What we’re watching in Trump’s first week: From the politburo

Welcome to the online version of From the political officean evening newsletter that brings you the latest reporting and analysis from the NBC News Politics team from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.

In today’s edition, we take an in-depth look at the president’s final days in office and the legacy he leaves behind. As for the new president, the team presents the main storylines to watch after his inauguration on Monday. And now that a ban on TikTok looms this weekend, some in Washington are changing their minds about the app’s future.

—Adam Wollner

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What we’re watching in Trump’s first week

There are only 72 hours left before Donald Trump is sworn in for the second time. Mother Nature is already playing a role: Trump announced that the inauguration ceremony will take place move inside at the Capitol Rotunda due to freezing weather in Washington.

(Note: The last time the ceremony was held indoors? Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration in 1985, when it was 7 degrees.)

Regardless of where it takes place, Trump will have a long to-do list and a series of challenges awaiting him once he is sworn in as the 47th president.

There’s a lot to sort out, so we asked our colleagues at NBC News what they’ll be watching for in Trump’s first week back in the White House.

Here’s what they said:

Kelly O’Donnell: For Trump, his return to the presidency offers him a fresh start wrapped in a second term. He will be new and yet familiar, wielding his authority to sign executive orders on a range of fundamental issues related to border security and expulsions, while using his pen to grant pardons.

I expect he will use the office megaphone to reinforce his view that the November votes give him a broad mandate. The challenge is that his supporters’ expectations are high and external events like the California fires and conflicts overseas will demand his attention. After years of campaigning, he faces the daily task of keeping his promises and meeting needs while responding to crises.

Pierre Alexandre: Beyond the executive orders and his promise to begin mass deportations on day one, I will be watching Trump’s tone. His speech at the Republican National Convention last summer began with a unifying message before quickly escalating. He promised that his inaugural speech would also be unifying. But eight years after his speech on “American carnage,” we will get our first glimpse of his tone a few minutes after he was sworn in.

Kristen Welker: I will be watching what happens with the war in Ukraine. One of Trump’s most ambitious campaign promises was to end the war in the first days of his administration. He told me in December that he was actively working on this effort. But Trump recently said he believed a six-month deadline was a realistic timetable and that it would be inappropriate to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the issue before his inauguration. So, will there be any progress in the first week?

Andrea Mitchell: The Middle East will also be a major foreign policy flashpoint in Trump’s first week. One question is whether the Gaza ceasefire holds, especially since none of the American hostages are expected to be released until at least the second week of the deal. Added to this is the question of whether the United States can secure an extension of the two-month ceasefire in Lebanon, since it expires at the end of next week. And Trump will have to decide whether to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, as he has suggested in the past, despite the new threat of a resurgence of ISIS after the collapse of Assad’s regime.

Garrett Haake: Trump and congressional Republicans have taken great care in the new year to always appear to be singing the same anthem. But the debt and spending debacle in December underscores how fragile the alliance between the branches controlled by the Republican Party is. Trump’s first week will be well-choreographed on Capitol Hill, but how long can tiny majorities withstand the tension between Trump’s costly promises, rising debt, and promises to cut costs through force exterior of DOGE? And what will Trump do when these priorities all start to conflict?

Vaughn Hillyard: Speaking of DOGE, Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has formed a particularly powerful relationship with the new president – ​​one in which Trump has always been uncomfortable with his closest collaborators or members of the Cabinet (or even vice-president) assume responsibility themselves.

Will his grand plans to overturn the machinations of governance in Washington come true? He already has gave up on his promise to cut the annual federal budget by a third, and the resulting restructuring of federal departments and agencies will require significant buy-in from lawmakers. Is this a power dynamic that can create lasting change, or will the pressures of promises made lead this relationship to break down?

🗣️What swing voters are saying: We also surveyed 18 voters who did not support Trump in 2020, but did so last November. They are largely optimistic about the next administration, although some are skeptical about its ability to deliver on its promises. Read more →

Supreme Court ruling prompts some Washington leaders to reverse TikTok ban

By Scott Wong and Sahil Kapur

Amid a hotly contested presidential campaign last year, Democratic and Republican lawmakers united to pass a bill that could lead to a ban on the popular social media app TikTok in the United States. President Joe Biden signed it with few objections.

Now with the Supreme Court’s decision By upholding this law on Friday and the TikTok ban set to take effect on Sunday, neither party wants to take credit for this bipartisan legislative victory.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that implementation of the TikTok law “just has to come back to the next administration.” And congressional leaders who championed the law are now reluctant to call for the ban to take effect Sunday. Instead, they said they wanted a delay to give TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, more time to sell the app to a U.S. buyer.

“We know a lot is up in the air, with the TikTok ban expected to go into effect this weekend,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Friday before the court’s decision .

“But everyone – the Biden administration, the new Trump administration, and even the Supreme Court – should continue to work to find a way (to get) an American buyer for TikTok, so that we can both release the application of all Chinese influence and control. Communist Party, and keep TikTok running, which will preserve the jobs of millions of creators.

During his first presidential term, Trump attempted to ban TikTok on national security grounds. But last month he said he now had a “hot spot” for TikTok, met its CEOShou Chew – whom he invited to his inauguration – and he had asked the Supreme Court to stop the implementation of the TikTok ban as he tries to negotiate a deal.

In a Truth Social article on Friday, Trump said TikTok was one of the topics he discussed with Chinese President Xi Jinping in a phone call earlier today.

Learn more about Scott and Sahil →

After 5 decades in public life, Biden’s career reaches an inglorious coda

Natasha Korecki, Carol E. Lee and Jonathan Allen give us an essential insight into President Joe Biden’s final weeks in the White House. He initially took office with a promise to unite the country, strengthen his party and defend democracy. But he leaves the situation with a divided nation, a party in tatters and an American people questioning the self-proclaimed institutionalist’s respect for the rule of law.

Here are some of the highlights:

• After the November election, Biden privately mulled the idea of ​​pardoning Donald Trump as a magnanimous step, according to a person with direct knowledge of his comments, although it is not clear whether he seriously considered it .
• Biden plans to write another book.
• Biden does not plan to hold the traditional final formal press conference.
• At the White House, the atmosphere is “like a morgue,” according to a person who recently met with officials there. Privately, Biden has moved from melancholy to resignation to anger to melancholy as he reflects on his legacy, two people close to him said.
• Biden has not spoken in months to Anita Dunn, a former senior adviser, according to several people familiar with the dynamic. Biden’s relationship with Bob Bauer, his longtime personal attorney and married to Dunn, also deteriorated. Bauer will no longer represent Biden once he leaves office, three people familiar with the decision said.

Read the full story →

Read more about Biden’s final days in office:

• Biden has now issued more individual pardons and commutations than any other president in history after a new cycle of grace for non-violent drug offenders.
• Biden said in an interview with MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell that “red states really made mistakes” in managing their economies during the Covid pandemic years.

That’s all that’s coming from the politburo for now. Today’s newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner and Faith Wardwell.

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