Julia Azari: “As I think about what makes the Trump era feel different and more threatening to American democracy than past moments, I keep coming back to the way that powerful forces are politically aligned behind Trump and Trumpism. It’s think tanks, business interests (including, it must be said, corporate media), and the courts.”

“What makes this moment uniquely dangerous isn’t the norm violations or the racism – nothing there is good, but neither is it new. What distinguishes this point in time from the Civil War or the tumult of the 1960s and 1970s (a time of serious political violence!) is that different power centers aren’t competing or frustrating each other – they’re aligned.”

“This didn’t just happen; it’s the product of a multi-decade effort to consolidate power – across branches and levels of government, as well as public and private sectors – in a system designed to decentralize it.”

New York Times: “Mr. Trump has told people he wants to sign around 100 executive orders at the outset, including what he has touted as ‘the largest deportation operation in American history,’ starting with ousting undocumented immigrants with criminal records. Aides say he is likely to take an early trip to Southern California to visit areas devastated by the recent fires, and to North Carolina to visit areas flattened by Hurricane Helene last year.”

“The way Mr. Trump sees it, his biggest concern as he heads into a second term is not the Democrats. He is far more worried about his own party. So tight are the G.O.P.’s congressional majorities that it would take only a handful of disobedient Republicans to kill his chances of fulfilling his major campaign promises.”

“Another concern weighing on Mr. Trump is a looming congressional game of chicken over the debt ceiling.”

Michael Tomasky: “Folks, it’s time to reengage. Trump will take the oath of office at noon on Monday. Soon thereafter, this parade of misfit toys we’ve been watching testify this week will occupy their Cabinet positions. Orders will start percolating out—from Stephen Miller, Russell Vought, and other Trump deep staters—to start doings things differently. Trump already knows certain leverage points in the federal bureaucracy that took him months or years to locate the first time around.”

“And he’ll have one big thing that he didn’t have in 2017: a pliant and willing establishment that signals a desire to be 100 percent on his side and that will give him every benefit of every doubt as he pulls at the republic’s threads.”

“It blows my mind, and ought to blow yours, that the three richest men in the world will be on Trump’s inaugural podium. It’s significant because, whatever their other powers and properties, they are three of the country’s most powerful media titans.”

“President-elect Donald Trump is set to speak at a rally with supporters this afternoon in Washington, his first such event in the nation’s capital since his address at the Ellipse on Jan. 6, 2021, shortly before a mob of his supporters attacked the Capitol,” the New York Times reports.

Politico: “A presidential inauguration — a second presidential inauguration! — was never going to be enough for Donald Trump.”

“So on Sunday, in the run-up to the actual inaugural, Trump is having a rally. Better than 20,000 people will cram into Capital One Arena downtown to soak up a sort of primal, animal energy experience they wouldn’t get even if they somehow scored one of the select few seats in the Capitol Rotunda on Monday at noon. And Trump himself, constitutionally averse to feeling handcuffed by the protocol and pomp followed so scrupulously by other commanders-in-chief, will get something else out of it, too — every one of the people on hand will adore him, something he knows won’t be true of many in Monday’s audience of official Washington.”

“Stephen Miller, President-elect Donald Trump’s top domestic policy adviser, briefed House and Senate GOP leadership Sunday afternoon about the executive orders the incoming administration plans to issue in coming days,” Punchbowl News reports.

“The scale of executive orders that Miller described to Republican lawmakers and aides was stunning, despite the fact that Trump had talked about many of them on the campaign trail for months. They cover immigration, energy policy and overhauling federal government operations.”

New York Times: “Some said they were worried that the Justice Department or F.B.I. could launch internal or criminal investigations into actions they took during the course of their work, even if they acted legally and in good faith.”

“Others said they were concerned that they might lose private-sector jobs or clients. And some… said they took seriously the possibility that Trump supporters, heeding his calls for retribution, would harass or attack them or their families.”

A list of those who could be in line for Trump’s retribution.

Steve Bannon said he sees the presence of billionaire CEOs and tech moguls at President-elect Trump’s inaugural events as a white flag of surrender from “the oligarchs,” Axios reports.

