Your Daily Roundup for January 14th

Good morning. As the COVID-19 pandemic takes a toll on life in America, our team at Future Majority is tracking the latest updates: 

Donald J. Trump is the first U.S. President to be impeached twice:

On Wednesday, President Donald J. Trump became the first U.S. President to be impeached by the House of Representatives twice, as 232 members of Congress approved one article of impeachment for Trump's role in inciting a violent attack against the U.S. Capitol. 10 Republicans joined House Democrats in the affirmative impeachment vote. 197 Republicans voted against the article. Trump will now face a Senate trial, though current Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has already stated that he will not bring the senate back until January 19th, the day before President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated and new senators are sworn in, changing the balance of power to Democratic control. 

1.15 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week:

In a dramatic uptick from the week prior, over 1 million Americans filed new state unemployment benefits claims in the first week of January. Another nearly 300,000 Americans filed for the federal unemployment assistance program. The service industry has been hit particularly hard, with restaurant workers still out of jobs. 10 million Americans who were laid off in the Spring of 2020 remain unemployed. President-elect Joe Biden is expected to release his economic plans for COVID-19 relief as well as for fighting the virus.

Biden is charging ahead with $2,000 checks:

As part of his domestic policy plans that will be unveiled Thursday evening, President-elect Joe Biden is reportedly urging that lawmakers pass $2,000 direct stimulus payments for Americans up to a certain income level, as well as small business aid and funding for state and local governments. Biden also will discuss his plans for scaling out vaccination programs as well as America’s testing capacity for COVID-19.