Thursday, Jan. 9

©  Greg Nash

THE POLITICAL BATTLES IN WASHINGTON paused for a moment on Thursday, as past, current and future presidents came together to honor the life of former President Jimmy Carter.

President Biden eulogized the “great American” at the National Cathedral, saying Carter’s life was filled with “faith, hope and love,” both in the White House and as a citizen during his post-presidency.

“Today, many think he was from a bygone era. But in reality, he saw well into the future,” Biden said.

“Through it all, he taught us how character and faith start with ourselves and flow to others,” he added.

The gathering produced some striking images, with Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump seated together in the same row.

There was some playful banter among the exclusive group, but also some icy moments between them:

• Obama and Trump shared a laugh as they huddled in conversation.

• Bush playfully tapped Obama on the stomach as he passed by.

• Biden and Vice President Harris did not shake hands. Harris later looked back at Obama and Trump as they were engaged in conversation, before returning her gaze to the front.

• Former Vice President Mike Pence shook Trump’s hand, but his wife Karen Pence ignored him.

• Biden, who defeated Trump in 2020, sat in the front row next to Harris, who lost to Trump in 2024. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who lost to Trump in 2016, sat next to her husband on the same row as Trump.

Also in attendance:

• Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who recently announced his resignation and has been feuding with Trump.

• Seven of the nine Supreme Court Justices were on hand, with only Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch absent.

Biden announced Thursday will be a national day of mourning, with federal offices, banks, the stock market and Postal Service closed.

Carter’s body will be taken this evening from the National Cathedral to its final resting place in Plains, Ga.

Congress will get back to business in the coming days, with battles over Trump’s agenda and Cabinet picks, as well as a House-passed immigration bill, taking center stage.

Trump met with Senate GOP leaders on Wednesday, and he’ll hold a series of meetings with House Republicans on Friday that continue through the weekend.

The president-elect will host GOP governors at his Mar-a-lago estate this evening.

The big question: Are Republicans in the House and Senate on the same page about how best to pass the Trump agenda?

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has talked about passing two bills that break out Trump’s immigration and economic policy initiatives, while House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has said Trump is pushing him for “one big, beautiful bill.”

“Whether it’s one bill or two bills, it’s going to get done one way or the other,” Trump told reporters.

“I think there’s a lot of talk about two, and there’s a lot of talk about one, but it doesn’t matter. The end result is the same,” he said.

The Hill’s Al Weaver reports that Trump privately pushed GOP senators to rally behind a one-bill strategy.

An upcoming vote in the Senate on the Laken Riley Act will be a temperature check for Democrats on how they plan to address border security and immigration after an election cycle where they struggled to align with public opinion.

The law, which is named after the Georgia nursing student who was murdered by an illegal immigrant with a criminal record, would require those in the country illegally who have been accused of theft, burglary or shoplifting to be detained.

The Hill’s Sarah Fortinsky reports: At least five Senate Democrats are on the record as supporting the bill, with several more saying they’re open to it.

Sen. John Fetterman (Pa.) is among the Senate Democrats who will support the bill. Fetterman, who represents a state that broke narrowly for Trump in two of the past three presidential elections, announced Thursday he’d accepted an invitation to meet with Trump at Mar-a-lago.

“President Trump invited me to meet, and I accepted. I’m the Senator for all Pennsylvanians — not just Democrats in Pennsylvania,” he said. “I’ve been clear that no one is my gatekeeper. I will meet with and have a conversation with anyone if it helps me deliver for Pennsylvania and the nation.” 

The Senate is planning to move quickly on Trump’s Cabinet nominees, with hearings scheduled for many of them next week.

💡Perspectives:

• The Guardian: Carter was an antidote to politics as spectacle.

• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Carter was the face of America to the world’s poorest.

• Politico: What if other presidents lived as long as Jimmy Carter?

• CNN: Biden confronts an ending with Carter’s funeral.

• The Hill: Trump’s win made Biden’s historical legacy one of failure.

Read more: 

• Carter funeral brings Trump together with presidents he’s criticized.

• Trump lashes out at transition as Biden pushes policies.

• Laken Riley Act overwhelmingly clears first hurdle in Senate with Dem help.

• Andy Harris steers hard-line Freedom Caucus into the Trump era.

• Immigration firebrand takes reins of the Hispanic Caucus.

Welcome to Evening Report! I’m Jonathan Easley, catching you up from the afternoon and what’s coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here.

• The House passed legislation to sanction officials with the International Criminal Court over its arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister. Dozens of Democrats joined Republicans to pass the bill.

   

• The Biden administration is providing an additional $500 million in weapons to Ukraine.

• A new survey finds that 4 in 10 companies are planning job cuts due to artificial intelligence. Private sector hiring slowed in December, according to a new report.

• Dockworkers reached a tentative deal to avoid a damaging strike.

©  AP Photo/Ethan Swope

Los Angeles faces unimaginable devastation as fires burn out of control across the city.

Firefighters made some progress beating back the flames that erupted in the Hollywood Hills late Wednesday night, keeping that fire from cutting too deeply into the heart of the entertainment industry.

The winds abated just enough to allow helicopters and other aircraft to dump water onto the burning trees.

But separate fires burned out of control for several days, razing the Pacific Palisades and other parts of the city.

“It is safe to say that the Palisades fire is one of the most destructive natural disasters in the history of Los Angeles,” said Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley.

President Biden signed a declaration of disaster, and federal forces mobilized to assist the city’s first responders.

At least five people are dead and more than 100,000 people are under evacuation orders.

The streets are littered with abandoned cars from those fleeing the inferno. Nearly two-dozen have been arrested for looting.

About half-a-million people do not have power and millions more are living under smoke and dust advisories.

Thousands of structures have been destroyed or damaged, many in the wealthy Pacific Palisades neighborhood, where celebrities such as Billy Crystal, Mandy Moore, Paris Hilton, and James Woods lost their homes.

Early estimates put the damage at over $50 billion, the most expensive fire in history.

Many residents expressed anger at Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D), who was in Africa when the fires broke loose. Bass returned on Wednesday, but a video of her ignoring a reporter’s questions went viral and her first press conference was seen by some as a debacle.

President-elect Trump has been raging at California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), calling on him to resign and blaming him for some of the fire hydrants that ran dry in the Pacific Palisades.

Newsom swung back, telling CNN:

“People are literally fleeing. People have lost their lives. Kids lost their schools, families completely torn asunder, churches burned down.”

“This guy wanted to politicize it,” he said of Trump. “I have a lot of thoughts, and I know what I want to say. I won’t.

💡Perspectives:

• The San Francisco Chronicle: Bass shows how not to lead.

• The American Prospect: Conflagration in Los Angeles.

• USA Today: Democrats have failed Los Angeles.

• The Hill: A survival guide for Democrats during Trump’s second term.

Read more: 

• Los Angeles power outage map.

• Hollywood consumed by apocalypse vibes as wildfires rage.

• L.A. city officials blame ‘tremendous demand’ as fire hydrants run dry.

• Trump sparks political fight as Los Angeles wildfires rage.

• Pentagon sends assets to Los Angeles.

©  AP Photo/Susan Walsh

• The top court in New York ruled Thursday that President-elect Trump’s sentencing for his hush money conviction can proceed as planned on Friday.

Trump’s legal team still has an emergency injunction pending at the U.S. Supreme Court, but his efforts to avoid sentencing have so far failed at all three levels of New York’s state court system.

Trump spoke with Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito by phone on Wednesday, although Alito said they did not discuss the emergency injunction.

Via The Hill’s Zach Schonfeld and Ella Lee: “Trump is making a final stand in his criminal cases as his White House return approaches, hoping to diminish what is left of his prosecutions before they are shelved.”

• Trump on Thursday asked an appeals court to block the release of special counsel Jack Smith‘s reports on both investigations into him.

Attorney General Merrick Garland is poised to release Smith’s report on the election subversion investigation.

Garland told lawmakers that he believes Smith’s report into the Mar-a-Lago classified documents investigation should be made public at some point after the case against two of Trump’s co-defendants concludes. 

• Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) asked Georgia’s top court to review her disqualification from the election subversion case against Trump. Willis claims the Georgia appeals court “overreached” its authority by removing her due to her past romantic relationship with a top prosecutor on the case.

💡Perspectives:

• Washington Monthly: Champion the self-employed.

• The Liberal Patriot: The unstoppable rise of energy realism.

Read more: 

• Democrats warn party must look beyond ‘blue wall’ to win.

• 5 things to watch ahead of DNC’s first leadership race forum.

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