it used to be when I first got to the Senate back in the old days,” the president said in an ABC News interview. “You had to stand up and command the floor, and you had to keep talking.” The president’s comments came after a Democratic senator who opposes ending the filibuster, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, told an interviewer he was open to making the procedure “a little more painful.” Mr. Smith talks a long time in Washington The tactic Biden referred to, sometimes called a talking filibuster, is the kind illustrated in the 1939 movie “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” in which the title character, portrayed by Jimmy Stewart, takes a stand against corruption by sermonizing on the Senate floor until he faints. In the real-life chamber, where proceedings are often bogged down by bureaucracy behind the scenes, filibusters can drum up public drama. They can be policy-focused, as when Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent who caucuses with the Democrats, railed for eight hours in 2010 against tax breaks for the richest Americans. And they can be irreverent, as when Sen. Alfonse D’Amato, R-N.Y., sang a Gene Autry song in 1992 during a 15-hour speech as part of an effort to keep a typewriter company from moving hundreds of jobs to Mexico. Before the Civil War, the filibuster was used to protect the interests of slaveholding states. And in the 20th century, conservative Southern Democrats repeatedly used filibusters to block civil-rights legislation, including an anti-lynching bill. Since then, senators from both parties have used marathon speeches to challenge majority rule on issues including gun control, judicial nominees and health care. But colorful, marathon speeches are increasingly rare. The Senate began modifying the rules in the 1970s, when senators became concerned that talking filibusters reflected poorly on the Senate and endangered the health of older members. Today, the mere threat of a filibuster is enough: Senators can keep contentious measures from reaching the floor just by registering their objections privately. It can be a test of stamina An early practitioner of the dramatic filibuster was Sen. Huey Long, D-La., who fought against provisions of President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. In one 1935 speech, lasting more than 15 hours, Long read from the Constitution and shared recipes for fried oysters and pot liquor. He was foiled by a 4 a.m. bathroom break. (To hold the floor, you have to be present on the floor.) In 2010, when Sanders used a filibuster to protest the Obama administration’s plan to continue the tax policies of former President George W. Bush, his monologue lasted eight hours. Sanders, fueled by oatmeal and coffee, felt his legs cramping and his speech growing hoarse. “I was afraid that after two or three hours I’d have nothing more to say or I’d be tired or have to go to the bathroom,” he said afterward. “But I was pleased.” One of the most memorable performances of the past decade came from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in 2013. It was a procedural tactic and not technically a filibuster, but it might hint at things to come with so many presidential aspirants in the chamber. In a bid to defund the Affordable Care Act, Cruz spent 21 hours blasting politicians in “cheap suits” and “bad haircuts,” praising the hamburgers at White Castle and even reading some of his daughters’ favorite stories, including “Green Eggs and Ham” by Dr. Seuss. That same year, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., used a real filibuster to delay the nomination of John Brennan to lead the CIA. Paul said his real goal was to get the Obama administration to say that it would not use drone strikes against American citizens on U.S. soil. After 13 hours, he yielded the floor. “I’ve discovered that there are some limits to filibustering,” he said, “and I’m going to have to go take care of one of those in a few minutes here.” Tradition? Or a ‘Jim Crow relic’? Critics of the filibuster note that its most significant use was to impede progress on civil rights for Black people. Last year, former President Barack Obama called the tactic a “Jim Crow relic” as he gave a eulogy for John Lewis, the Georgia congressman and civil rights pioneer who died in July. Southern Democrats used the filibuster to block or delay anti-lynching measures in the 1930s, bills outlawing employment discrimination in the 1940s and other civil rights legislation in the 1950s and ’60s. “The fights over filibuster reform for most of the 20th century were intricately tied to its impact on civil rights,” said Sarah A. Binder, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a professor of political science at George Washington University. The record-holder for the longest solo filibuster remains Strom Thurmond, the segregationist senator from South Carolina who gave a 1957 speech lasting more than 24 hours, sustaining himself on sips of orange juice, pieces of hamburger meat and bits of pumpernickel. Thurmond and other Southern Democrats failed in that attempt to block the bill, but they used their clout on other occasions to stall other civil rights changes. In 1964, despite a 14-hour filibuster by Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., President Lyndon Johnson won passage of a civil rights bill with bipartisan help. Thurmond became a Republican, but Byrd remained a Democrat, serving 51 years. His successor, Manchin, counted Byrd as a mentor and said he would do his best to follow in his footsteps in preserving Senate traditions. Today, he wields outsize influence as a centrist Democrat in an evenly divided chamber, making his position on filibuster rules critical. How the filibuster started as a loophole and evolved The filibuster was not something the Founding Fathers of the United States had envisioned. In the late 18th century, both the Senate and the House had rules allowing majorities of their members to cut off debates and bring measures to a vote. But in an 1806 effort to clean up its rule book, the Senate scrapped that regulation. The filibuster was an unanticipated outcome of that procedural change, Binder said. In 1917, amid bitter debates over U.S. participation in World War I, the Senate adopted the cloture rule, allowing two-thirds of the senators to close debates and bring a measure to a vote. The Senate made further changes in the 1970s, including reducing the supermajority requirement to 60 votes, from 67, and allowing more than one pending bill on the floor simultaneously. The changes permitted the Senate to move on to other business while theoretical debates on blocked items continued indefinitely and essentially rendered talking filibusters obsolete — except for dramatic effect. At the time, Democrats held a commanding majority, but the margins have narrowed, with Republicans taking control for extended periods. In 2013, Senate Democrats had the upper hand, 53-45, and ended the minority party’s ability to filibuster most presidential nominees after years of frustration over Republicans’ blocking of Obama’s choices for federal judgeships and Cabinet posts. They left the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees untouched. Then they lost control of the Senate. Four years later, when Republicans held both the presidency and the Senate, they voted to lower the threshold for advancing Supreme Court nominations from 60 votes to a simple majority. But the supermajority rule remained unchanged for legislation, to the frustration of President Donald Trump, who unsuccessfully lobbied Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky to use his power as majority leader to scrap the filibuster. In the first months of Biden’s administration, Republicans have yet to use the rules to block any of his legislation, but battles are on the horizon. Some Democrats argue that filibuster reform is the only way to overcome united Republican opposition to pass a voting-rights bill or laws to bolster labor rights or to reform immigration policy. McConnell, who in January tried and failed to extract a pledge from Democrats to leave the filibuster alone, defended the status quo in dramatic terms Tuesday, warning of a “scorched earth” response if Democrats should dare to “break the Senate.”

The Senate’s ‘talking filibuster’ might Rise again

US Senate on Sunday passed President Joe Biden's USD 1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill. This will give most Americans a one time payment of USD 1400 and more help. Meanwhile, Pope Francis is getting ready to meet Iraqi Christians who suffered during Islamic State's rule. Read this and more in our morning news brief.

 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-senate-passes-bidens-19-trillion-covid-bill-on-party-line-vote-368516">US Senate passes Biden's $1.9 trillion Covid bill on party-line vote</a>

The Senate voted 50-49, with no Republicans voting in favor, on what would be one of the largest stimulus packages in U.S. history.

<img alt="Biden" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="b239adcc-7b3a-46b7-8eff-23989bb11583" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Biden_6.JPG" />

&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/donald-trump-asks-republicans-to-stop-using-his-name-to-raise-funds-368522">Donald Trump asks Republicans to stop using his name to raise funds</a>

Trump is, meanwhile, is using his Save America SuperPAC to raise money to assist the Republican candidates for 2022 congressional candidates

<img alt="Trump" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="0975db9f-9b77-4faa-91e5-89fd4327a449" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Donald%20Trump.JPG" />

 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/pope-to-meet-iraqi-christians-who-suffered-under-is-368526">Pope to meet Iraqi Christians who suffered under IS&nbsp;</a>

On Saturday, Pope Francis commented on use of religion by terrorists.

