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.
It was another busy day on Capitol Hill with a long series of confirmation hearings for the Trump administration’s new nominees. Jonathan Allen has sorted them all and is offering his takeaway meals. Plus, Andrea Mitchell looks back on the long road to the Gaza ceasefire agreement – and the roles played by the outgoing and incoming presidents.
—Adam Wollner
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Pam Bondi takes her turn in the hot seat during a busy day of confirmation hearings.
Six of President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees faced Senate confirmation hearings Wednesday previews a parade of policy and policy battles that will define his second term.
The person in the hottest spot was former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, Trump’s pick to be the next attorney general of the United States. She wondered whether she would stand up to a president who had ousted the two men he had previously appointed attorney general, because Ben Kamisar and Ryan J. Reilly report in their conclusion of his day at the Capitol.
Courtesy of Jonathan Allen, here are the key takeaways from Bondi’s hearing, as well as the parade of hearings from other Cabinet nominees who appeared before senators.
Bondi wouldn’t say Trump lost in 2020: Bondi flatly refused to say that Trump lost the 2020 election under questioning from Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., during his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“President Biden is the president of the United States. He was sworn in and he is the president of the United States,” Bondi said. “There was a peaceful transition of power. President Trump left office and was overwhelmingly elected in 2024.”
Durbin, the top Democrat on the panel, noted that Bondi didn’t give him a yes or no answer.
Bondi later refused to walk back her past statement that Trump won Pennsylvania in 2020, and she hit back at Sen. Alex Padilla, Democrat of California, for interrupting her.
“I’m not going to be intimidated by you,” she told Padilla.
Democrats question Bondi on Trump’s – and Kash Patel’s – influence: Bondi told Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., that she would not use the attorney general’s power to target political adversaries — even though Trump has often called for investigating and prosecuting his rivals.
“There will never be an enemies list within the Justice Department,” Bondi said.
Last month, Trump said Kristen Welker, moderator of “Meet the Press” that decisions about who to investigate and who to prosecute would rest with Bondi and Kash Patel, his pick to lead the FBI.
Patel said judges, lawyers and journalists should be prosecuted for perceived irregularities in the continuation of investigations into Trump after the 2020 election. Bondi defended Patel – to an extent.
“I don’t believe he has an enemies list,” Bondi said, adding that “Kash is the right person right now for the job.”
But she told senators they should ask Patel directly about his promoting QAnon conspiracy theories.
No one ruined their chances of confirmation: In addition to Bondi, the following candidates also participated in the hearings: Marco Rubio, Secretary of State; Sean Duffy, for Transportation Secretary; John Ratcliffe, for director of the CIA; Chris Wright, for Secretary of Energy; and Russell Vought, for director of the White House Office of Management and Budget.
Bottom line: None of them appeared to say anything that could cost them Republican support, which suggests a smooth path forward.
Read more takeaways from the day’s hearings →
Both Biden and Trump seek credit after long road to Gaza ceasefire deal
By Andrea Mitchell
After 15 tortuous months of fruitless negotiations, there is finally a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gazawith two American presidents taking credit for it – one when he left, the other when he arrived.
Even before President Joe Biden announced the deal, President-elect Donald Trump proclaimed it on Truth Social before issuing a lengthy statement that read, in part: “This EPIC ceasefire agreement does not could only have happened following our historic victory in November.” and “We have accomplished so much without even being in the White House.”
An hour and a half later, Biden said from the White House: “This agreement was developed and negotiated under my administration, but its terms will be implemented, for the most part, by the next administration. And in recent days, we have spoken as one team.
When asked how much credit he gave to Team Trump, he responded, “I told my team to coordinate closely with the new team to make sure we’re all speaking with the same voice, because that’s what American presidents do. »
But collaboration seems to have limits. As Biden left, a reporter shouted, “Who gets the credit for this, Mr. President?” You or Trump? Biden stopped abruptly, turned around and said with a smile: “Is this a joke?” and I left.
In fact, Trump pressured Hamas to compromise when he repeatedly threatened that “there would be hell to pay” if Hamas did not reach an agreement before he took office.
The warning also put pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to complete the deal. Negotiators also praised Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, for resolving last-minute issues in recent days.
It was a dramatic ending: According to a senior administration official, American, Israeli and Qatari negotiators in Doha, Qatar – and the Hamas team in the same building downstairs – thought they had finally reached the deal on Wednesday at 3 a.m. But a few hours later, Hamas made new demands. After further haggling, he backed down and it was done.
The talks nearly collapsed on July 31, when Israel eliminated Ismail Haniyah, the Hamas negotiator, while he was in Tehran. Then, a month later, negotiations were completely disrupted when American hostage Hersh Goldberg and five others were killed in a tunnel in Rafah on August 31.
What followed shifted the balance of power in the region. Israel responded to the Iranian missile attack by destroying its air defenses. Then, Israel killed Hezbollah leaders in Lebanon, resulting in a U.S.-brokered ceasefire. Finally, Iran lost its other major ally, Syria, when Bashar al-Assad’s regime collapsed next door. With Iran severely weakened, Hamas was more willing to compromise.
None of this would have happened without intensive, non-stop negotiations over 15 months by White House envoy Brett McGurk, 19 trips by CIA Director William Burns, and 13 visits by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, each with stopovers in several countries. And McGurk is now heading to Cairo to implement the deal and ensure the hostages start returning home. It doesn’t matter who gets the credit.
🗞️ The best stories of the day
- 👋 See you soon, goodbye: Biden will deliver a farewell speech from the Oval Office on Wednesday evening. Read more →
- 🏃 He runs: Former Bernie Sanders campaign manager Faiz Shakir is running at the last minute to lead the Democratic National Committee. Read more →
- ⬅️ Upon release: Chairman Mike Johnson informed Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, that he will no longer serve as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. Read more →
- 🔴 Succession: Vivek Ramaswamy is in discussions to fill Vice President-elect JD Vance’s Senate seat in Ohio. The development is a reversal for Ramaswamy, who said in November that his work alongside Elon Musk in Trump’s Department of Government Effectiveness would remove him from consideration for senator. Read more →
- 📚 Next on the playlist: As Vice President Kamala Harris considers her next steps, she’s considering writing a book. Read more →
- ➡️ Job opening: A key position in the next Trump administration remains up in the air: that of administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, is at the top of the list of potential candidates. Read more →
- 🇲🇽 Price: Trump’s plans to impose high tariffs on Chinese imports could have an unintended consequence: boosting manufacturing in Mexico. Read more →
- ⚖️ In the courts: The Supreme Court has heard a challenge to a Texas law aimed at preventing young people from accessing pornographic content online. Read more →
- 👀 ‘If you want to take it outside…’: Reps. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., and Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, got into a heated exchange during a House hearing that culminated with Mace challenging Crockett by asking if she wanted to ‘take him outside’ . Read more →
That’s all that’s coming from the politburo for now. Today’s newsletter was written by Adam Wollner and Ben Kamisar.
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