Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar says the quota can be bumped up from two individuals to three per state.

This is the first time in a century that Republicans failed to elect a speaker.

The bill will not bar states from blocking same-sex or interracial marriages if the Supreme Court allows them to do so.

Maintaining control of the Senate means Biden and the Democrats will retain key leverage in legislative debates, particularly in domestic and foreign spending policy.

Republicans had captured at least 210 House seats, reports say, eight short of the 218 needed to wrest the House away from Democrats and effectively halt President Joe Biden's legislative agenda.

In a key first test of the ability of Democrats to win passage of the sweeping legislation, the Senate voted 51-50 with vice-president Kamala Harris breaking the tie.

The framework includes enhanced background checks for buyers aged under 21 and funding for mental health and school safety programmes.

His withdrawal does not necessarily mean he is planning to retire from politics after the elections in May.

A Beijing official has already hit back at the bill, saying it exaggerates any perceived threat from China.

Trump was impeached on a single charge of 'incitement of insurrection' for his role in whipping up his supporters during a speech in Washington on Jan 6, the day a pro-Trump mob stormed Congress.

President-elect Biden supports Trump's US$2,000 payments and said on Tuesday the aid package is merely a 'down payment' on what he plans to deliver once in office.