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US agency probes Facebook for alleged racial bias

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China's polar silk road by 2025?

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&nbsp;

US Senate on Sunday passed President Joe Biden's USD 1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill. This will give most Americans a one time payment of USD 1400 and more help.

US Senate on Sunday passed President Joe Biden's USD 1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill. This will give most Americans a one time payment of USD 1400 and more help. Meanwhile, Pope Francis is getting ready to meet Iraqi Christians who suffered during Islamic State's rule. Read this and more in our morning news brief. US Senate passes Biden's $1.9 trillion Covid bill on party-line vote The Senate voted 50-49, with no Republicans voting in favor, on what would be one of the largest stimulus packages in U.S. history. Donald Trump asks Republicans to stop using his name to raise funds Trump is, meanwhile, is using his Save America SuperPAC to raise money to assist the Republican candidates for 2022 congressional candidates Pope to meet Iraqi Christians who suffered under IS On Saturday, Pope Francis commented on use of religion by terrorists. US agency probes Facebook for alleged racial bias × China's polar silk road by 2025? ×

Morning news brief: US Senate passes COVID bill, Pope in Iraq, more

In a crucial political movement for democrats, the US senate has clear the 1.9 trillion dollars COVID-19 relief bill. With this US President Joe Biden and his democratic allies has become successful in passing a mammoth bill aimed at the country's economic recovery from the Pandemic.

US senate 1.9 trillion dollars COVID-19 relief bill

The Senate on Saturday passed President Joe Biden`s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan in a party-line vote after an all-night session that saw Democrats battling among themselves over jobless aid and the Republican minority failing in attempts to push through some three dozen amendments.

The final bill includes $400 billion in one-time payments of $1,400 to most Americans, $300 a week in extended jobless benefits for the 9.5 million people thrown out of work in the crisis, and $350 billion in aid to state and local governments that have seen the pandemic blow a hole in their budgets.

The Senate voted 50-49, with no Republicans voting in favor, on what would be one of the largest stimulus packages in U.S. history.

Several Republicans left the chamber immediately after the vote, while Senator Bernie Sanders fist-bumped Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

The fight is not over as the bill needs to return to the House of Representatives, which approved a slightly different version a week earlier.

The standoff within the Democratic party over the jobless benefits and the all-night effort by Republicans to amend a bill that polls show is popular with voters illustrated the difficulty that Biden will face in pushing other policies through a Congress that Democrats control by the narrowest of majorities. The bill is a priority for Biden as the country battles a pandemic that has killed more than 520,000 Americans.

The chamber set a record in its longest single vote in the modern era -- 11 hours and 50 minutes -- as Democrats negotiated a compromise on unemployment benefits to satisfy centrists like Senator Joe Manchin, who often walks a delicate tightrope as a Democrat representing a state, West Virginia, that overwhelmingly supported Republican former President Donald Trump in the November election.

The extended unemployment payments, which are to be paid out on top of state jobless benefits, proved to be the most contentious part of the bill. The House bill had set the supplemental benefit at $400 a week, but Senate Democrats finally agreed to knock that down to $300.

The House bill also featured a measure to more than double the minimum wage to $15 per hour, which the Senate also rejected.

Moderate Democrats feared that the higher jobless benefits and minimum wage hike would overheat the economy and hurt businesses in rural states.

Senate Democrats used a process called reconciliation to pass the measure with a simple majority rather than the 60 of 100 votes normally required under the chamber`s rules.

It was unclear whether Democrats will try to use that maneuver on other policy goals such as legislation dealing with climate change and immigration.

One Republican, Daniel Sullivan of Alaska, left Washington on Friday night for a family funeral, meaning that Democrats did not need Vice President Kamala Harris` tie-breaking vote in the normally 50-50 chamber.

Republicans have broadly supported previous stimulus packages to fight the virus and revive the economy. But with Democrats in charge of the White House and both chambers of Congress, they criticized this bill as too expensive.

The country has yet to replace 9.5 million jobs lost since last year and the White House says it could take years to do so.

Washington got unexpected good news on Friday after data showed that U.S. employment surged in February, adding 379,000 jobs, significantly higher than many economists had expected.

The Senate on Saturday passed President Joe Biden`s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan in a party-line vote after an all-night session that saw Democrats battling among themselves over jobless aid and the Republican minority failing in attempts to push through some three dozen amendments.

The Senate on Saturday passed President Joe Biden`s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief plan in a party-line vote after an all-night session that saw Democrats battling among themselves over jobless aid and the Republican minority failing in attempts to push through some three dozen amendments. The final bill includes $400 billion in one-time payments of $1,400 to most Americans, $300 a week in extended jobless benefits for the 9.5 million people thrown out of work in the crisis, and $350 billion in aid to state and local governments that have seen the pandemic blow a hole in their budgets. The Senate voted 50-49, with no Republicans voting in favor, on what would be one of the largest stimulus packages in U.S. history. Several Republicans left the chamber immediately after the vote, while Senator Bernie Sanders fist-bumped Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. The fight is not over as the bill needs to return to the House of Representatives, which approved a slightly different version a week earlier. The standoff within the Democratic party over the jobless benefits and the all-night effort by Republicans to amend a bill that polls show is popular with voters illustrated the difficulty that Biden will face in pushing other policies through a Congress that Democrats control by the narrowest of majorities. The bill is a priority for Biden as the country battles a pandemic that has killed more than 520,000 Americans. The chamber set a record in its longest single vote in the modern era -- 11 hours and 50 minutes -- as Democrats negotiated a compromise on unemployment benefits to satisfy centrists like Senator Joe Manchin, who often walks a delicate tightrope as a Democrat representing a state, West Virginia, that overwhelmingly supported Republican former President Donald Trump in the November election. The extended unemployment payments, which are to be paid out on top of state jobless benefits, proved to be the most contentious part of the bill. The House bill had set the supplemental benefit at $400 a week, but Senate Democrats finally agreed to knock that down to $300. The House bill also featured a measure to more than double the minimum wage to $15 per hour, which the Senate also rejected. Moderate Democrats feared that the higher jobless benefits and minimum wage hike would overheat the economy and hurt businesses in rural states. Senate Democrats used a process called reconciliation to pass the measure with a simple majority rather than the 60 of 100 votes normally required under the chamber`s rules. It was unclear whether Democrats will try to use that maneuver on other policy goals such as legislation dealing with climate change and immigration. One Republican, Daniel Sullivan of Alaska, left Washington on Friday night for a family funeral, meaning that Democrats did not need Vice President Kamala Harris` tie-breaking vote in the normally 50-50 chamber. Republicans have broadly supported previous stimulus packages to fight the virus and revive the economy. But with Democrats in charge of the White House and both chambers of Congress, they criticized this bill as too expensive. The country has yet to replace 9.5 million jobs lost since last year and the White House says it could take years to do so. Washington got unexpected good news on Friday after data showed that U.S. employment surged in February, adding 379,000 jobs, significantly higher than many economists had expected.

US Senate passes Biden's $1.9 trillion Covid bill on party-line vote

Democrats are facing pressure to stick together to pass their COVID relief bill. US President Joe Biden has made an aggressive pitch to the Senate Democrats telling them to get behind the $1.9 trillion package.

Democrats race to pass relief bill before March 14

House Democrats passed sweeping voting and ethics legislation Wednesday over unanimous Republican opposition.

US House passes landmark voting right bill

The US Senate is expected to begin debating President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package as soon as Thursday.

The Democratic-controlled Senate is scheduled to reconvene to consider a motion to launch 20 hours of debate on the massive bill. Republicans' response to the motion will likely be an early indication of the steep opposition the bill faces in the chamber.

The Senate is set to convene despite a warning by the US Capitol Police that it had obtained intelligence about a militia group's possible plot to breach the Capitol on Thursday.

