Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) told Politico that President Biden will run for re-election.

Said Coons: “He is planning to run again. He knows that we are at the middle of an absolute turning point, a pivot point in American history. And he’s up for the challenge.”

“Speculating about 2024 hours after Biden’s swearing-in is stepping on his Inauguration Day a bit, but the new president’s reelection plans will have immediate consequences.”

“Congress will treat him differently. Democrats eyeing their own White House runs will either be frozen in place or will be able to do the politicking that likely 2024 Republican candidates like Nikki Haley and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem are already doing. And it will affect both what Vice President Kamala Harris does and how she is covered when she does it.”

Politico: “As the politically diminished president prepares to leave office following a deadly pro-Trump riot at the Capitol and an impeachment vote backed by 10 GOP House members, ambitious Republicans are taking steps to burnish their own profiles and present themselves as future leaders of the party.”

“While some are gradually separating themselves from the president, others are publicizing plans to bolster the party as it heads into the post-Trump era. Some are even sparring with other potential 2024 rivals in plain sight, marking a strikingly early start to public presidential maneuvering.”

“After he lost his reelection bid in November, Donald Trump immediately told allies he planned to run for president again in 2024, preparing to announce as soon as Inauguration Day,” Politico reports.

“He began backing off the idea after learning that running would require him to release a new round of financial documents that would make him vulnerable to his ongoing criminal and civil investigations and lawsuits, according to two Republicans close to Trump.”

“Then came last week… A growing number of Republicans hold Trump responsible for inciting the deadly riots inside the U.S. Capitol Wednesday.”

“Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz have positioned themselves as heirs to President Donald Trump’s base. But their decision to embrace Trump’s election challenge is fueling major blowback — even as they remain largely unrepentant after this week’s deadly riot,” Politico reports.

“Following the insurrection at the Capitol, the potential 2024 presidential candidates are facing Democratic calls to resign and charges from their own party that they incited violence in the name of political opportunism. Cruz said that such allegations were ‘ludicrous.'”

Reuters: “The Republican president has dangled the possibility of running for president in 2024, and political operatives had expected him to exert influence over the Republican Party for years to come.”

“But his behavior on Wednesday – goading supporters to march on the Capitol to encourage lawmakers to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s win in the Nov. 3 election, and then failing quickly to call on them to stand down after violence ensued – has sickened people who work and used to work for him and, they said, changed the equation for his post-presidential relevance.”

Said one former White House official: “It was a dereliction of duty as commander-in-chief and I think he will be mortally wounded from a political career going forward. He has blood on his hands from yesterday.”

“While Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz are setting themselves up as the chief spokesmen for challenging certification of the Electoral College vote, aligning themselves with President Donald Trump, Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton and Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse are staking out the opposite turf. Other Republicans, like Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and Vice President Mike Pence, are playing it safe and saying little,” Politico reports.

“The debate underscores how fealty to Trump — who might run again himself in 2024 — has emerged as the defining battle line in the fight over the Republican Party’s future. While past primaries have revolved around hot-button issues like health care or immigration, the forthcoming contest is being propelled, so far, by a single question: How loyal should one be to Trump?”

For members: Tom Cotton Has Learned Trump’s Loyalty Lesson

Former Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) made Nevada a battleground state. Now, he tells the Los Angeles Times, he wants to “elbow aside Iowa and New Hampshire, the states that go first and second in picking the nation’s president, and start the nominating process in Nevada.”

Said Reid: “I think we’re entitled to be the first state. Why? Because the power structure of this country is moving West.”

“With that, ever so matter-of-factly, the retired senator would upend 50 years of political practice and tradition.”

Jonathan Swan: Trump doesn’t want to announce a run before January 20 — an idea he had initially toyed with — because it would show his base he’s given up his fight to overturn the election.”

“And while Trump definitely wants to hold out the possibility of running, he is not sure he wants to go through the official FEC process any time soon.”

President Trump told Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in a tweet that it was too soon to “give up” after the Kentucky Republican conceded that President-elect Joe Biden won November’s election.

Said Trump: “Republican Party must finally learn to fight. People are angry!”

However, CNN reports a Trump fundraising email asks supporters if he should run again in 2024, which is essentially a concession.

Politico: “The president has spent days calling a dozen or more allies to ask what they think he needs to do over the next two years to ‘stay part of the conversation,’ according to two people, including one who spoke to the president. And while Trump has told allies he plans to run for president again, he has also indicated he could back out in two years if he determines he’ll have a tough time winning, said three people familiar with the discussions.”

“Essentially, at this point, Trump appears just as interested in people talking about a Trump 2024 campaign as he is in actually launching a real campaign, even if he may ultimately turn his flirtation into a serious bid, according to interviews with 11 Republicans who worked for Trump or helped in his two races.”

“Joe Biden hasn’t picked any of the nearly two dozen Democrats who ran against him to serve in his administration — and that bodes quite well for the former rival he did elevate as his No. 2, Kamala Harris,” Politico reports.

“Biden’s decision to forgo a Cabinet of ambitious pols in favor of a group heavy on seasoned loyalists and technocrats contrasts with Donald Trump and Barack Obama’s appointment of next-generation officials to top posts. And it could deny a springboard to potential Harris competitors in 2024 if Biden decides to retire after one term rather than running for reelection in his 80s.”

John Harris: “For now, Trump dominates conversations about both present and future. His outlandish claims that he won the election except for comprehensive fraud have helped raise more than $200 million since Election Day. Many of his partisans share his dream of recapturing the presidency in 2024. For those who despise him, to paraphrase a famous Democratic speech, it seems clear the work goes on, the cause endures, the fear still lives, and the nightmare shall never die. Except it will die — most likely with more speed and force than looks possible today.”

For members: No, Trump Won’t Be a Shadow President.

A new NPR/PBS Newshour/Marist poll finds 60% of voters don’t want Donald Trump to run for president again in 2024, while 32% think he should.

“Secretary of State Mike Pompeo plans to deliver a speech extolling the Trump administration’s foreign policy this week in Georgia, ahead of key Senate run-off elections in the state that will determine control of the upper chamber of Congress,” the AP reports.

“Pompeo, who is widely seen as a contender for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, has been heavily criticized for departing from the traditionally non-partisan role of the nation’s top diplomat by making appearances that have political overtones over the past several months. Most notably, those include a video address to the Republican National Convention in August that he taped during a trip to Israel.”

“President Trump’s public and private musings about running again in 2024 are scrambling the calculus for the large field of fellow Republicans considering bids,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Most hopefuls have been quick to show deference. But it’s unclear whether Mr. Trump, who refuses to concede his loss to President-elect Joe Biden, will follow through, and rivals either way will likely seek ways to remain viable. Prospective GOP candidates don’t want to risk alienating Mr. Trump’s base by appearing to push him aside, but they also don’t want to be left unprepared if he decides not to run.”