gotchanewsdaily.com 
CNN
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Donald Trump is roaring up to speed seven days before his return to the Oval Office, while Joe Biden seeks last-ditch hostage deals as his administration says goodbye in the last week of his term.
A flurry of Senate confirmation hearings for Trump’s Cabinet picks, beginning Tuesday, will exemplify the president-elect’s aggressive efforts to wield swift and consequential power after taking the oath of office on January 20. Trump will also make fresh efforts this week to nail down the strategy to push his sweeping agenda of disruption through the narrowly divided House and Senate before he launches a weekend of celebrations ahead of the inauguration.
Biden, 82, will deliver his farewell speech from the Oval Office on Wednesday in his first such address since he told Americans he wouldn’t run for reelection in July after a disastrous debate laid bare his diminished capacity. The outgoing administration is still hoping for a deal that would free US and Israeli hostages in Gaza, and Biden is also pushing the Taliban for the release of three Americans the US considers unjustly held in Afghanistan.
The president is also still considering whether to grant preemptive pardons to people whom the White House believes may be targets of the next president’s retribution, such as former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, one of the president-elect’s most prominent GOP critics. Biden said Friday he was watching Trump’s rhetoric to try to assess his intentions, at a time when the departing president is using his appearances to try to fashion last-minute adjustments to how he will be remembered in history.
An already tense transition, given the brittle personal relationship between Trump and Biden, will be further overshadowed by the disastrous wildfires that have destroyed thousands of homes in the Los Angeles area and killed at least 24 people.
The tragedy will become the first crisis that Trump must manage as soon as he becomes president. But he’s already flinging blame toward Democratic leaders in California and misinformation about the cause of the fires. Angelenos desperately needing billions of dollars in federal aid will be in a delicate position as their Democratic-run city and state deals with a GOP White House and Congress determined to slash spending. Trump on Sunday blamed “incompetent pols” for what he said was one of America’s “worst catastrophes,” saying in a Truth Social posting at 1:24 a.m., “They just can’t put out the fires. What’s wrong with them?”
One of Trump’s most prominent Democratic antagonists, California Sen. Adam Schiff, said on Sunday said he hoped Trump would not use wildfire aid as political leverage against his state. “We’re all in this together. It’s the United States of America. We need the incoming president to view it that way,” Schiff said on ABC’s “This Week.”
Critical hearings will test GOP senators under fierce Trump pressure
Trump’s Cabinet choices, who reflect his desire for total loyalty, are a stunning statement of intent from a president-elect who wants to apply shock treatment to government agencies but was often constrained by establishment forces during his first term.
This week will begin to show whether Republican senators will be willing to reject any more of Trump’s picks after balking at former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz as his initial selection for attorney general.
One of the most contentious picks is Pete Hegseth, the former Fox News anchor whom Trump wants as defense secretary. Critics say he’s unqualified for a vital national security role. And the Iraq and Afghan war veteran has faced sexual assault and personal misconduct allegations, which he denies. Hegseth will appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday with all eyes on Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, a Republican who initially voiced concerns about the pick but who met Hegseth several times and secured assurances on one of her key issues — women serving in combat. Two other Cabinet picks, Douglas Collins for the Department of Veterans Affairs and former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum for the Department of the Interior, also have hearings Tuesday.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer told his caucus last week that the confirmation hearings offer a chance for Democrats to hold Trump picks’ “feet to the fire” and to set the table to later tell Americans, “We warned you,” CNN’s Morgan Rimmer reported on Sunday.
Trump, who was last week sentenced to an unconditional discharge in his New York hush money case — a step that nevertheless ensured he will enter office officially as an convicted felon — warned during the campaign that he will turn the Justice Department against his enemies. This will make the confirmation hearing for Pam Bondi, his fallback pick for attorney general, especially critical. The hearing, scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, could be an early indication of how far the Justice Department’s nominal independence from the White House will be eroded during the second Trump term.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, whom Trump chose to run the Department of Homeland Security, will also have a hearing on Wednesday, among several other Trump picks. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Trump’s pick for secretary of state, also faces a hearing but may have an easier ride among his colleagues than some Trump selections.
For Biden, it’s time to say goodbye
The comparison between Trump’s approaching presidency and Biden’s final days in power will be played out in a series of valedictory addresses. On Monday, the president will visit the State Department to put a capstone on a foreign policy marked by his staunch support of Ukraine against an illegal Russian invasion. Meanwhile, Trump is preparing to alleviate Russian President Vladimir Putin’s pariah status with a summit early in his second presidency.
Biden national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday that US alliances were in better shape, NATO was stronger, and America’s adversaries were weaker than when Biden took over from Trump in 2021.
Biden’s team is still locked in intense talks in Qatar designed to finally force a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza, and the president spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday. Israeli officials have expressed cautious optimism about the talks and the Biden and Trump teams have been closely coordinating after Trump warned there “would be hell to pay” if the hostages aren’t let free by the time he becomes president.
Sullivan told Tapper on “State of the Union” that “we are very, very close.” But he added, “Being very close still means we’re far, because, until you actually get across the finish line, we’re not there.”
The administration is also pursuing the release of Ryan Corbett, George Glezmann and Mahmoud Habibi, who have been held by the Taliban since 2022. The president spoke with the families of the three men on Sunday, and Roger Carstens, the top US hostage envoy was in Doha, Qatar, last week to pursue a breakthrough. CNN’s Jenny Hansler reported last week the US offered to trade a Guantanamo Bay prisoner, Muhammad Rahim al Afghani, who is alleged to have been a “close associate” of Osama bin Laden, for the men.
Biden’s focus on foreign and national security policy this week is a reminder that he repeatedly told world leaders after defeating Trump in 2020 that “America is back.” Yet he’ll soon hand the White House to his nemesis, in a show of respect for the tradition of transfer of power that his predecessor, and now successor, denied him after his supporters rioted at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
This entire week will, therefore, be a reminder that Biden will fail to secure his hoped-for legacy of ushering Trump into history. Instead, he will yield power to a man whom he considers a threat to the nation’s soul.