The House of Representatives earlier cancelled its Thursday session in the wake of the Capitol Police's warning.

The relief bill includes funding for vaccines and medical supplies, and among other things extends jobless assistance and provides a new round of emergency financial aid to households, small businesses and state and local governments.

But it will block individual Americans earning $80,000 or more a year or couples earning $160,000 or more a year from receiving stimulus checks.

The legislation passed by the Democratic-majority House of Representatives last week had a higher income cutoff - $100,000 for individuals and $200,000 for couples filing their taxes jointly. The compromise means that 9 million fewer households will receive a stimulus payment than in the last tranche of payouts in 2020.

Democrats hope Biden can sign it into law before March 14, when some of the current benefits run out.

In the Senate, bills usually require the support of 60 senators. But the coronavirus relief bill is being advanced under a legislative maneuver known as reconciliation that allows passage with a simple majority vote.

The 48 Senate Democrats and the two independents who caucus with them control 50 seats, exactly half the 100-seat chamber, but Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, can cast votes to break ties.

The House version of the bill is 630 pages long.

(with inputs from agencies)

The US Senate is expected to begin debating President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package as soon as Thursday. The Democratic-controlled Senate is scheduled to reconvene to consider a motion to launch 20 hours of debate on the massive bill.

The US Senate is expected to begin debating President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package as soon as Thursday. The Democratic-controlled Senate is scheduled to reconvene to consider a motion to launch 20 hours of debate on the massive bill. Republicans' response to the motion will likely be an early indication of the steep opposition the bill faces in the chamber. The Senate is set to convene despite a warning by the US Capitol Police that it had obtained intelligence about a militia group's possible plot to breach the Capitol on Thursday. The House of Representatives earlier cancelled its Thursday session in the wake of the Capitol Police's warning. The relief bill includes funding for vaccines and medical supplies, and among other things extends jobless assistance and provides a new round of emergency financial aid to households, small businesses and state and local governments. But it will block individual Americans earning $80,000 or more a year or couples earning $160,000 or more a year from receiving stimulus checks. The legislation passed by the Democratic-majority House of Representatives last week had a higher income cutoff - $100,000 for individuals and $200,000 for couples filing their taxes jointly. The compromise means that 9 million fewer households will receive a stimulus payment than in the last tranche of payouts in 2020. Democrats hope Biden can sign it into law before March 14, when some of the current benefits run out. In the Senate, bills usually require the support of 60 senators. But the coronavirus relief bill is being advanced under a legislative maneuver known as reconciliation that allows passage with a simple majority vote. The 48 Senate Democrats and the two independents who caucus with them control 50 seats, exactly half the 100-seat chamber, but Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, can cast votes to break ties. The House version of the bill is 630 pages long. (with inputs from agencies)

US Senate expected to begin debating coronavirus package on Thursday

The United States President Joe Biden said that three-quarters of Americans and about 60% of the Republicans support the proposed $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill.

US Senate nears vote on Biden's COVID-19 aid bill

US: Democrats under pressure to pass COVID relief bill in Senate

The US Senate reached a deal Saturday that prevented witness testimony in Donald Trump's impeachment trial.

Senators had earlier in the day voted in favour of allowing witnesses in the impeachment trial, threatening to extend the procedure by days or even weeks.

Instead of calling witnesses, the House impeachment managers and Trump's defence team agreed to admit into the record a statement by Republican congresswoman Jamie Herrera Beutler about a phone call in which House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy implored then-President Trump to call off the rioters.

The four hours of final arguments will be split equally between both sides with the House prosecutors going first.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-senate-prolongs-trumps-impeachment-trial-allows-calling-of-witnesses-363447">Also read |US Senate prolongs Trump's impeachment trial, allows calling of witnesses</a>&nbsp;

The agreement cleared the way for the beginning of closing arguments in the trial, and a final vote on whether to convict Trump is now expected later Saturday.

Herrera Beutler, a Republican from Washington state, was one of 10 Republican lawmakers who voted to impeach Trump in the House of Representatives.

In her statement, she said Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy had called Trump while the attack was ongoing and implored him to call off the rioters.

Trump was impeached by the Democratic-controlled House on January 13 for inciting the attack on the US Capitol by his supporters, who were seeking to block congressional certification of Democrat Joe Biden's November 3 election victory.

A conviction in the 100-member Senate -- which is evenly split between Democrats and Republicans -- would require a two-thirds majority and appears highly unlikely after McConnell said he would vote to acquit.

Trump's defence lawyers argued on Friday that the former president bears no responsibility for the attack on Congress and wrapped up their presentation in just three hours.

This followed two days of evidence from Democratic impeachment managers centered around harrowing video footage of the mob assault on the Capitol.

<a href="wionews.com/world/trumps-lawyers-deny-he-incited-capitol-mob-363466">Also read |&nbsp;Trump’s lawyers deny he incited Capitol mob</a>

Trump's defence lawyers called the impeachment unconstitutional and an "act of political vengeance."

The former US president, on January 6, staged a fiery rally near the White House, calling on the crowd to march on Congress, which was in the process of certifying Biden's victory.

The mob then stormed the Capitol, disrupting the certification. Five people, including a police officer and a woman shot during the unrest, died in the mayhem.

(with inputs from agencies)

The US Senate reached a deal Saturday that prevented witness testimony in Donald Trump's impeachment trial. Senators had earlier in the day voted in favour of allowing witnesses in the impeachment trial, threatening to extend the procedure by days or even weeks.

The US Senate reached a deal Saturday that prevented witness testimony in Donald Trump's impeachment trial. Senators had earlier in the day voted in favour of allowing witnesses in the impeachment trial, threatening to extend the procedure by days or even weeks. Instead of calling witnesses, the House impeachment managers and Trump's defence team agreed to admit into the record a statement by Republican congresswoman Jamie Herrera Beutler about a phone call in which House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy implored then-President Trump to call off the rioters. The four hours of final arguments will be split equally between both sides with the House prosecutors going first. Also read |US Senate prolongs Trump's impeachment trial, allows calling of witnesses The agreement cleared the way for the beginning of closing arguments in the trial, and a final vote on whether to convict Trump is now expected later Saturday. Herrera Beutler, a Republican from Washington state, was one of 10 Republican lawmakers who voted to impeach Trump in the House of Representatives. In her statement, she said Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy had called Trump while the attack was ongoing and implored him to call off the rioters. Trump was impeached by the Democratic-controlled House on January 13 for inciting the attack on the US Capitol by his supporters, who were seeking to block congressional certification of Democrat Joe Biden's November 3 election victory. A conviction in the 100-member Senate -- which is evenly split between Democrats and Republicans -- would require a two-thirds majority and appears highly unlikely after McConnell said he would vote to acquit. Trump's defence lawyers argued on Friday that the former president bears no responsibility for the attack on Congress and wrapped up their presentation in just three hours. This followed two days of evidence from Democratic impeachment managers centered around harrowing video footage of the mob assault on the Capitol. Also read | Trump’s lawyers deny he incited Capitol mob Trump's defence lawyers called the impeachment unconstitutional and an "act of political vengeance." The former US president, on January 6, staged a fiery rally near the White House, calling on the crowd to march on Congress, which was in the process of certifying Biden's victory. The mob then stormed the Capitol, disrupting the certification. Five people, including a police officer and a woman shot during the unrest, died in the mayhem. (with inputs from agencies)

US Senate reaches deal, closing arguments begin in Trump impeachment trial

Donald Trump has survived the second impeachment trial in the senate. Ending democratic efforts to hold the former president accountable for the deadly capitol hill riots. US senate acquitted him on the charge of incitement of insurrection.

Donald Trump has survived the second impeachment trial in the senate

Former US President Donald Trump was acquitted by US Senate in the impeachment trial. Majority of Senate republicans closed ranks to aquit Trump in his second impeachment trial. During the five-day trial, Democratic Senators argued strongly in favour of impeaching Donald Trump who is the only US President to have been impeached twice. It follows logically that this Trump's second acquittal.

