Biden focuses on the economy on second day in office

National Economic Council Director Brian Deese was just asked how the looming Senate impeachment trial of former President Trump could impact Congress' work on a possible Covid-19 relief plan.

He continued: "We understand that the Senate has a constitutional obligation in this context, but we also have these pressing economic and pandemic priorities as well, so we're going to — that's why we're engaging, that's why we're focused on making the case and certainly with the expectation that Congress will heed that call and move forward."

Earlier today, Sen. Chuck Schumer announced the article of impeachment against Trump will be delivered to the Senate on Monday, meaning an impeachment trial could begin as early as next week.

If lawmakers don't reach as agreement to split trial days between impeachment and other work, Senate Republicans have said the body won't conduct any other business — such as a Covid-19 relief deal or confirming Biden's Cabinet picks — on trial days.

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National Economic Council Director Brian Deese said President Joe Biden’s economic executive actions are not a substitute for the Covid-19 relief package the White House is pushing Congress to pass, but will provide a “critical lifeline” to struggling Americans. 

“The American people are hurting and they can't afford to wait,” Deese said. 

Biden is expected to sign two executive orders on Friday — one focused on expanding food assistance and delivering stimulus checks to very low-income Americans, and another on raising the minimum wage to $15 for the federal workforce. These measures do not require legislation. 

These actions build on the $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief plan Biden outlined last week, which would fund a nationwide vaccination effort and provide direct economic relief to Americans amid the coronavirus pandemic, including providing $1,400 stimulus checks. 

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Press secretary Jen Psaki is holding a press briefing. She's joined by National Economic Council Director Brian Deese.

Later today, President Biden will speak about his administration’s response to the economic crisis and will sign executive orders. His administration is focusing on the nation's economic recovery today.

President Biden has signed H.R. 335, which provided a waiver to permit retired Gen. Lloyd Austin to serve as secretary of Defense in his administration, into law. 

Both chambers of Congress approved the waiver on Thursday, and the Senate voted to confirm Austin to the role earlier on Friday, making him the first African American to run the Department of Defense. Austin becomes the second Biden cabinet official confirmed by the Senate.

This is the first piece of legislation Biden has signed into law as President, though he has already signed a slew of executive actions and presidential memorandums.

Senators in both parties say they are unable to get unanimous consent agreements to move votes for either Janet Yellen or Anthony Blinken today.

Yellen is Biden's pick to lead the Treasury department and Blinken is the President's nominee for secretary of state.

However, Republican Sen. John Thune said that a decision on votes is not yet final. 

Votes for these two nominees are likely to happen Monday, if they don't take place today. 

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, said he doesn’t think Republicans should agree to split impeachment trial days to also consider other legislative business, such as Covid-19 relief and confirming President Biden’s cabinet nominees, for the duration of the trial.

He also said he’s hopeful Schumer and McConnell will reach an agreement “fairly quickly” on how to proceed to the trial, after the New York Democrat announced this morning that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi will send over the article of impeachment on Monday.

After Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's announcement earlier today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi released a statement confirming that the article of impeachment will be transmitted to the Senate on Jan. 25. 

Her full statement says:

The Senate Homeland Security Committee will hold a vote on the nomination of Alejandro Mayorkas, who President Biden has selected to lead the Department of Homeland Security, at 11 a.m. ET Tuesday.

The Cuban-born Mayorkas, 61, was among President-elect Joe Biden's earliest announced nominees and would be the first Latino and immigrant to serve at the helm of the department.

If confirmed, he'll be expected to swiftly begin rolling back Trump administration immigration policies, while juggling a response to a global pandemic, threats to the homeland, and restoring a department that's been rattled by leadership turnover and vacancies for the better part of the last four years.

The Senate just voted on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis to confirm President Biden's Defense secretary nominee, retired Gen. Lloyd Austin. The vote was 93-2.

That makes Austin the first African American to run the department.

The epic nature of Austin's journey – from a childhood in deeply segregated Alabama, through a military still plagued with racial inequity, to the pinnacle of US national defense – might be matched only by the scale of the challenges that now face him there.

Austin will be one of the most prominent members of Biden's Cabinet. The secretary of Defense is in control of the nation's largest government agency, commanding troops around the world and the complicated internal workings of the Pentagon that make it one of the world's most formidable bureaucracies.

Defense Department data shows that while Black service members represent 19% of all enlisted personnel, they make up only 9% of the mostly White, male officer corps. Biden noted in The Atlantic that Austin was "the 200th person ever to attain the rank of an Army four-star general, but only the sixth African American."

Biden vowed his Cabinet would look like the country picking leaders that if confirmed, will make history as the most diverse group ever to lead federal agencies.

Take a look at what Biden's Cabinet looks like here.

Watch the Senate's vote: