Biden’s team outlines immediate priorities as Senate trial looms large over Washington
Inauguration week has finally arrived. On Wednesday, President Donald Trump is slated to hand over control of the White House to President-elect Joe Biden.
Over the weekend, the incoming White House chief of staff Ron Klein outlined what the president-elect’s immediate priorities will be when he takes office, saying he intends to sign a slew of executive actions. Biden will ask the Department of Education to extend the existing pause on student loan payments and interest, move to re-join the U.S. into the Paris Climate Agreement that Trump withdrew from, and end Trump’s immigration ban from some Muslim-majority countries, according to Klain. Moreover, Biden will issue a mask mandate on federal property and interstate travel to tackle the pandemic.
On Monday, the president-elect and the future first lady, Jill Biden, will be honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day by volunteering at Philabundance, a hunger relief organization in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Meanwhile, an impeachment looms large during Trump’s final days in office in the wake of his supporters violently mobbing the U.S. Capitol building earlier this month.
On Sunday, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., defended Trump during an appearance on Fox News, saying he doesn’t blame him for telling his supporters to head to the Capitol.
"How in the hell could that happen? Where was Nancy Pelosi?" Graham said. "It’s her job to provide Capitol security," even though the attackers appeared to be trying to track her down.
He also urged fellow GOP Senators to not impeach Trump.
"And to my Republican colleagues in the Senate, if we embrace an unconstitutional impeachment of Donald Trump after he is out of office, it will destroy the party," he said. "The Republican Party wants to move forward. President Trump's going to be the most important voice in the Republican Party for a long time to come."