Majority of the Republicans expectedly declared Trump not guilty. This was a sign of the powerful grip Trump still has on the Republican party.

But while the 57-43 majority that voted to convict fell short of the two-thirds needed in the Senate, seven Republicans joined with Democrats to seek Trump's conviction, making it the most bipartisan impeachment trial in US history.

Trump welcomed the verdict and denounced the proceedings as&nbsp;"yet another phase of the greatest witch hunt in the history of our country." He has been secluded in his Florida club since leaving the presidency.

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&nbsp;

Despite the stain of a second impeachment, Trump hinted at a possible political future, saying that "our historic, patriotic and beautiful movement to Make America Great Again has only just begun."

"We have so much work ahead of us, and soon we will emerge with a vision for a bright, radiant, and limitless American future," he said in a statement. 
Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives on January 13, a week after the chaotic assault that stunned the nation and provoked widespread bipartisan outrage.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/whats-next-for-trump-the-republican-party-and-biden-363484">What's next for Trump, the Republican Party and Biden?</a>

During the impeachment trial, Democratic Senators argued that Trump's behaviour was an&nbsp;"open and shut" case of impeachable conduct. They retraced how Trump spent two months repeating false allegations of election fraud before inciting his supporters to attack US Capitol building on January 6.

"He summoned his supporters to Washington, on the Ellipse, whipped them into a frenzy, and directed them at the Capitol," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said after the vote.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trumps-lawyers-deny-he-incited-capitol-mob-363466">Trump’s lawyers deny he incited Capitol mob</a>

The defense team swatted the evidence away, arguing that Trump's appeal to supporters to "fight like hell, at the rally that preceded the attack," was merely rhetorical.

But their central argument was that the Senate had no constitutional jurisdiction to try a former president. Most Republican senators agreed.

(With AFP inputs)

Former US President Donald Trump was acquitted by US Senate in the impeachment trial. Majority of Senate republicans closed ranks to aquit Trump in his second impeachment trial.

Former US President Donald Trump was acquitted by US Senate in the impeachment trial. Majority of Senate republicans closed ranks to aquit Trump in his second impeachment trial. During the five-day trial, Democratic Senators argued strongly in favour of impeaching Donald Trump who is the only US President to have been impeached twice. It follows logically that this Trump's second acquittal. Majority of the Republicans expectedly declared Trump not guilty. This was a sign of the powerful grip Trump still has on the Republican party. But while the 57-43 majority that voted to convict fell short of the two-thirds needed in the Senate, seven Republicans joined with Democrats to seek Trump's conviction, making it the most bipartisan impeachment trial in US history. Trump welcomed the verdict and denounced the proceedings as "yet another phase of the greatest witch hunt in the history of our country." He has been secluded in his Florida club since leaving the presidency. × Despite the stain of a second impeachment, Trump hinted at a possible political future, saying that "our historic, patriotic and beautiful movement to Make America Great Again has only just begun." "We have so much work ahead of us, and soon we will emerge with a vision for a bright, radiant, and limitless American future," he said in a statement. Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives on January 13, a week after the chaotic assault that stunned the nation and provoked widespread bipartisan outrage. Also Read | What's next for Trump, the Republican Party and Biden? During the impeachment trial, Democratic Senators argued that Trump's behaviour was an "open and shut" case of impeachable conduct. They retraced how Trump spent two months repeating false allegations of election fraud before inciting his supporters to attack US Capitol building on January 6. "He summoned his supporters to Washington, on the Ellipse, whipped them into a frenzy, and directed them at the Capitol," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said after the vote. Also Read | Trump’s lawyers deny he incited Capitol mob The defense team swatted the evidence away, arguing that Trump's appeal to supporters to "fight like hell, at the rally that preceded the attack," was merely rhetorical. But their central argument was that the Senate had no constitutional jurisdiction to try a former president. Most Republican senators agreed. (With AFP inputs)

Donald Trump acquitted by US Senate in his second impeachment trial 

US senate acquits Donald Trump of inciting Capitol hill riots

The US Senate voted Saturday to allow the calling of witnesses in Donald Trump's impeachment trial, throwing a wrench into Republican hopes to wrap up proceedings with a swift acquittal of the former president.

The development came after news that Trump told a top congressional Republican during the deadly assault by his supporters last month that the mob was "more upset" about his election defeat than lawmakers.

Five Republicans joined all 50 Democrats to vote to allow witnesses after Democratic impeachment managers signalled their intent to subpoena to testify about the then-president's phone call with a House leader during the US Capitol insurrection.

Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/defence-says-trump-bears-no-responsibility-for-us-capitol-attack-as-impeachment-trial-set-to-conclude-363294">Defence says Trump bears no responsibility for US Capitol attack as impeachment trial set to conclude</a>

A lengthier trial could stymie efforts by Democratic President Joe Biden to move past the controversies surrounding his predecessor and push forward his own legislative agenda on COVID-19 relief and economic revival.

Herrera Beutler, one of 10 in her party who voted last month in the House of Representatives to impeach Trump, recounted in a statement late Friday the details of a call between Trump and the top House Republican, Kevin McCarthy.

"'Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are,'" Beutler quoted Trump as saying. She said Trump initially denied his supporters were involved in the attack, claiming the mob were members of the left-leaning Antifa movement, a false claim that McCarthy rejected.

The call for witnesses triggered moments of chaos on the Senate floor, with leaders hitting the pause button on the trial so they can figure out the next steps in the process.

Trump, who left office on January&nbsp;20, is the first US&nbsp;president to be impeached twice and the first to face trial after leaving office. If convicted, the&nbsp;Senate&nbsp;could then vote to bar him from running for office again.

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In arguments this week, Democratic members of the House of Representatives showed videos and shared tweets they said made clear Trump had set the stage for the violence by falsely claiming the election results were fraudulent and egging on his supporters with his rhetoric long before Jan. 6.

They said he summoned the mob to Washington, gave the crowd its marching orders and did nothing to stop the violence as it played out on television. His one request to act peacefully did not absolve him, they said.

"You rob the bank, and on the way out the door you yell, 'Respect private property!' That's not a defence to robbing the bank," said Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin.

The Democrats are unlikely to gain a conviction, as few Republican senators have come out against Trump, who remains popular among Republican voters.

Trump's team played a roughly 10-minute video showing prominent Democrats using the word "fight" in political speeches.

"You didn't do anything wrong," Trump lawyer David Schoen said, addressing Democrats. "It's a word people use, but please stop the hypocrisy."

Trump's defence team also portrayed the impeachment trial as little more than the result of a political witch hunt by Democrats who had been trying to get Trump for four years.

Senators sought to confirm whether Trump knew Vice President Mike Pence, who was presiding over the certification, was endangered by the Capitol attack when he sent a Twitter message criticizing him.

Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville said he had told Trump over the phone that Pence had already been evacuated from the&nbsp;Senate&nbsp;for his safety.

Conviction unlikely

The Democratic-controlled House impeached Trump on January&nbsp;13. Conviction in the 100-member&nbsp;Senate&nbsp;requires a two-thirds majority, which means at least 17 Republicans would have to defy the former president.

"I'm anxious to see what my Republican friends do," Biden told reporters at the White House on Friday.

Van der Veen said there was a double standard at the heart of the prosecution's case, arguing that some Democrats had "encouraged and endorsed" violence that erupted at some anti-racism protests across the United States last summer without facing any legal consequences.

"They have clearly demonstrated that their opposition to mobs and their view of using the National Guard depends upon their political views," said van der Veen, a last-minute addition to the defence team who sued Trump in August in a separate case about mail voting.

On Tuesday, the&nbsp;Senate&nbsp;voted largely along party lines that the impeachment trial was constitutional even though Trump's term ended on January&nbsp;20. Six Republican senators sided with Democrats.

