Today's AgendaImpeachment Watch: What's the Holdup?President Donald Trump is a menace to democracy and public safety, liable to trigger fresh rounds of violent, insurrectionist LARPing at any moment. He has been impeached, rightly so, and should be removed … uh … next Tuesday? How does Tuesday work for everybody? This is the weird logic at work in Senate Majority Leader (for this week, anyway) Mitch McConnell's decision to delay Trump's impeachment trial until after President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration next week, despite letting it be known he's pretty OK with Trump being impeached a second time. A far better approach would be to have a Senate vote on getting Trump out of office immediately, writes Bloomberg LP founder Michael Bloomberg. This situation calls for swift justice, and Biden deserves to have the decks hosed of this mess before he tackles the many enormous problems facing the country. Of course, it still seems pretty unlikely the Senate will convict Trump, before or after next Tuesday. True, the soon-to-be-ex-president is having a hard time rustling up representation for his trial. Rudy Giuliani has been more or less fired and might have mistakenly tried to argue his case at Senate Masonry in Rockville, Maryland, anyway. Also, did you know lawyers prefer when you listen to, and pay, them? Who knew? Still, Trump's best argument — that he was just exercising his First Amendment rights and never explicitly said "EVERYBODY GO DO A SEDITION FOR ME" — could be enough to convince Republican senators to give him a pass, writes Noah Feldman, however spurious it is. McConnell's delay could be in service of drumming up more support for conviction, which would open the door to barring Trump from holding office again. Or it could be for other, mysterious, McConnell-y reasons. What it's probably not is an effort to protect Trump, who has discovered many of his previous defenders have gone missing, notes Jonathan Bernstein. The president's actions led to history's first double impeachment and many jokes, but his narcissism is what left him all alone in the end, destined to be remembered only, in Jonathan's words, "as a weak, lawless failure." Americans Need a Civic EducationOf course, that's just the judgment of elite snobs like most Americans. There are still millions who see Trump as not only a success but also the unfairly deposed savior of the country. In that light, you can almost see why they might still want to storm various capitols for him. Their brains have been poisoned by the lies of Trump and his enablers, amplified in social-media echo chambers. And too many Americans lack the basic civic education that might have inoculated them against such dangerous nonsense, writes Andrea Gabor. This country's divisions will never heal until people once again understand basic facts about how government actually works. The immediate danger is that the Capitol attack will likely inspire copycat events around the country and the world, warns Tyler Cowen, citing a long, depressing history. That makes it all the more important that the perpetrators face real consequences. Trump Vs. Business: Banking EditionOne of the many groups Trump managed to alienate on his way out the door was the banking sector, with a politically motivated OCC rule forcing them to lend money to gun peddlers, Alaskan oil drillers and other unsavory characters. Trump's OCC claims banks aren't being fair to such businesses, but it doesn't seem to have such concerns about Black borrowers and others who more often face discrimination, notes Bloomberg's editorial board. This rule could hurt banks and is probably illegal, beyond being inconsistent. Biden should toss it ASAP. There are good business reasons for banks to back slowly away from carbon- and bullet-spewing businesses. But there are also moral reasons, and corporate leaders increasingly feel responsible for considering them, too, writes Joe Nocera. Keeping money from guns, pollution and insurrectionists is certainly good PR. But it's also an example of how companies are increasingly being asked to serve as the last adults in the room. Further Bad-for-Business Reading: Deutsche Bank won't easily wash off the stain of its association with Trump. — Elisa Martinuzzi Telltale ChartsChina is quietly pumping liquidity into its financial system, boosting its neighbors and the global economy, writes John Authers.  One measure of how much investors are exposed to potential losses in corporate bonds is at its worst ever, writes Brian Chappatta. But the Fed will probably come to the rescue.  Further ReadingBiden's Pentagon must learn to spend money smarter. — Bloomberg's editorial board Johnson & Johnson's new vaccine could be an enormous help in fighting Covid. — Sam Fazeli Intel should break up and focus on making better chips, to avoid losing more business to Asian manufacturers. — Tae Kim Vietnam is being punished for its own success in the trade war, which could send production back to China. — Dan Moss Any Apple car will have to include critical parts from China. — Anjani Trivedi Biden should be careful his first stimulus package isn't too big. — Michael R. Strain ICYMIBiden is expected to propose a $1.9 trillion stimulus plan. Ivanka Trump won't let the Secret Service use her bathroom. A man accused of killing a Capitol cop with a fire extinguisher was arrested. KickersThe richer you are, the likelier you are to socially distance, a study has shown. Young American men are steadily losing testosterone. Dire wolves were not wolves. Mysterious helicopters are circling Los Angeles. Note: Please send helicopters and complaints to Mark Gongloff at mgongloff1@bloomberg.net. Sign up here and follow us on Twitter and Facebook. | 
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