(2) President Trump expected to release pardons today
(3) three new Democratic senators will be sworn in tomorrow afternoon as Senate moves to 50-50 split
Biden will be inaugurated tomorrow with Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama in attendance along with VP Pence
“‘It doesn’t get more unique than this,’ said Julian Zelizer, a political history professor at Princeton University. ‘To have the combination of, before last week, just the inability to hold the number of traditions normally because you don’t want people together … and now added to that is a major national security threat. I think this is as unusual as we have seen and I think it has left all of the officials … unsure about exactly what to do,’ he said.” (The Hill)
Read the full story on The Hill
- Before tomorrow’s inauguration, Joe Biden will attend church services at St. Matthew’s Cathedral in D.C. alongside congressional leaders; Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senators Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell will join him.
- Although there will be no parade due to COVID-19, Biden will be sworn in on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, as is traditionally done. Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama will attend as will VP Mike Pence.
- After his swearing-in, Biden will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery along with Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama.
- This year — unlike past years — the National Mall will be closed to the public and up to 25,000 National Guard members will be deployed to the city.
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President Trump expected to release pardons today
“Trump has been meeting with son-in-law Jared Kushner and daughter Ivanka Trump, both senior White House officials, to finalize a list of pardons he’ll issue in the final 24 hours of his presidency.” (The Hill)
Read the full story on The Hill
- President Trump is expected to issue additional pardons and sentence commutations today. Although there is no news yet, there is widespread speculation of who may receive a pardon, from Joe Exotic of Netflix’s Tiger King to former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
- President Trump will leave D.C. tomorrow morning. He plans to depart from Joint Base Andrews at 8am to fly to Florida; he’s the first president in more than 100 years not to attend his successor’s inauguration.
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Three new Democratic senators will be sworn in tomorrow afternoon as Senate moves to 50-50 split
“Senators-elect Jon Ossoff, Raphael Warnock and Alex Padilla will be sworn in Wednesday in the ‘late afternoon’ by incoming Vice President Kamala Harris, according to two sources familiar with the plan.” (NBC News)
Read the full story on NBC News
- Three new Democratic Senators will be sworn in tomorrow afternoon by Kamala Harris, after she is sworn in as Vice President earlier in the day.
- The senators-elect include the two winners of the Georgia run-off election on January 5 as well as the California governor’s appointee to fill Harris’ Senate seat. Harris formally resigned from the Senate yesterday.
- After tomorrow, the Senate will be split 50 Republicans to 50 Democrats, with Harris as the tie-breaking vote.
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