USA: Washington DC under curfew after storming of Capitol as Pelosi says Congress will resume tonight – by Manu Raju

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer told reporters that he expected the joint session to resume in a little over an hour, at 8 pm ET.

Read more at: Washington DC under curfew after storming of Capitol as Pelosi says Congress will resume tonight – live | US news | The Guardian

US Senate confirms former banker Mnuchin as Treasury secretary and puts Dracula in charge of the blood bank

A bitterly divided Senate on Monday confirmed Steven Mnuchin as treasury secretary despite strong objections by Democrats that the former banker ran a "foreclosure machine" when he headed OneWest Bank.

Republicans said Mnuchin's long tenure in finance makes him qualified to run the department, which will play a major role in developing economic policy under President Donald Trump.

"He has experience managing large and complicated private-sector enterprises and in negotiating difficult compromises and making tough decisions — and being accountable for those decisions," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chairman of the Finance Committee.

Votes on President Donald Trump's Cabinet picks have exposed deep partisan divisions in the Republican-controlled Senate, with many of the nominees approved by mostly party-line votes.

Read more: Senate confirms former banker Mnuchin as Treasury secretary