President elect Joe Biden on Thursday gave a major speech outlining an ambitious economic stimulus package he calls the “American Rescue Plan.” The proposal includes a substantial amount to tackling the pandemic and also providing direct aid to Americans and to state and local governments. Here is Mr. Biden listing the highlights of a massive economic package totaling nearly $2 trillion. Progressive Democratic Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Cori Bush called out the fact that the plan included $1,400 stimulus checks to Americans even though Biden had promised $2,000 checks. However the Biden team has countered that the $1,400 would be in addition to the $600 checks that Trump signed into law in December. As Trump leaves office more signs emerge of a serious economic downturn with retail sales dropping for the third month in a row as per newly released Commerce Department data. But billionaires are thriving having sucked up a trillion dollars from the economy into their coffers over the past year alone.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during her weekly news conference on Friday named Lt. General Russel Honore to head a probe of the security failures in the January 6th Capitol attack. She said, “There is strong interest in the Congress in a 9/11 type commission” to examine the violent white supremacist riot. Pelosi even hinted that some lawmakers themselves may be under scrutiny. The Speaker did not reveal when she would send to the U.S. Senate the Article of Impeachment that a majority of House Representatives voted on against President Donald Trump. According to a New York Times report, “Some Democrats said she might wait until Monday, Jan. 25, or longer to allow more time for the Senate to put in place Mr. Biden’s national security team to respond to continued threats of violence from pro-Trump extremists.” A new poll by the Washington Post and ABC News has found that a majority of Americans—56%–think Trump should be removed from office and disqualified from running again. A small majority of 52% blame Republicans for backing Trump in his untrue claims about election theft. 

There continue to be repercussions from the January 6th Capitol attack. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, a member of the House Financial Services Committee has called for companies to stop processing financial transactions for those known to have participated in the riot. A retired Air Force officer was among those that have been arrested most recently for their role in the attack. The man,