The $1.9 trillion rescue plan unveiled by President-elect Joe Biden offers the chance to sculpt the U.S. economy toward the Democrats’ liking: a $15 minimum wage, aid to poor families and federal dollars going to public schools. It’s an ambitious effort that would arrive after roughly $4 trillion has already been devoted to fighting the pandemic. Biden’s plan could quickly be trimmed by congressional Republicans, who are skeptical about raising the minimum wage and increasingly focused on the mounting federal budget deficit.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is offering no clues on her plans to send President Donald Trump’s impeachment to the Senate for trial. But she made clear Friday that Democrats intend to move swiftly on Joe Biden’s legislative priorities, including funding for coronavirus vaccines and relief aid. Pelosi said Biden’s proposed $1.9 trillion coronavirus plan is a “matter of complete urgency." That suggests the bill could take precedence over Trump's second impeachment trial. But many Democrats have pushed for an immediate trial. The proceedings could begin by Inauguration Day if Pelosi sends the article to the Senate by early next week. 

Now that the House has impeached President Donald Trump for the second time, Speaker Nancy Pelosi must figure out the best strategy for arguing the case before the Senate. Senate rules say the trial must start soon after the chamber receives the article of impeachment, which cites “incitement of insurrection” after an angry mob of Trump’s supporters invaded the Capitol last week. But Pelosi has not said when the House will deliver it. If the House sends it to the Senate early next week, or before then, a trial could begin at 1 p.m. on Inauguration Day. The ceremony at the Capitol starts at noon.

For a second time, Republican senators face the choice of whether to convict President Donald Trump in an impeachment trial. While only one GOP senator, Utah’s Mitt Romney, voted to convict Trump last year, that number could increase as lawmakers consider whether to punish Trump for his role in inciting a deadly insurrection at the Capitol. Whatever they decide, Trump is likely to be gone from the White House when the verdict comes in. An impeachment trial is likely to start next week, possibly on Inauguration Day, raising the specter of the Senate trying the previous president even as it moves to confirm the incoming president’s Cabinet.

Now that the House has impeached President Donald Trump for the second time, Speaker Nancy Pelosi must figure out the best strategy for arguing the case before the Senate. Senate rules say the trial must start soon after the chamber receives the article of impeachment, which cites “incitement of insurrection” after an angry mob of Trump’s supporters invaded the Capitol last week. But Pelosi has not said when the House will deliver it. If the House sends it to the Senate early next week, or before then, a trial could begin at 1 p.m. on Inauguration Day. The ceremony at the Capitol starts at noon.

For a second time, Republican senators face the choice of whether to convict President Donald Trump in an impeachment trial. While only one GOP senator, Utah’s Mitt Romney, voted to convict Trump last year, that number could increase as lawmakers consider whether to punish Trump for his role in inciting a deadly insurrection at the Capitol. Whatever they decide, Trump is likely to be gone from the White House when the verdict comes in. An impeachment trial is likely to start next week, possibly on Inauguration Day, raising the specter of the Senate trying the previous president even as it moves to confirm the incoming president’s Cabinet.

President Donald Trump’s impeachment now heads toward a historic Senate trial, perhaps as soon as next week. In a remarkable scene, senators will be serving not only as jurors but witnesses and victims of the deadly Capitol siege. The trial could begin as soon as Inauguration Day, when Democrat Joe Biden will take the oath of office. But the date has not been set and some Democrats suggest waiting. Trump faces a single charge of “incitement of insurrection.” In pursuing conviction, House impeachment managers will be making the case that Trump’s incendiary rhetoric before last week's mob attack was not isolated. Rather, they will say, it was part of an escalating campaign to question the integrity of the U.S. election and overturn the results.

Estonia’s president has tasked the leader of the main opposition party to form a new government a day after Prime Minister Juri Ratas stepped down in the wake of a corruption scandal in the ruling Center Party. Reform Party chairwoman Kaja Kallas — who, if successful, would be the country's first female prime minister — has 14 days to put together a new Cabinet. President Kersti Kaljulaid made the statement on Thursday. The center-right Reform Party emerged as the winner of the 2019 general election. The Estonian head of state urged Kallas to move rapidly as the new government needs to immediately start tackling a worsening COVID-19 situation and the economic turmoil caused by the pandemic.