Google searches for “what is oligarchy” spiked as President Biden gave his farewell address last night.
House GOP Asks Trump to Hold Back on Executive Orders
“The House Republican leadership has asked the incoming Trump administration to hold off on rolling back several Biden-era policies by executive order so that GOP lawmakers can repeal them in a reconciliation bill instead,” Punchbowl News reports.
“The GOP-run Congress has to find savings as part of any reconciliation package. And if President-elect Donald Trump wipes out big-ticket Biden policies using executive orders, Congress can’t claim them as savings in reconciliation.”
The Crossover House Seats for 2026
Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball: “Just 16 districts voted for one party for president and the other for House, which is the same historically-low total as 2020.”
“But there are 13 Democrats in Donald Trump-won districts compared to just 3 Republicans in Kamala Harris-won districts.”
Ideological Extremes Are Growing in the U.S.
Semafor: “Republicans and Democrats are pulling further apart, new Gallup research suggests, as the share of Americans who identify as moderate has declined over time.”
“Among Republicans, 77% described themselves as conservative in 2024, including 24% who said they were very conservative — both of which are highs since Gallup started polling the question three decades ago. Meanwhile, 55% of Democrats identified as liberal, including 19% who reported being very liberal — also both highs.”
“Overall, 37% of respondents described themselves as conservative and 25% as liberal; 34% say they’re moderate, down from a high of 43% in the 1990s.”
What Democrats Can Learn from the Ceasefire Deal
Former Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), who served as assistant secretary of state in the Obama administration, commented on the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement:
“This was Biden’s deal, but as much as I hate to say it, he couldn’t have done it without Trump—not so much Trump’s performative threats to Hamas, but his willingness to tell Bibi bluntly that the war had to end by Jan. 20…”
“This is an oversimplification, and there are exceptions to the rule. But I think the problem with Biden is that he believed in our values but not our power. Whereas Trump believes in our power, but not our values.”
“As Democrats, I hope we will learn hard lessons from both.”
Some Thoughts on Biden’s Farewell Address
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‘Everyone’s Trying to Kiss the Ring’
“Donald Trump’s first White House victory caught corporate America flat-footed. This time around, industries that his administration will soon oversee are showering his inaugural committee with record-breaking donations — and making sure both the president-elect and the public notice their largesse,” Politico reports.
“Not only are companies giving far larger amounts than they did to Trump’s first inauguration — when they didn’t have a firm grasp of how to handle misgivings about the mercurial politician — they’re doing so in a far more public fashion, announcing the donations months before they have to be reported to federal regulators.”
Trump Unveils His White House Blacklist
President-elect Donald Trump named a handful of former staffers as “people suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome,” and asked the public to not recommend job candidates that had previously worked with any of them, the Daily Beast reports.
An Administration of the Uber-Wealthy
CNN: “Trump is returning to the White House after making appeals to working-class voters in last year’s election, but he has assembled one of the wealthiest administrations in history – turning to nearly a dozen people worth at least $1 billion on their own or combined with their spouses’ assets – to oversee the nation’s policies and represent the US overseas as ambassadors.”
“This class of uber-rich officials has begun the process of detailing their vast wealth for public disclosure and developing plans with government ethics officers to unwind holdings that could pose conflicts of interest.”
Time Running Out to Recover Pilfered Jobless Benefits
Wall Street Journal: “Up to $135 billion in unemployment benefits was stolen during the pandemic, and the five-year statute of limitations is about to expire, meaning most of the fraud will go unpunished.”
How Trump’s Mass Deportation Could Unfold
President-elect Donald Trump intends to launch a “light speed” mass deportation campaign as soon as he “puts his hand on that Bible and takes the oath of office,” top aide Stephen Miller has boasted, the Washington Post reports.
“While U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has long prioritized immigrants with criminal records, there are other subgroups that could be at a higher risk of deportation. They include millions of newcomers who arrived during the record border influx under President Joe Biden, as well as those who have exhausted their legal appeals but haven’t left the United States.”
A Euphoric Tech Industry Is Ready to Celebrate Trump
New York Times: “Some of the most coveted parties during President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural weekend will be hosted by the Silicon Valley donors who are flush with power at the dawn of his second administration. The tech industry that has embraced Mr. Trump over the last year or so is set to revel in its clout over days of festivities that will make the tech donors the stars of the show.”
Jim Justice Already Skipping Votes
Sen. Jim Justice (R-WV) — who was finally sworn in on Tuesday, 11 days after the 119th Congress convened — missed both Senate floor votes yesterday, according to Regular Order.
Biden’s Claim Opens Rift With Harris
“Vice President Kamala Harris has told close allies and family members she is disappointed in President Biden’s recent contention that he would have won the 2024 election, straining relations between the two during their final days in the White House,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Harris has been reluctant to distance herself from Biden or criticize him throughout her vice presidency. Even as several top Democrats pushed her to break from the unpopular president after she replaced him atop the ticket, Harris refused. She vocally supported Biden after his halting debate performance in June, when several Democrats were calling on him to step aside, and when a special counsel report on Biden’s handling of classified documents amplified concerns about his mental acuity.”
“Harris has expressed deep sadness to people close to her over losing the election and Biden’s comments.”
Trump Could Push Panama Closer to China
New York Times: “Today, Panama holds special strategic significance for China because of the canal, but Beijing has been working to expand its influence in Latin America, and among developing countries more broadly. It has portrayed itself as an alternative to what it calls American hegemony and bullying, casting itself as a more sympathetic, fellow developing country.”
“And with significant investments in port construction worldwide, China is positioning itself to influence global commerce and monitor international activities.”
Biden and Trump Worked Together on Gaza Ceasefire
Peter Baker: “The long-sought, tortuously negotiated Gaza ceasefire deal announced on Wednesday came about in part through a remarkable collaboration between President Biden and President-elect Donald Trump, who temporarily put aside mutual animosity to achieve a mutual goal.”
“The two presidents directed their advisers to work together to push Israel and Hamas over the finish line for an agreement to halt the fighting that has ravaged Gaza and release hostages who have been held there for 15 months. The deal is set to start on Sunday, the day before Mr. Biden turns over the White House to Mr. Trump.”
Axios: How two feuding presidents combined to get a Gaza deal.
Associated Press: What does the ceasefire agreement mean for Israel, Hamas and the wider Middle East?
Chinese Hackers Accessed Treasury Files
“Treasury and other law enforcement officials told lawmakers Wednesday that Chinese hackers gained access to more than 3,000 unclassified agency files as part of a cybersecurity breach last year,” Politico reports.
Trump Plans Quick Swap of U.S. Attorneys
“The Trump transition is attempting to remove US attorneys immediately by replacing them with interim leaders who’d be aligned with the president-elect’s priorities,“ Bloomberg Law reports.
“Transition staffers have been working to identify existing career prosecutors in many of the nation’s 93 law enforcement districts who they’d feel confident would support the president-elect’s law enforcement priorities—including deportations—once elevated as acting US attorneys, said the attorneys.”
