Impeachment article has 200 cosponsors: US rep.

Biden, in announcing Cabinet nominees for key economic and jobs positions, confirmed he gave "serious consideration" to nominating Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders for secretary of labor, but he said the two agreed they couldn't risk Republicans gaining control of the Senate.

"He could have done a fantastic job. I can think of no more passionate and devoted ally to working people in this country. But after Tuesday's results in Georgia, giving Democratic control of the United States Senate in a tie vote, Bernie and I agreed -- as a matter of fact, Bernie suggested -- we can't put control of the Senate at risk on the outcome of a special election in Vermont," Biden said.

Biden also reiterated in his remarks he supports raising the minimum wage to $15, passing more coronavirus relief legislation to small business owners and releasing more COVID-19 vaccine doses immediately to Americans to administer as many shots as possible.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., has called on Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., to resign in the aftermath of the violent siege on the Capitol, accusing the Republican senators of inciting the pro-Trump mob that stormed into the building.

“As a Senator, I respect every member who disagrees with my ideas. I reserve my right to use my voice to fight for what I believe in. But at the end of the day, our job is to keep this country a democracy where voices win, not brute force," Murray wrote in a statement.

"Any Senator who stands up and supports the power of force over the power of democracy has broken their oath of office. Senators Hawley and Cruz should resign,” she added.

Hawley and Cruz led challenges to Wednesday's Electoral College ratification, which repeated Trump's unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election

Murray is the highest-ranking Senate Democrat to urge for the senators' resignations. Her statement echoes similar calls for Cruz and Hawley to step down from Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., and Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.

Vice President Mike Pence arrived at the White House Friday afternoon, after spending Thursday away from the White House complex.

Pence will be participating in meetings and calls at the White House and planned to stop by his office’s weekly staff meeting, according to his office.

The vice president’s office did not respond to questions about whether Pence planned to meet with Trump amid calls from Democrats for Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment.

Pence remained at his residence at the Naval Observatory grounds in Washington all day Thursday, according to a senior administration official, and received his second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, his office said Thursday.

-ABC News' Ben Gittleson and Elizabeth Thomas

Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris introduced their nominees to lead the Commerce and Labor departments, as well as the Small Business Administration -- all posts that will be critical to implementing his economic agenda once he takes office later this month.

Biden opened by touting the historic firsts of his Cabinet.

"This will be the first Cabinet ever that is evenly composed of as many women as men," Biden began. "This will be the first Cabinet ever with a majority of people of color occupying this Cabinet. And it has more than a dozen history-making appointments, including the first woman secretary of treasury, first African American defense secretary, the first openly gay Cabinet member, and the first Native American Cabinet secretary."

Biden is nominating Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo for secretary of commerce. Raimondo, who was elected as the state's first female governor in 2014, was under consideration to be Biden's running mate and was a potential choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

For secretary of labor, Biden is nominating Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. Walsh, who has led Boston since 2014, would be the first union member to serve in the post in almost half a century if confirmed by the Senate.

Biden also introduced Isabel Guzman as his pick to serve as small business administrator. She currently serves as the director of California’s Office of the Small Business Advocate and is a key leader in the state’s COVID-19 economic recovery.

Finally, Biden is nominating Don Graves, an executive at KeyBank, as his nominee for deputy secretary of commerce.

All the positions introduced Friday, except deputy commerce secretary, are Cabinet level.