If Trump is acquitted, the&nbsp;Senate&nbsp;could decide to censure him or even vote to bar him from holding public office again. Asked on Thursday about pursuing the latter option,&nbsp;Senate&nbsp;Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that decision would have to wait until the end of the trial.

Senator John Thune, the No. 2 Republican in the chamber, indicated that a censure motion could be in the cards.

"I've seen a couple of resolutions at least that I think could attract some support," Thune told reporters. He added that he did not think an effort to bar Trump from holding office again under the 14th Amendment would go anywhere.

Neither side has so far announced an intention to call witnesses, leaving senators on track for final arguments and a vote as soon as Saturday.

Trump is the first US&nbsp;president to be impeached twice and the first to face trial after leaving office. His first impeachment trial, which stemmed from his efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate Biden, ended in an acquittal a year ago in what was then a Republican-controlled&nbsp;Senate.

The US Senate voted Saturday to allow the calling of witnesses in Donald Trump's impeachment trial, throwing a wrench into Republican hopes to wrap up proceedings with a swift acquittal of the former president.

The US Senate voted Saturday to allow the calling of witnesses in Donald Trump's impeachment trial, throwing a wrench into Republican hopes to wrap up proceedings with a swift acquittal of the former president. The development came after news that Trump told a top congressional Republican during the deadly assault by his supporters last month that the mob was "more upset" about his election defeat than lawmakers. Five Republicans joined all 50 Democrats to vote to allow witnesses after Democratic impeachment managers signalled their intent to subpoena to testify about the then-president's phone call with a House leader during the US Capitol insurrection. Also read: Defence says Trump bears no responsibility for US Capitol attack as impeachment trial set to conclude A lengthier trial could stymie efforts by Democratic President Joe Biden to move past the controversies surrounding his predecessor and push forward his own legislative agenda on COVID-19 relief and economic revival. Herrera Beutler, one of 10 in her party who voted last month in the House of Representatives to impeach Trump, recounted in a statement late Friday the details of a call between Trump and the top House Republican, Kevin McCarthy. "'Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are,'" Beutler quoted Trump as saying. She said Trump initially denied his supporters were involved in the attack, claiming the mob were members of the left-leaning Antifa movement, a false claim that McCarthy rejected. The call for witnesses triggered moments of chaos on the Senate floor, with leaders hitting the pause button on the trial so they can figure out the next steps in the process. Trump, who left office on January 20, is the first US president to be impeached twice and the first to face trial after leaving office. If convicted, the Senate could then vote to bar him from running for office again. In arguments this week, Democratic members of the House of Representatives showed videos and shared tweets they said made clear Trump had set the stage for the violence by falsely claiming the election results were fraudulent and egging on his supporters with his rhetoric long before Jan. 6. They said he summoned the mob to Washington, gave the crowd its marching orders and did nothing to stop the violence as it played out on television. His one request to act peacefully did not absolve him, they said. "You rob the bank, and on the way out the door you yell, 'Respect private property!' That's not a defence to robbing the bank," said Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin. The Democrats are unlikely to gain a conviction, as few Republican senators have come out against Trump, who remains popular among Republican voters. Trump's team played a roughly 10-minute video showing prominent Democrats using the word "fight" in political speeches. "You didn't do anything wrong," Trump lawyer David Schoen said, addressing Democrats. "It's a word people use, but please stop the hypocrisy." Trump's defence team also portrayed the impeachment trial as little more than the result of a political witch hunt by Democrats who had been trying to get Trump for four years. Senators sought to confirm whether Trump knew Vice President Mike Pence, who was presiding over the certification, was endangered by the Capitol attack when he sent a Twitter message criticizing him. Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville said he had told Trump over the phone that Pence had already been evacuated from the Senate for his safety. Conviction unlikely The Democratic-controlled House impeached Trump on January 13. Conviction in the 100-member Senate requires a two-thirds majority, which means at least 17 Republicans would have to defy the former president. "I'm anxious to see what my Republican friends do," Biden told reporters at the White House on Friday. Van der Veen said there was a double standard at the heart of the prosecution's case, arguing that some Democrats had "encouraged and endorsed" violence that erupted at some anti-racism protests across the United States last summer without facing any legal consequences. "They have clearly demonstrated that their opposition to mobs and their view of using the National Guard depends upon their political views," said van der Veen, a last-minute addition to the defence team who sued Trump in August in a separate case about mail voting. On Tuesday, the Senate voted largely along party lines that the impeachment trial was constitutional even though Trump's term ended on January 20. Six Republican senators sided with Democrats. If Trump is acquitted, the Senate could decide to censure him or even vote to bar him from holding public office again. Asked on Thursday about pursuing the latter option, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that decision would have to wait until the end of the trial. Senator John Thune, the No. 2 Republican in the chamber, indicated that a censure motion could be in the cards. "I've seen a couple of resolutions at least that I think could attract some support," Thune told reporters. He added that he did not think an effort to bar Trump from holding office again under the 14th Amendment would go anywhere. Neither side has so far announced an intention to call witnesses, leaving senators on track for final arguments and a vote as soon as Saturday. Trump is the first US president to be impeached twice and the first to face trial after leaving office. His first impeachment trial, which stemmed from his efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate Biden, ended in an acquittal a year ago in what was then a Republican-controlled Senate.

US Senate prolongs Trump's impeachment trial, allows calling of witnesses

Donald Trump's defenders in the Senate on Sunday rallied around the former president before his impeachment trial, dismissing it as a waste of time and arguing that the former president's fiery speech before the US Capitol insurrection does not make him responsible for the violence of January 6.

''If being held accountable means being impeached by the House and being convicted by the Senate, the answer to that is no,'' said Republican Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, making clear his belief that Trump should and will be acquitted. Asked if Congress could consider other punishment, such as censure, Wicker said the Democratic-led House had that option earlier but rejected it in favour of impeaching him.

The Senate is set to launch the impeachment trial Tuesday to consider the charge that Trump's fighting words to protesters at a Capitol rally, as well as weeks of falsehoods about a stolen and rigged presidential election, provoked a mob to storm the Capitol. Five people as a result of the melee, including a police officer.

Many senators including Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell immediately denounced the violence and pointed a finger of blame at Trump.

Following the riot, Wicker said Americans ''will not stand for this kind of attack on the rule of law''&nbsp;and without naming names, said ''we must prosecute''&nbsp;those who undermine democracy.

But with Trump now gone from the presidency, Republicans have shown little political appetite to take further action, such as an impeachment conviction that could lead to barring him from running for future office.

Those partisan divisions appear to be hardening ahead of Trump's trial, a sign of his continuing grip on the GOP.

On Sunday, Wicker described Trump's impeachment trial as a ''meaningless messaging partisan exercise."

When asked if Trump's conduct should be more deserving of impeachment than President Bill Clinton's, whom Wicker voted to impeach, he said: ''I'm not conceding that President Trump incited an insurrection.''

Clinton's impeachment, in 1998, was sparked by his false denial in a deposition of a sexual relationship with a White House intern.

Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky dismissed Trump's trial as a farce with ''zero chance of conviction,''&nbsp;describing Trump's words to protesters to ''fight like hell''&nbsp;as Congress was voting to ratify Joe Biden's presidential victory as ''figurative''&nbsp;speech.

''If we're going to criminalise speech, and somehow impeach everybody who says, Go fight to hear your voices heard,' I mean really we ought to impeach Chuck Schumer then,? Paul said, referring to the now Democratic Senate majority leader and his criticisms of Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.

''He went to the Supreme Court, stood in front of the Supreme Court and said specifically, Hey Gorsuch, Hey Kavanaugh, you've unleashed a whirlwind. And you're going to pay the price.'' 
Paul noted that Chief Justice John Roberts had declined to preside over this week's impeachment proceeding because Trump was no longer president.

Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy will preside over the trial as Senate president pro tempore.

''It is a farce, it is unconstitutional. But more than anything it's unwise, and going to divide the country,''&nbsp;Paul said.

Last month, Paul forced a vote to set aside the trial as unconstitutional because Trump is no longer in office, which legal experts say is disputable. But the vote suggested the near impossibility in reaching a conviction in a Senate where Democrats hold 50 seats but a two-thirds vote&nbsp;or 67 senators&nbsp;would be needed to convict Trump.

Forty-four Republican senators sided with Paul and voted to oppose holding an impeachment trial at all.

Five Republican senators joined with Democrats to reject Paul's motion: Mitt Romney of Utah, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.

Some Republicans have said the vote doesn't ''bind''&nbsp;them into voting a particular way on conviction, with Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy on Louisiana saying Sunday he would listen carefully to the evidence. But even Trump's sharper GOP critics on Sunday acknowledged the widely expected outcome.

''You did have 45 Republican senators vote to suggest that they didn't think it was appropriate to conduct a trial, so you can infer how likely it is that those folks will vote to convict,''&nbsp;said Toomey, who has made clear he believes Trump committed ''impeachable offenses.''

''I still think the best outcome would have been for the president to resign''&nbsp;before he left office, he said. ''Obviously he chose not to do that.''

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, one of Trump's ardent defenders, said he believes Trump's actions were wrong and ''he's going to have a place in history for all of this,''&nbsp;but insisted it's not the Senate's job to judge.

''It's not a question of how the trial ends, it's a question of when it ends,''&nbsp;Graham said.

''Republicans are going to view this as an unconstitutional exercise, and the only question is, will they call witnesses, how long does the trial take.&nbsp;But the outcome is really not in doubt.''

Donald Trump's defenders in the Senate on Sunday rallied around the former president before his impeachment trial, dismissing it as a waste of time and arguing that the former president's fiery speech before the US Capitol insurrection does not make him responsible for the violence of January 6.

Donald Trump's defenders in the Senate on Sunday rallied around the former president before his impeachment trial, dismissing it as a waste of time and arguing that the former president's fiery speech before the US Capitol insurrection does not make him responsible for the violence of January 6. ''If being held accountable means being impeached by the House and being convicted by the Senate, the answer to that is no,'' said Republican Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, making clear his belief that Trump should and will be acquitted. Asked if Congress could consider other punishment, such as censure, Wicker said the Democratic-led House had that option earlier but rejected it in favour of impeaching him. The Senate is set to launch the impeachment trial Tuesday to consider the charge that Trump's fighting words to protesters at a Capitol rally, as well as weeks of falsehoods about a stolen and rigged presidential election, provoked a mob to storm the Capitol. Five people as a result of the melee, including a police officer. Many senators including Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell immediately denounced the violence and pointed a finger of blame at Trump. Following the riot, Wicker said Americans ''will not stand for this kind of attack on the rule of law'' and without naming names, said ''we must prosecute'' those who undermine democracy. But with Trump now gone from the presidency, Republicans have shown little political appetite to take further action, such as an impeachment conviction that could lead to barring him from running for future office. Those partisan divisions appear to be hardening ahead of Trump's trial, a sign of his continuing grip on the GOP. On Sunday, Wicker described Trump's impeachment trial as a ''meaningless messaging partisan exercise." When asked if Trump's conduct should be more deserving of impeachment than President Bill Clinton's, whom Wicker voted to impeach, he said: ''I'm not conceding that President Trump incited an insurrection.'' Clinton's impeachment, in 1998, was sparked by his false denial in a deposition of a sexual relationship with a White House intern. Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky dismissed Trump's trial as a farce with ''zero chance of conviction,'' describing Trump's words to protesters to ''fight like hell'' as Congress was voting to ratify Joe Biden's presidential victory as ''figurative'' speech. ''If we're going to criminalise speech, and somehow impeach everybody who says, Go fight to hear your voices heard,' I mean really we ought to impeach Chuck Schumer then,? Paul said, referring to the now Democratic Senate majority leader and his criticisms of Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. ''He went to the Supreme Court, stood in front of the Supreme Court and said specifically, Hey Gorsuch, Hey Kavanaugh, you've unleashed a whirlwind. And you're going to pay the price.'' Paul noted that Chief Justice John Roberts had declined to preside over this week's impeachment proceeding because Trump was no longer president. Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy will preside over the trial as Senate president pro tempore. ''It is a farce, it is unconstitutional. But more than anything it's unwise, and going to divide the country,'' Paul said. Last month, Paul forced a vote to set aside the trial as unconstitutional because Trump is no longer in office, which legal experts say is disputable. But the vote suggested the near impossibility in reaching a conviction in a Senate where Democrats hold 50 seats but a two-thirds vote or 67 senators would be needed to convict Trump. Forty-four Republican senators sided with Paul and voted to oppose holding an impeachment trial at all. Five Republican senators joined with Democrats to reject Paul's motion: Mitt Romney of Utah, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania. Some Republicans have said the vote doesn't ''bind'' them into voting a particular way on conviction, with Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy on Louisiana saying Sunday he would listen carefully to the evidence. But even Trump's sharper GOP critics on Sunday acknowledged the widely expected outcome. ''You did have 45 Republican senators vote to suggest that they didn't think it was appropriate to conduct a trial, so you can infer how likely it is that those folks will vote to convict,'' said Toomey, who has made clear he believes Trump committed ''impeachable offenses.'' ''I still think the best outcome would have been for the president to resign'' before he left office, he said. ''Obviously he chose not to do that.'' Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, one of Trump's ardent defenders, said he believes Trump's actions were wrong and ''he's going to have a place in history for all of this,'' but insisted it's not the Senate's job to judge. ''It's not a question of how the trial ends, it's a question of when it ends,'' Graham said. ''Republicans are going to view this as an unconstitutional exercise, and the only question is, will they call witnesses, how long does the trial take. But the outcome is really not in doubt.''

Republicans in US Senate back former President Trump on eve of impeachment trial

The "vote-a-rama" included 41 votes with dozens of amendments considered. Harris cast her first tie-breaking votes as vice president.

Senate passes $1.9 trillion COVID relief resolution

US Democrats' efforts to convict Donald Trump at his impeachment trial suffered a fresh blow Tuesday when almost all Republican senators backed dismissing the case, underlining the former president's continuing hold over the party.

The motion failed after all 50 Democrats and only five Republicans in the Senate did not support the push to throw out the case before the trial has begun.

The result confirmed Democrats will struggle to persuade 17 Republican senators -- the number needed for the required two-thirds majority -- to vote to convict Trump.

Rand Paul, the Republican senator from Kentucky, raised a point of order to hold a vote on the constitutionality of the impeachment trial as Trump has left office.

Democrats then called for a vote to kill the point of order, winning 55-45.

Paul said afterwards "that 45 Senators agreed that this sham of a 'trial' is unconstitutional... This 'trial' is dead on arrival in the Senate."

Patrick Leahy, the 80-year-old senator presiding over the trial, was hospitalized after Tuesday's proceedings during which he sounded hoarse and unwell as lawmakers were sworn in as jurors.

"The Attending Physician recommended that he be taken to a local hospital for observation, where he is now, and where he is being evaluated," his spokesman said.

Leahy, who was elected in 1974, is presiding as he is the senior senator of the party with the majority in the Senate, currently the Democrats.

The House of Representatives on Monday presented a single article of impeachment to the upper chamber accusing Trump of inciting the storming of the Capitol earlier this month, setting in motion the first-ever impeachment trial of a former president.

The trial of Trump, who was impeached by the Democratic-majority House for an unprecedented second time, is to begin the week of February 8.

Trump -- winner of 74 million votes in his loss to Biden on November 3 and reportedly sitting on some $70 million in campaign funds -- wants Republican senators to consider their own futures before they dare cross him.

