Janet Yellen, President-elect Joe Biden’s pick for Treasury secretary, collected more than $7 million in speaking fees during more than 50 in-person and virtual engagements over the past two years, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Biden Will Hold Memorial for Covid-19 Victims
“President-elect Joe Biden’s scaled-back inaugural activities will include a nationwide memorial service ahead of his swearing-in to honor the lives lost to the coronavirus,” the Washington Post reports.
“The Presidential Inaugural Committee said it would host a lighting ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool late in the afternoon on Jan. 19, a day ahead of Biden’s swearing-in at the Capitol. The committee said it is also inviting cities and towns around the country to light buildings and ring church bells at the same time.”
Biden Will Freeze Trump’s Midnight Regulations
At noon ET on Jan. 20, after President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated, he will issue a memo to stop or postpone midnight regulations and actions taken by the Trump administration that have not gone into effect by Inauguration Day, The Week reports.
Secret Service to Make Changes to Biden’s Detail
“The Secret Service is making some staff changes in the presidential detail that will guard President-elect Joe Biden, amid concerns from Biden allies that some current members were politically aligned with President Trump,” the Washington Post reports.
“As Biden readies his new administration, the Secret Service plans to bring back to the White House detail a handful of senior agents whom Biden knows well from their work more than four years ago guarding him and his family when he was vice president.”
White House Budget Office Not Cooperating with Biden
President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team said at a press briefing on Wednesday that the Office of Management and Budget has been limiting support to the incoming administration, accusing the agency of “intentionally generated opacity,” Axios reports.
Biden Taps Longtime Officials for Top Pentagon Roles
“President-elect Joe Biden plans to nominate two former senior officials to fill the Pentagon’s No. 2 and No. 3 jobs, transition officials said, further signaling the new administration’s intent to forge a more predictable foreign policy and revitalize agencies that Biden says have been ‘hollowed out’ by President Trump,” the Washington Post reports.
“The officials said Biden has selected Kathleen Hicks, a think tank strategist and former senior Pentagon official who is heading Biden’s Defense Department transition team, as his nominee to be deputy defense secretary.”
“The officials said Colin Kahl, who served as a top Pentagon official for the Middle East during the Obama administration and later as Biden’s national security adviser, would be nominated to become undersecretary of defense for policy, an influential role that helps shape major security decisions.”
Biden Adviser Slams Pentagon Obstruction
Incoming national security adviser Jake Sullivan told NPR the outgoing Trump administration still isn’t providing information in the way President-elect Joe Biden’s lieutenants feel is appropriate for a team poised to take the reins of power.
Said Sullivan: “It kind of comes back to the lack of visibility that we have right now into a number of critical issues relating to military operations because of DoD’s obstruction and roadblocks, and that will mean that we are going to have to take time at the beginning of the administration after Jan. 20 to take a hard look at how we’re postured, and what threats we’re up against, and what continuing the drawdowns look like in the way of risk to force and other considerations.”
Inaugural Luncheon Is Scrapped
“The century-old tradition of the post-inauguration lunch is the latest pandemic casualty as COVID-19 continues to upend the ceremonies around the Jan. 20 swearing-in of President-elect Joe Biden,” Roll Call reports.
“The Inaugural Luncheon tradition, which has been around since the late 1800s, has evolved into a three-course meal and musical performance in the Capitol’s Statuary Hall for the new Cabinet, the Supreme Court and congressional leadership. The hall, however, will be quiet after this January’s scaled-back inauguration, the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies announced Tuesday.”
Kamala Harris Receives First Dose of Vaccine
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris received her first dose of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine in D.C. Tuesday morning, Axios reports.
Republican Voters Don’t Want Compromise
A new HuffPost/YouGov poll finds Democratic voters think President-elect Joe Biden should compromise to work with Republican lawmakers, 43% to 33%.
However, Republican voters think their party’s lawmakers should stick to their positions, 54% to 25%.
