- Republicans make lowball offer to Biden on Covid stimulus aid
- Expert warns US to brace for virulent Covid strain
- Trump hires new impeachment defense team after lawyers quit
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10.19am GMT
Donald Trump may have left the White House, but his shadow still looms large in Washington and the Republican party as the Senate prepares for his second impeachment trial.
The 50 Republicans in the Senate are grappling with how to appease Trump’s supporters, who still make up a hefty share of the party’s base, while acknowledging that the former president incited the 6 January attack on the US Capitol.
Related: ‘This path is untenable’: can the Republican party split with Trumpism?
10.07am GMT
Here’s how the Washington Post have reported on the moves in Washington DC to try and secure a bipartisan agreement on a Covid relief package. They write:
The planned meeting comes even as Democrats prepare to move forward this week to set up a partisan path for Biden’s relief bill, which Republicans have dismissed as overly costly.
The Republican proposal jettisons certain elements that have drawn opposition, such as increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.
10.00am GMT
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of US politics for Monday. Here’s a quick catch-up on where we’ve got to over the weekend, and what we might expect to happen today…