Trump's main way of applying pressure while out of office is to threaten disloyal legislators with support for their challengers in party primary votes ahead of the 2022 midterms.

Trump's endorsement on Monday of his former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders in her bid to become governor of Arkansas was the first flexing of political muscle.

US Democrats' efforts to convict Donald Trump at his impeachment trial suffered a fresh blow Tuesday when almost all Republican senators backed dismissing the case, underlining the former president's continuing hold over the party.

US Democrats' efforts to convict Donald Trump at his impeachment trial suffered a fresh blow Tuesday when almost all Republican senators backed dismissing the case, underlining the former president's continuing hold over the party. The motion failed after all 50 Democrats and only five Republicans in the Senate did not support the push to throw out the case before the trial has begun. The result confirmed Democrats will struggle to persuade 17 Republican senators -- the number needed for the required two-thirds majority -- to vote to convict Trump. Rand Paul, the Republican senator from Kentucky, raised a point of order to hold a vote on the constitutionality of the impeachment trial as Trump has left office. Democrats then called for a vote to kill the point of order, winning 55-45. Paul said afterwards "that 45 Senators agreed that this sham of a 'trial' is unconstitutional... This 'trial' is dead on arrival in the Senate." Patrick Leahy, the 80-year-old senator presiding over the trial, was hospitalized after Tuesday's proceedings during which he sounded hoarse and unwell as lawmakers were sworn in as jurors. "The Attending Physician recommended that he be taken to a local hospital for observation, where he is now, and where he is being evaluated," his spokesman said. Leahy, who was elected in 1974, is presiding as he is the senior senator of the party with the majority in the Senate, currently the Democrats. The House of Representatives on Monday presented a single article of impeachment to the upper chamber accusing Trump of inciting the storming of the Capitol earlier this month, setting in motion the first-ever impeachment trial of a former president. The trial of Trump, who was impeached by the Democratic-majority House for an unprecedented second time, is to begin the week of February 8. Trump -- winner of 74 million votes in his loss to Biden on November 3 and reportedly sitting on some $70 million in campaign funds -- wants Republican senators to consider their own futures before they dare cross him. Trump's main way of applying pressure while out of office is to threaten disloyal legislators with support for their challengers in party primary votes ahead of the 2022 midterms. Trump's endorsement on Monday of his former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders in her bid to become governor of Arkansas was the first flexing of political muscle.

Republican senators signal opposition to Donald Trump impeachment

The U.S. senate has put Donald Trump on trial over charges of inciting an insurrection. The trial will begin in 2 weeks. Will Trump be convicted? WION's Molly Gambhir gets you a report.

Gravitas: Will U.S. Senate convict Donald Trump?

United States' Ex-President Donald Trump is likely to be acquitted in the Senate impeachment trial as Democrats struggle to gain enough support from Republicans.

Democrats need 17 Republican votes to convict Donald Trump

The US Senate on Tuesday confirmed President Joe Biden's nominee, veteran diplomat Antony Blinken, to serve as secretary of state.

The 100-member Senate backed Blinken 78-22, meaning he could be sworn in as the nation's top diplomat later in the day. A simple majority was needed in the Democratic-controlled chamber for his confirmation.

Blinken is a longtime Biden confidant who has been confirmed by the US&nbsp;Senate before, most recently to serve as No. 2 at the State Department during former Democratic President Barack Obama's administration, when Biden was vice president.

At his confirmation before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee lats week, Blinken pledged to work more closely with allies after former President Donald Trump's "America First" approach to foreign affairs. Blinken said he would work to revitalize damaged American diplomacy and build a united front to counter the challenges posed by Russia, China and Iran.

The 100-member Senate is divided 50-50 but controlled by Biden's fellow Democrats because Vice President Kamala Harris can break any tie.

All of the votes against Blinken's confirmation came from Republicans.

Blinken's confirmation hearing went smoothly, with both Democrats and Republicans offering praise. Blinken was a committee staff director - when Biden, who spent decades in the Senate, was chairman - before he joined the Obama administration.

The US Senate on Tuesday confirmed President Joe Biden's nominee, veteran diplomat Antony Blinken, to serve as secretary of state. The 100-member Senate backed Blinken 78-22, meaning he could be sworn in as the nation's top diplomat later in the day.

The US Senate on Tuesday confirmed President Joe Biden's nominee, veteran diplomat Antony Blinken, to serve as secretary of state. The 100-member Senate backed Blinken 78-22, meaning he could be sworn in as the nation's top diplomat later in the day. A simple majority was needed in the Democratic-controlled chamber for his confirmation. Blinken is a longtime Biden confidant who has been confirmed by the US Senate before, most recently to serve as No. 2 at the State Department during former Democratic President Barack Obama's administration, when Biden was vice president. At his confirmation before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee lats week, Blinken pledged to work more closely with allies after former President Donald Trump's "America First" approach to foreign affairs. Blinken said he would work to revitalize damaged American diplomacy and build a united front to counter the challenges posed by Russia, China and Iran. The 100-member Senate is divided 50-50 but controlled by Biden's fellow Democrats because Vice President Kamala Harris can break any tie. All of the votes against Blinken's confirmation came from Republicans. Blinken's confirmation hearing went smoothly, with both Democrats and Republicans offering praise. Blinken was a committee staff director - when Biden, who spent decades in the Senate, was chairman - before he joined the Obama administration.

US Senate confirms Biden nominee Blinken as Secretary of State

The US Senate is putting the&nbsp;former president <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a> on trial for impeachment charges for inciting an insurrection at the US Capitol.

On January 25, the impeachment case against Trump was delivered to the Senate after Democratic prosecutors made the ceremonial walk across the Capitol, leading all the way into the Senate.

This was followed by a reading of the impeachment article on the Senate floor. Reading the charges, representative Jamie Raskin, the lead house impeachment manager, said that Trump betrayed his trust as a president by threatening the integrity of the democratic system and&nbsp;interfering with the peaceful transition of power.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/so-much-else-to-do-chuck-schumer-promises-a-fair-but-quick-impeachment-trial-for-trump-359246" hreflang="en">'So much else to do': Chuck Schumer promises a fair but quick impeachment trial for Trump</a>

"President trump gravely endangered the security of the united states and its institutions of government. He threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power and imperilled a coequal branch of government. He thereby betrayed his trust as president to the manifest injury of the people of the United States, wherefore Donald John Trump, by such conduct has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security, democracy and the constitution, if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law," Raskin said.

The charges have been read out and the trial will begin in two weeks — hopefully by January 08, 2021.

In the house of representatives at least 10 republicans voted to impeach Trump. However, it is not necessary the same situation will take place in the Senate too.

A growing number of Republican senators say they oppose holding an impeachment trial. Their denunciations of Trump after the January 6th insurrection seem to have cooled down.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trumps-virus-task-force-adviser-describes-misinformation-and-denial-359174" hreflang="en">Trump’s virus task force adviser describes misinformation and denial</a>

Currently, there are a total of 50 republican senators, 48 Democratic senators and two independents who are&nbsp;leaning towards the Democrats.

The magic number is 67 as at least&nbsp;67 votes are needed in total to convict Donald Trump, meaning at least 17 Republicans will have to break ranks and join the Democrats to impeach the former president.

Currently, no Republican senator openly supports the conviction. The republican party is still overwhelmingly supportive of Donald Trump and reports have emerged that Trump is making backdoor efforts to ensure it stays like that.

Republican senator Kevin Cramer recently made a statement saying,&nbsp;"The president wanted me to know as well as a handful of others that the President is a republican. He is not starting a third party and that anything he would do politically in the future would be as a Republican."

Trump is currently in&nbsp;the state of Florida where he has announced the opening of 'the office of the former president' in Palm Beach county. His office will&nbsp;look after Trump's official activities in his post-presidency life such as his&nbsp;correspondence, public statements,&nbsp;official activities, political agenda,&nbsp;public activism and advocacy.

