Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Senator Leahy to preside over Trump's impeachment trial The U.S. Senate's longest-serving member, Democrat Patrick Leahy, will preside over the upcoming impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, Leahy said on Monday. The Denver-based company, Dominion Voting Systems Inc, filed an earlier lawsuit against pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, whom the company also accused of spreading false conspiracy theories about the election that Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. Biden vows to replace U.S. government fleet with electric vehicles

President Joe Biden on Monday vowed to replace the U.S. government's fleet of roughly 650,000 vehicles with electric models as the new administration shifts its focus toward clean-energy. "The federal government also owns an enormous fleet of vehicles, which we're going to replace with clean electric vehicles made right here in America made by American workers," Biden said Monday Biden overturns Trump ban on transgender people serving in U.S. military

President Joe Biden on Monday signed an executive order that overturned a controversial ban by his predecessor on transgender individuals serving in the U.S. military, a move cheered by LGBTQ advocates that fulfills a campaign promise. Flanked by Vice President Kamala Harris, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, Biden signed the executive order in the Oval Office. Senator Leahy to preside over Trump's impeachment trial

The U.S. Senate's longest-serving member, Democrat Patrick Leahy, will preside over the upcoming impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, Leahy said on Monday. U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts presided at Trump's first impeachment trial last year, as the Constitution requires in presidential impeachments. But senators can preside when the person being impeached is not the current president of the United States, a Senate source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. U.S. Senate panel backs confirmation of Blinken to be top U.S. diplomat

The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Monday approved the nomination of veteran diplomat Antony Blinken to serve as secretary of state, clearing the way for his consideration by the full Senate as soon as this week. The committee voted by 15-3 in favor of President Joe Biden's nominee for the post. U.S. Senate votes overwhelmingly to confirm Yellen as first female Treasury chief

Janet Yellen won overwhelming Senate confirmation as the first female U.S. Treasury secretary on Monday, setting her quickly to work with Congress on coronavirus relief, reviewing U.S. sanctions policy and strengthening financial regulation. The Senate voted 84-15 to confirm Yellen, with all opposition coming from Republicans, several of whom have expressed concerns about President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid proposal, tax and spending plans. Trump lawyer Giuliani faces $1.3 billion lawsuit over 'big lie' election fraud claims

A U.S. voting machine company filed a $1.3 billion lawsuit against former President Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani, accusing him of defamation in what it called his "big lie" campaign about widespread fraud in the presidential election, court documents on Monday showed. The Denver-based company, Dominion Voting Systems Inc, filed an earlier lawsuit against pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, whom the company also accused of spreading false conspiracy theories about the election that Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden. U.S. House to deliver Trump charge to Senate, triggering impeachment trial

The U.S. House of Representatives on Monday is set to formally deliver to the Senate a charge accusing former President Donald Trump with inciting insurrection in a speech to his supporters before the deadly attack on the Capitol, setting in motion his second impeachment trial. Nine House Democrats who will serve as prosecutors in the trial are due to proceed at about 7 p.m. on Monday (0000 GMT) through the same building where on Jan. 6 a mob of Trump supporters clashed with police. The lawmakers will be carrying the charge - known as an article of impeachment - to the Senate ahead of a trial expected to start on Feb. 9. U.S. Treasury resuming steps to put Harriet Tubman on $20 bill - White House

The U.S. Treasury Department is taking steps to resume efforts to put escaped slave and abolitionist Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill, White House and Treasury officials said on Monday, saying the move would reflect U.S. history and diversity. The redesigned bill was initially to be unveiled in 2020, but those efforts were delayed by the Treasury after former President Donald Trump called them an example of "pure political correctness." California eases lockdowns as state's COVID-19 crisis ebbs

California eased strict COVID-19 stay-at-home orders on Monday, allowing restaurants to reopen for outdoor dining and greater social mixing as state public health officials cited slowing rates of coronavirus infections and hospitalizations. The announcement marked the most tangible sign yet that California, which emerged in recent months as a leading U.S. hotspot of the COVID-19 pandemic, has moved beyond the worst days of a crisis that pushed much of its healthcare system to the breaking point. Pro-Trump lawyer Lin Wood fired by teen who faced off with Native American in viral video

A Kentucky teenager whose 2019 face-off with a Native American activist in Washington went viral has fired his lawyer, a man who played a key role in Donald Trump's attempts to overturn his election defeat, according to court notices filed on Monday. The teen, Nicholas Sandmann, terminated lawyer L. Lin Wood from the team representing him in a series of lawsuits that accuse media companies like The New York Times Inc and CBS News Inc of inaccurately portraying the stand-off at the Lincoln Memorial on the day of a large anti-abortion protest.

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