“The $TRUMP memecoin — a financial asset that didn’t exist on Friday afternoon — now accounts for about 89% of Donald Trump’s net worth,” Axios reports.

“The coin (technically a token that’s issued on the Solana blockchain) has massively enriched Trump personally, enabled a mechanism for the crypto industry to funnel cash to him, and created a volatile financial asset that allows anyone in the world to financially speculate on Trump’s political fortunes.”

“I think it’s gonna be shock and awe. He’s going to parade down Pennsylvania Avenue, swing those doors open at the Oval Office, and sign 100 or more executive orders that overturn the damage of the last four years.”

— Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN), quoted by CBS News.

Peter Baker: “More than 30 miles of anti-scale fencing are being erected all over the nation’s capital. Concrete barriers are being placed at key junctures. Certain roads have already been closed to traffic. Surveillance drones will flood the skies.”

“But if Washington looks like a war zone again, it does not necessarily feel that way. Unlike the last time President-elect Donald J. Trump took the oath of office eight years ago, the bristling tension and angry defiance have given way to accommodation and submission. The Resistance of 2017 has faded into the Resignation of 2025.”

“President Biden warned in his farewell address to the nation last week that an oligarchy is taking shape in America. In Washington, the oligarchs are already here, buying big houses,” the New York Times reports.

“Counting President-elect Donald Trump himself, there are at least a dozen billionaires among his cabinet picks and those headed for senior roles in the new administration. Elon Musk tops the list with a $429 billion net worth, according to Forbes, making him the world’s richest man. Mr. Trump weighs in with an estimated $6.8 billion.”

“It is an extraordinary concentration of wealth in a city where power has always been more important than money, but is now more than ever intertwined with it. Mr. Trump campaigned as a populist defender of the American working class, but he has put some of his richest donors in commanding roles in the top reaches of government. A number will oversee the very industries that produced their fortunes.”

NPR: Steve Bannon says MAGA populism will win — as Trump is surrounded by billionaires.

“The president-elect’s immigration advisers have warned Republicans that it will take time and money from Congress to carry out the mass deportation effort he has promised to execute immediately,” the New York Times reports.

Wall Street Journal: “Elon Musk, a close ally to President-elect Donald Trump, has taken broadsides from MAGA movement leader Steve Bannon on two continents in recent days. Musk feuded with right-wing conspiracy theorist and Trump-backer Laura Loomer over immigration policy. And his free-ranging access to Trump has miffed some of the president-elect’s aides and allies, who argue that he was getting involved in matters he had little understanding of and speaking too much in meetings.”

“Nonetheless, the Tesla CEO’s influence on Trump can be felt on everything from diplomacy to immigration policy. He’ll play an even bigger role from his perch as co-chair of the Department of Government Efficiency, a task force weighing which federal programs to cut and how the government regulates companies—including the ones he leads.”

“Musk’s survival—so far—shows that Trump 2.0 is shaping up to have some echoes of the first administration, with Trump welcoming a team of rivals into his inner circle. Musk stands out for developing a latticework of support with top staff and family that helps sustain his status. He has shown a willingness to fund the MAGA movement and use his X social-media platform to stretch its reach.”

Steve Bannon told the New Republic that a little-discussed provision of the Laken Riley Act would allow state AGs to file lawsuits to block H-1B visas, which Bannon hopes will be a backdoor victory against Elon Musk in the intra-MAGA dispute.

“President-elect Donald Trump has said he plans to embark next week on one of the most sweeping deregulatory drives in U.S. history, slashing at rules emanating from every channel of executive authority,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Trump’s fellow Republicans say lighter regulation will unleash the economy. Some businesses and consumer groups are planning to push back in court, however, echoing legal disputes over executive actions on immigration, healthcare and the environment during Trump’s first term.”

NBC News: “Incoming administration staffers are being warned to weigh the threat of a pricey legal defense and consider purchasing a form of legal insurance that would provide them a lawyer if needed, a protection that many now consider part of doing business after former Trump aides were hauled before congressional committees and grand juries over the past eight years.”

“In a cautionary move, Trump’s transition has briefed some incoming administration staff members on the need to price and buy professional liability insurance.”

“President-elect Donald Trump is set to hold a victory rally in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, one day before returning back to the White House for a second term,” USA Today reports.