The US Senate is putting the former president Donald Trump on trial for impeachment charges for inciting an insurrection at the US Capitol. On January 25, the impeachment case against Trump was delivered to the Senate after Democratic prosecutors made the ceremonial walk across the Capitol, leading all the way into the Senate.

The US Senate is putting the former president Donald Trump on trial for impeachment charges for inciting an insurrection at the US Capitol. On January 25, the impeachment case against Trump was delivered to the Senate after Democratic prosecutors made the ceremonial walk across the Capitol, leading all the way into the Senate. This was followed by a reading of the impeachment article on the Senate floor. Reading the charges, representative Jamie Raskin, the lead house impeachment manager, said that Trump betrayed his trust as a president by threatening the integrity of the democratic system and interfering with the peaceful transition of power. Also read| 'So much else to do': Chuck Schumer promises a fair but quick impeachment trial for Trump "President trump gravely endangered the security of the united states and its institutions of government. He threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power and imperilled a coequal branch of government. He thereby betrayed his trust as president to the manifest injury of the people of the United States, wherefore Donald John Trump, by such conduct has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security, democracy and the constitution, if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law," Raskin said. The charges have been read out and the trial will begin in two weeks — hopefully by January 08, 2021. In the house of representatives at least 10 republicans voted to impeach Trump. However, it is not necessary the same situation will take place in the Senate too. A growing number of Republican senators say they oppose holding an impeachment trial. Their denunciations of Trump after the January 6th insurrection seem to have cooled down. Also read| Trump’s virus task force adviser describes misinformation and denial Currently, there are a total of 50 republican senators, 48 Democratic senators and two independents who are leaning towards the Democrats. The magic number is 67 as at least 67 votes are needed in total to convict Donald Trump, meaning at least 17 Republicans will have to break ranks and join the Democrats to impeach the former president. Currently, no Republican senator openly supports the conviction. The republican party is still overwhelmingly supportive of Donald Trump and reports have emerged that Trump is making backdoor efforts to ensure it stays like that. Republican senator Kevin Cramer recently made a statement saying, "The president wanted me to know as well as a handful of others that the President is a republican. He is not starting a third party and that anything he would do politically in the future would be as a Republican." Trump is currently in the state of Florida where he has announced the opening of 'the office of the former president' in Palm Beach county. His office will look after Trump's official activities in his post-presidency life such as his correspondence, public statements, official activities, political agenda, public activism and advocacy.

As Trump's impeachment trial is delivered to Senate, he starts post-presidency life

Republicans indicated on Monday that they intended to put up a fight in the Senate trial of former US President Donald Trump after his impeachment. Senate Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected on Monday to send senators a single article of impeachment passed in House of Representatives. This will be the first-ever impeachment trial of a former president.

As both sides prepared for what is expected to be a relatively quick trial, senior Republicans pushed back with both political and constitutional arguments, raising doubts that Democrats, who control 50 seats in the 100-seat chamber, can secure the 17 Republican votes needed to convict.

"I think the trial is stupid. I think it's counterproductive. We already have a flaming fire in this country and it's like taking a bunch of gasoline and pouring it on top of the fire," Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told&nbsp; "Fox News Sunday."

He acknowledged that Trump -- who had urged thousands of his supporters to flock to Washington and protest the congressional certification of Biden's victory -- "bears some responsibility for what happened."

But to "stir it up again" would be bad for the country, said Rubio, a presidential candidate beaten by Trump in the 2016 primary.

Constitutional question

Other Republicans argued that the Senate has no authority to put a private citizen -- as Trump now is -- on trial.

Senator Mike Rounds told NBC's "Meet the Press" that the constitution does not allow for the impeachment of a former president.&nbsp;

"There are other things we'd rather be working on," including confirming more of Biden's cabinet nominees, he said.

But Senator Mitt Romney, the Republicans' 2012 presidential candidate and a frequent Trump critic, told CNN that "the preponderance of legal opinion is that an impeachment trial after a president has left office is constitutional. I believe that's the case."

The Utah Republican -- the only member of his party to vote to convict Trump in his first impeachment trial -- hinted that he may be leaning the same way now.

He said he believed "that what is being alleged and what we saw, which is incitement to insurrection, is an impeachable offense. If not, what is?"

Hands-off approach

Biden himself has publicly taken a hands-off approach, eager to put Trump in the rear-view mirror and seek quick progress on fighting the coronavirus pandemic and reviving a devastated economy.

Biden spokeswoman Jen Psaki has said the president "believes that it's up to the Senate and Congress to determine how they will hold the former president accountable."

As Democrats worked to prepare the case against Trump, one of those who will present it in the Senate -- Representative Madeleine Dean -- said she hoped it would move quickly.

"I would expect it would go faster" than the 2020 impeachment trial, which lasted 21 days, she told CNN.

Dean said she was in the House chamber during the "terrifying moment" when the invading mob began pounding on its doors, chanting: "Hang Vice President Pence." 
She said Democrats would demand accountability for Trump's role.

"It is an extraordinarily heinous presidential crime," she said.

Republicans indicated on Monday that they intended to put up a fight in the Senate trial of former US President Donald Trump after his impeachment. Senate Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected on Monday to send senators a single article of impeachment passed in House of Representatives.

Republicans indicated on Monday that they intended to put up a fight in the Senate trial of former US President Donald Trump after his impeachment. Senate Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected on Monday to send senators a single article of impeachment passed in House of Representatives. This will be the first-ever impeachment trial of a former president. As both sides prepared for what is expected to be a relatively quick trial, senior Republicans pushed back with both political and constitutional arguments, raising doubts that Democrats, who control 50 seats in the 100-seat chamber, can secure the 17 Republican votes needed to convict. "I think the trial is stupid. I think it's counterproductive. We already have a flaming fire in this country and it's like taking a bunch of gasoline and pouring it on top of the fire," Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told "Fox News Sunday." He acknowledged that Trump -- who had urged thousands of his supporters to flock to Washington and protest the congressional certification of Biden's victory -- "bears some responsibility for what happened." But to "stir it up again" would be bad for the country, said Rubio, a presidential candidate beaten by Trump in the 2016 primary. Constitutional question Other Republicans argued that the Senate has no authority to put a private citizen -- as Trump now is -- on trial. Senator Mike Rounds told NBC's "Meet the Press" that the constitution does not allow for the impeachment of a former president. "There are other things we'd rather be working on," including confirming more of Biden's cabinet nominees, he said. But Senator Mitt Romney, the Republicans' 2012 presidential candidate and a frequent Trump critic, told CNN that "the preponderance of legal opinion is that an impeachment trial after a president has left office is constitutional. I believe that's the case." The Utah Republican -- the only member of his party to vote to convict Trump in his first impeachment trial -- hinted that he may be leaning the same way now. He said he believed "that what is being alleged and what we saw, which is incitement to insurrection, is an impeachable offense. If not, what is?" Hands-off approach Biden himself has publicly taken a hands-off approach, eager to put Trump in the rear-view mirror and seek quick progress on fighting the coronavirus pandemic and reviving a devastated economy. Biden spokeswoman Jen Psaki has said the president "believes that it's up to the Senate and Congress to determine how they will hold the former president accountable." As Democrats worked to prepare the case against Trump, one of those who will present it in the Senate -- Representative Madeleine Dean -- said she hoped it would move quickly. "I would expect it would go faster" than the 2020 impeachment trial, which lasted 21 days, she told CNN. Dean said she was in the House chamber during the "terrifying moment" when the invading mob began pounding on its doors, chanting: "Hang Vice President Pence." She said Democrats would demand accountability for Trump's role. "It is an extraordinarily heinous presidential crime," she said.

Republicans to put up resistance to Trump Senate trial

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