Monday, Jan. 25

á           White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the Treasury Department is Òtaking steps to resume efforts to put Harriet Tubman on the front of the new $20 notes,Ó adding that currency should Òreflect the history and diversity of our country.Ó The effort was initiated late in the administration of President Barack Obama and put on hold under President Donald Trump.

á           President Joe Biden said he was eyeing 1.5 million coronavirus vaccination shots daily throughout the country as a goal for his administrationÕs COVID-19 response plan, a significant jump from his former policy goal of 1 million shots daily for 100 days.

á           Far-right Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) filed a counter-complaint with the Senate Ethics Committee against seven Senate Democrats who filed a complaint against him and Sen. Ted Crus (R-Tex.) for attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

á           The House impeachment managers delivered an article of impeachment to the Senate, charging Trump with inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.

á           The Centers for Disease Control reinstated COVID-19 international travel restrictions, preventing travel from 27 European countries, South Africa and others where risk of COVID-19 variant spread is strong.

á           Biden signed an executive order seeking to enforce existing ÒBuy AmericanÓ provisions and to close loopholes to boost the countryÕs manufacturing sector.

á           Biden reversed TrumpÕs ban on transgender people in the military.

á           Reuters reported that Trump, in his last days in office, eased U.S. sanctions against Israeli mining magnate Dan Gertler. The sanctions had been imposed for alleged corruption in business dealings in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

á           Janet Yellen was confirmed as Treasury secretary, becoming the first woman to hold the position and the second person to have been both Federal Reserve chair and Treasury secretary.

á           Biden vowed to replace the federal governmentÕs fleet of 650,000 vehicles with electric models in a shift toward clean energy.

Tuesday, Jan. 26

á           Biden signed a slate of executive orders to address racial equity, including direction to the Justice Department not to renew contracts with private prison operators; an acknowledgement of the role the federal government played in discriminatory housing policy; a reaffirmation of the United States governmentÕs commitment to tribal sovereignty; and instructions to Housing and Urban Development to reassess actions taken by the Trump administration deemed racially prejudiced.

á           Biden had his first call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Psaki said the call concerned objections to a variety of Kremlin actions, including the suspected Russian hacking campaign that breached Justice Department email accounts and purported Russian bounties placed on American troops abroad.

á           Nearly every Senate Republican voted that putting Trump on trial for impeachment is unconstitutional. The House impeachment managers need to convince at least 17 Republican senators to break rank to secure a conviction.

á           The acting Ambassador to the United Nations Richard Mills told the UN Security Council that BidenÕs Middle East policy supports a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine in which ÒIsrael lives in peace and security, alongside a viable Palestinian state.Ó

á           The Senate confirmed Antony Blinken as the next secretary of state. Among other goals, Blinken has promised to end U.S. support for Saudi-led forces in Yemen and vowed to renew a nuclear deal with Iran.

á           A federal judge blocked, for 14 days, BidenÕs effort to halt deportations of immigrants for 100 days, claiming the new administration failed Òto provide any concrete, reasonable justification for a 100-day pause on deportations.Ó

á           The Kremlin announced the U.S. and Russia have agreed to extend the New START nuclear arms control treaty, preserving the last pact of its kind between two world powers with nuclear capabilities.

á           Biden announced the U.S. will accelerate the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines across the country by buying 200 million more doses.

Wednesday, Jan. 27

á           The Biden administration announced the creation of a bipartisan commission to study reforms to the Supreme Court and federal judiciary under the purview of the White House CounselÕs office.

á           The acting police chief of Washington, D.C. told House members that two D.C. police officers who responded to the Jan. 6 insurrection committed suicide in its aftermath.

á           Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) took procedural steps necessary to end a Republican filibuster holding up the confirmation of Alejandro Mayorkas to serve as Homeland Security secretary.

á           Jimmy Gomez (D-Cal.) announced his plans to introduce a resolution to oust conspiracy-peddling QAnon supporter Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Geo.) from Congress. In addition to such actions as denying that the Parkland school shooting ever took place and calling for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Cal.) to be shot in the head, Greene was most recently revealed to support a theory that Jewish people began the 2018 Camp Fire with space lasers.

á           Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the U.S.Õs economic recovery hinges solely on whether or not the country can get its people vaccinated.

á           The Department of Homeland Security warned that the U.S. could face a heightened threat of domestic extremist violence for weeks due to Òlong-standing racial and ethnic tensionÓ enflamed not least by TrumpÕs election defeat and the ensuing Jan. 6 insurrection.

á           The Wall Street Journal reported that the Biden administration imposed a temporary freeze on billions of dollars in weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Thursday, Jan. 28

á           A Politico report described ongoing restructuring of National Security staff to reorient it toward rising global powers in Asia rather than the Middle East, in hopes to move on from the wars that have taken place in the region over the last few decades.

á           Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) was tapped to chair the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 2022.

á           Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) rebuffed Sen. Ted CruzÕs unusual alignment with her in regards to support for trade oversight following widespread investment in companies like GameStop and AMC Theaters that caused their stock prices to soar and imperiled hedge funds that bet against those companies. ÒI am happy to work with Republicans on this issue where thereÕs common ground,Ó Ocasio-Cortez told Cruz, Òbut you almost had me murdered 3 weeks ago [in the Jan. 6 insurrection] so you can sit this one out.Ó

á           Acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman said the Capitol needs permanent fencing and backup forces continuously stationed nearby to ensure the safety of lawmakers in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 insurrection.

á           The New York Times reported on the new investigation by the Defense DepartmentÕs Inspector GeneralÕs Office into whether elite U.S. commando forces are complying with the laws of armed conflict and if violators are held accountable.

á           Biden named veteran Middle East expert and former Obama official Robert Malley as his special envoy for Iran.

Friday, Jan. 29

á           A federal appeals court lifted a block on a Trump policy of rapidly turning away migrant children as public health risks, reversing a November ruling in a lower court that found such action exceeded the authority of the public health emergency rule.

Saturday, Jan. 30

á           Trump lost five of the lawyers on his impeachment defense team days before his trial is set to begin, including head lawyer Butch Bowers, leaving open the question of who if anyone would represent the former president. CNN reported that Trump wanted his lawyers to focus on debunked arguments of mass election fraud rather than the constitutionality of impeaching a former president.

á           The Pentagon halted plans to administer vaccinations to 40 wartime prisoners at Guantan‡mo Bay.

Sunday, Jan. 31

á           The Senate postponed its final vote to confirm BidenÕs Homeland Security secretary nominee Alejandro Mayorkas because of inclement weather, from the following Monday evening to Tuesday.

á           Trump named two new lawyers, David Schoen, who represented TrumpÕs former advisor Roger Stone, and Bruce Castor, a former district attorney in Pennsylvania, as his impeachment defense team.