Trump impeachment trial overshadows hot topics, controversies in early weeks of Biden admin

As the Senate considers for the second time in barely over a year whether to convict former President Donald Trump of an impeachment charge, he continues to dominate the political world even as he's remained mum through the process. 

Meanwhile, President Biden's administration is off to a rapid start with dozens of executive orders in its first few weeks, as controversies rage among both Republicans and Democrats and efforts to recover from the coronavirus pandemic are at times floundering. 

Here are some of the issues that continue to brew in the background as the political world is focused on impeachment. 

Keystone XL

The fallout from the Biden administration's decision to cancel the Keystone XL Pipeline project has continued in recent days, even if it's been under the radar. 

"It’s a pretty good gut punch, you know, kind of like a slap in the face," Lynn Allen, who has been a welder for 34 years, and was laid off as a result of Biden's decision, told "Fox & Friends First" on Wednesday. "That’s all you work for, what you work towards all your life, and that’s your calling in life, and they’re telling you go get another job and try to go get green jobs."

South Dakota small business owner Tricia Burns said her gym "lost 45 memberships. That's over $3,000 in monthly revenue that was gone literally within 48 hours." Burns' business largely served workers brought to South Dakota who were working on the Keystone XL Pipeline. 

Meanwhile, a group of Republican attorneys general wrote a letter slamming Biden for his "unilateral and rushed decision" on the pipeline, and Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush said opposition to the Biden administration's oil and gas policies "is a bipartisan issue."

$1,400 check controversy

Democrats generally but Georgia Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock more specifically have been hammered in recent weeks by progressives for allegedly breaking their campaign promise of $2,000 stimulus checks.