The Senate on Thursday approved the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement trade deal, passing the bill on for final signature by President Trump, reports NBC News.

The USMCA replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement, the trade pact the three nations have adhered to since 1994. The new deal was passed in an 89-10 vote. Trump, who has pushed for the USMCA, is expected to sign the deal, leaving only Canada to approve the agreement before it takes effect.

The House overwhelmingly passed the deal last month after Democrats secured changes to labor enforcement provisions, reports CNBC. Trump's signature trade deal has been in the works for more than a year, and seeks to update NAFTA policies that lawmakers say pushed jobs out of the U.S. Read more at CNBC. Summer Meza

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Monday night said that since Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) promised they have no intention to vote to abolish the 60-vote legislative filibuster, he will support a power-sharing agreement with Democrats.

With Democrats in control of the House and Senate, some lawmakers have called for the elimination of the filibuster, and McConnell spent days stalling and trying to get Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to guarantee he would preserve it. The Senate is split 50-50; the last time this happened was in 2001, and the party with the vice presidency controlled the floor agenda.

In a statement, McConnell said he is ready to move forward on a deal "modeled" on the 2001 "precedent" after Sinema and Manchin said they "agree with President Biden's and my view that no Senate majority should destroy the right of future minorities of both parties to help shape legislation."

Justin Goodman, a spokesman for Schumer, said Democrats are "glad Sen. McConnell threw in the towel and gave up on his ridiculous demand. We look forward to organizing the Senate under Democratic control and start getting big, bold things done for the American people." Catherine Garcia

An Ohio state senator who questioned the hygiene of Black people has been tasked with leading a state health panel, over the objection of several lawmakers.

During a hearing last June, state Sen. Steve Huffman (R), a physician, said he understood that "African Americans have a higher incidence of chronic conditions and that makes them more susceptible to death from COVID. But why does it not make them more susceptible just to get COVID?" He questioned whether "the colored population" washed their hands, wore masks, or practiced social distancing "as well as other groups. ... Could that be the explanation for why the higher incidence?"

After an immediate backlash, Huffman apologized for his remarks.

This month, Huffman was appointed by Senate President Matt Huffman (R), his cousin, to lead the Ohio Senate Health Committee, which reviews legislation about health care and human services. This angered multiple lawmakers, including state Rep. Catherine Ingram (D), who said Huffman's "racist and problematic remarks" are proof he is not fit to head the committee.

In a statement to CNN, Huffman said he is "one of the few doctors in the legislature," and is "proud" to have been named chair of the Ohio Senate Health Committee. The question he asked in June was "awkwardly worded" and "unfortunately hurt many people," Huffman said, adding that he has since attended "classes on diversity and inclusion." Catherine Garcia

The Minnesota Department of Health announced on Monday it has recorded the first known case in the U.S. of the highly transmissible COVID-19 variant that has been spreading through Brazil.

Known as the P.1 variant, it was detected amid a surge of cases in Manaus, Brazil. Minnesota health officials said the patient is a resident of the Twin Cities area who recently traveled to Brazil, and the strain was found via genomic sequencing of random blood samples. The person was tested on Jan. 9, and is now in isolation. Ruth Lynfield, Minnesota's state epidemiologist, said this is a reminder why "it is so important to limit travel during a pandemic as much as possible."

Scientists are closely studying three COVID-19 variants: P. 1, as well as B.1.1.7, first detected in the United Kingdom, and B1.351, first identified in South Africa. Virologists said the variants are independent of one another but there is some overlap in the mutations. The U.K. variant is spreading now in the U.S., but the South Africa variant has not yet been detected. Virologists are especially concerned that the Brazil and South Africa variants contain mutations that may evade the protections of some antibodies.

William Hanage, an epidemiologist at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, told The Washington Post on Monday the Brazil variant is "probably the one causing the most concern among people watching this. It is fair to say that P.1 is the object of very, very serious attention and concern among epidemiologists. We don't know why it has been so successful in Manaus." Catherine Garcia

The nine House impeachment managers on Monday evening delivered the article of impeachment against former President Donald Trump to the Senate.

On Jan. 13, the House impeached Trump on a charge of inciting an insurrection, in connection with the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), serving as lead impeachment manager, made the transfer official by reading the article on the Senate floor.

Trump's second impeachment trial is set to begin the week of Feb. 8, giving both sides time to prepare. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), president pro tempore of the Senate, will preside over the trial; Chief Justice John Roberts presided over Trump's 2020 impeachment trial, but because Trump is out of office, Roberts is no longer constitutionally obligated to take on this role. On Tuesday, the senators will be sworn in as jurors. Catherine Garcia

The Senate on Monday voted 84-15 to confirm Janet Yellen as secretary of the Treasury, making her the first woman in U.S. history to ever hold the job.

As Treasury secretary, Yellen, a labor economist and former Federal Reserve chair, will collaborate closely with President Biden as he works on getting Congress to pass his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. If the package is approved, she will also be responsible for ensuring that direct relief payments are distributed to Americans.

During her confirmation hearing, Yellen said Congress must "act big" in order to get the economy going and to ease the suffering of American workers and families hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. "The relief bill late last year was just a down payment to get us through the next few months," Yellen said. "We have a long way to go before our economy fully recovers." Catherine Garcia

The possibility of conflict with Iran prompted the U.S. military to begin using several extra ports and bases in Saudi Arabia for the first time over the course of the last year, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The decision appears geared toward expanding the ability to operate militarily and complicating Iran's options in Saudi Arabia should tensions with Tehran, which is at odds with both Washington and Riyadh, boil over in the future. "What it does is to give us options, and options are always a good thing for a commander to have," Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, the head of U.S. Central Command, told the Journal.

McKenzie explained that the U.S. and Saudi Arabia are negotiating infrastructure plans for the coastal port of Yanbu as well as two air bases to make them more usable for the U.S. military. He said additional sites that have not been revealed are under consideration.

As the Journal notes, the Biden administration has promised to take a tougher stance on human rights issues within Saudi Arabia, but the military base expansion effort — which began under the Trump administration — suggests Washington will continue to count Saudi Arabia as a key ally. Read more at The Wall Street Journal. Tim O'Donnell