Biden’s New COVID Warning
“President-elect Biden, who has vowed to be clear-eyed and straight about the pandemic, plans a renewed warning in remarks on COVID-19 in Wilmington today,” Axios reports.
“Echoing a CDC forecast from last week, Biden is expected to say that, tragically, the infection rates and the number of deaths are expected to increase in the coming weeks.”
Biden Accuses Trump of Obstructing Transition
“President-elect Joe Biden on Monday accused President Trump and his political appointees of obstructing the transition of power to his incoming administration, particularly on national security issues, an escalation in tone after reports of isolated difficulties in the transition process last week,” the Washington Post reports.
Said Biden: “Right now, we just aren’t getting all the information that we need from the outgoing administration in key national security areas. It’s nothing short, in my view, of irresponsibility.”
He added: “My team needs a clear picture of our force posture around the world and our operations to deter our enemies. We need full visibility into the budget planning underway at the Defense Department and other agencies in order to avoid any window of confusion or catch-up that our adversaries may try to exploit.”
Did Trump’s Hotel Concede His Defeat?
1100 Pennsylvania: “After having been blocked off on the reservation calendar for six months, over this past weekend rooms at the Trump Hotel D.C. became available to book the week of the presidential inauguration.”
Biden and Trump Issue Different Christmas Messages
Joe Biden and President Trump delivered starkly different Christmas messages Friday, with the president-elect emphasizing in a video the pain that the Covid-19 pandemic has wrought and reminding Americans of “our common humanity,” while Trump made only the faintest reference to the coronavirus, NBC News reports.
“He also emphasized that he and Jill Biden wouldn’t be seeing extended family this year, to honor the public health guidelines made necessary by the pandemic.”
“Trump, meanwhile, issued a formal White House statement that didn’t specifically mention the pandemic.”
Biden Says He’ll Be Able to Work with Republicans
President-elect Joe Biden told the New York Times that he will be able to work with Republicans because of his years working alongside them, despite a sharply divided Congress.
Said Biden: “My leverage is, every senior Republican knows I’ve never once, ever, misled them. I’ll never publicly embarrass them.”
Biden’s Pentagon Pick Runs Into Opposition
“President-elect Joe Biden’s historic choice for secretary of defense is running into hurdles on Capitol Hill, as key Democrats express concerns publicly and privately about whether installing a retired four-star general at the helm of the Pentagon further erodes civilian oversight of the military,” Politico reports.
“Rep. Seth Moulton, an influential member of the House Armed Services Committee, on Wednesday became the most prominent House Democrat to say he will not vote to grant retired Gen. Lloyd Austin a waiver to the law barring recently retired military officers from serving as defense secretary.”
Pressure for Diversity Weighs on Biden Labor Pick
“President-elect Joe Biden is considering nominating Boston Mayor Marty Walsh… Biden has a long personal relationship with Walsh, who spent decades as a union member and leader, most recently as head of Boston’s Building and Construction Trades Council. Walsh has won support from a number of prominent union leaders — most notably AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka,” Politico reports.
“But Walsh is a white man. And although Biden has already nominated the most diverse Cabinet in history, some groups are pushing for more representation among the five Cabinet posts that remain unfilled.”
Hunter Biden’s Name Aided Deals With Foreign Tycoons
“Hunter Biden ramped up business activities with European and Chinese tycoons as his father exited the vice presidency four years ago. For him it was a potential path to income; for the tycoons, the Biden family name promised to burnish their reputations,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The dealings got the younger Mr. Biden a discounted stake in a private-equity firm in China and consulting arrangements with a Romanian property magnate and overall allowed him to maintain a globe-trotting lifestyle, according to interviews, documents and communications reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. A Chinese energy tycoon gave Mr. Biden a 2.8-carat diamond, and entities linked to him wired nearly $5 million to Mr. Biden’s law firm, according to an investigation by Senate Republicans.”
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