This week, USA TODAY Politics focuses on the run-up to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, his remaining Cupboard picks and the ultimate week of the present Congress. 

Dates to look at:

Jan. 3: New Congress is sworn in.

Jan. 5: Senate runoff election in Georgia.

Jan. 6: Congress will depend and certify the electoral leads to a joint session.

Jan. 20: Inauguration of Biden, who will take the oath of workplace.

Remember to refresh this web page usually to get the newest data on the transition.

First senator joins GOP effort to problem Electoral School outcomes

Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican, says he will object to the Electoral College results subsequent week when Congress meets to formally certify President-elect Joe Biden’s win over President Donald Trump, guaranteeing a doomed however dramatic congressional struggle to overturn Biden’s win. 

Hawley, a detailed ally of the president, is the primary senator to announce he would again the trouble on Jan. 6, guaranteeing each chambers will debate and be pressured to vote on whether or not to overturn Biden’s election win. A faction of conservative Home Republicans, led by Mo. Brooks, R-Ala., have already stated they’ll object to electoral votes from some battleground states that Biden gained, similar to Pennsylvania advert Georgia.

Biden gained the Dec. 14 Electoral School vote 306-232.

Trump has repeatedly referred to as on congressional Republicans to step up and object on his behalf, however many have acknowledged Biden’s win. Some went as far to name the trouble to object meaningless.

The hassle, nevertheless, is doomed to fail within the Democratic-controlled Home and even within the Senate, the place Republican leaders led by Majority Chief Mitch McConnell have warned colleagues to not problem the Electoral School vote.

Read the full story.

— Christal Hayes and Joey Garrison

Destiny of $2,000 stimulus checks stays unsure

A proposal from Senate Majority Chief Mitch McConnell to lift stimulus checks to Individuals to $2,000 may scuttle probabilities of passing the elevated assist checks.

President Donald Trump has demanded that Congress improve the help funds included in a $900 billion coronavirus aid bundle from $600 to $2,000. 

The Kentucky Republican introduced a bill Tuesday that includes two other Trump demands that Democrats are not likely to support. The measure would improve checks to $2,000 but additionally repeal Part 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which grants sure authorized protections for giant tech firms, and set up a fee to review election fraud.

The fee would look at lots of the considerations Trump has raised since dropping the election and make suggestions to Congress. The president hasn’t offered proof to again his claims, and the Justice Division discovered no proof of widespread fraud in final month’s election.

New voting restrictions: GOP seeks to roll back mail-in voting in states like Georgia, Pennsylvania

Senate Minority Chief Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., stated there was no means Democrats would help the laws and it stood no likelihood of reaching Trump’s desk. Democrats referred to as on McConnell to move a standalone proposal on stimulus checks.

In the meantime, the Treasury Department is has begun issuing the $600 payments. The division stated funds would start for Individuals with direct deposit arrange by means of the Inside Income Service as quickly as Tuesday night time. Paper checks will start to be mailed Wednesday.

McConnell’s invoice hasn’t been scheduled for a vote, and it is unclear whether or not it’s going to obtain the backing of Senate Republicans. Some have voiced help for growing aid checks, however most are opposed.

Holding a vote on the measure would put Republican senators on the spot to both reject Trump’s calls for for elevated checks or relent on long-held objections to including to the debt. 

— Christal Hayes and workers experiences

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