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Mission Impossible: finding a national security adviser

Evan Vucci / AP

The latest on the president's search to replace Michael Flynn as national security adviser:

  1. The dropouts: Retired generals Michael Harward and David Petraeus.
  2. Why Trump can't get his favorites to a "yes": A senior administration official (usually jargon for a White House staffer who won't go on the record) told the WSJ that it's because Trump won't permit a purge of the current staff, including deputy NSC K.T. McFarland, who was chosen by Trump himself.
  3. As the WSJ put it: "Administration officials want someone who is going to coordinate and limit conflicts with the agencies on the council, not try to take policy-making away from them or the president."
  4. The White House officials making policy: Increasingly Steve Bannon and Jared Kushner, per CNN, WSJ and others.
  5. Still in play for the job: Acting national security adviser Keith Kellogg, former UN ambassador John Bolton, Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster and former Army Chief of Staff and retired Gen. Ray Odierno.

Go deeper

Alayna Treene, author of Sneak Peek
2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Trump to issue at least 100 pardons and commutations before leaving office

Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

President Trump plans to issue at least 100 pardons and commutations on his final full day in office Tuesday, sources familiar with the matter told Axios.

Why it matters: This is a continuation of the president's controversial December spree that saw full pardons granted to more than two dozen people — including former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort, longtime associate Roger Stone and Charles Kushner, the father of Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

  • The pardons set to be issued before Trump exits the White House will be a mix of criminal justice ones and pardons for people connected to the president, the sources said.
  • CNN first reported this news.

Go deeper: Convicts turn to D.C. fixers for Trump pardons

Stef W. Kight, Kadia Goba
4 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Schumer's m(aj)ority checklist

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Capitalizing on the Georgia runoffs, achieving a 50-50 Senate and launching an impeachment trial are weighty to-dos for getting Joe Biden's administration up and running on Day One.

What to watch: A blend of ceremonies, hearings and legal timelines will come into play on Tuesday and Wednesday so Chuck Schumer can actually claim the Senate majority and propel the new president's agenda.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Kadia Goba
6 hours ago - Politics & Policy

The dark new reality in Congress

National Guard troops keep watch at security fencing. Photo: Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

This is how bad things are for elected officials and others working in a post-insurrection Congress:

  • Rep. Norma Torres (D-Calif.) said she had a panic attack while grocery shopping back home.
  • Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) said police may also have to be at his constituent meetings.
  • Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) told a podcaster he brought a gun to his office on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6 because he anticipated trouble with the proceedings that day.
Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow