Senate holds hearings for 5 Biden nominees on Trump’s last full day in office

WASHINGTON – The Senate will hold confirmation hearings on Tuesday for five of the president’s nominees, Joe Biden, in the cabinet, while Democrats must quickly approve officials after Biden becomes president on Wednesday.

Senators meet again for the first time since Mr. Trump has been charged for a second time. They hold confirmation hearings for five key nominees: Janet Yellen by Treasury, Antony Blinken by State, Lloyd Austin by Defense, Alejandro Mayorkas at Homeland Security and Avril Haines as Director of National Intelligence.

Mr. Biden plans to arrive in Washington on Tuesday afternoon and attend a ceremony that evening in honor of victims of COVID-19 at the Lincoln Memorial.

The hearings come on President Trump’s last full day in office. He is expected to issue 100 pardons or commutations in the last hour of his presidency, a senior administration official and a White House senior official told CBS News.

It is not yet known who Mr. Trump plans to pardon, though one source said the president is not expected to forgive himself.

Mr. Trump remained out of the public eye on Monday, while First Lady Melania Trump released a farewell video. She did not directly refer to the assault on the Capitol on January 6, but said, “Be passionate in everything you do, but always remember that violence is never the answer and will never be justified.”

Contrary to tradition, Melania Trump did not give a tour to incoming first lady Jill Biden, and the Trumps will be the first president and first lady to skip the inauguration of the incoming president. in more than 150 years.

Security is tight ahead of the inauguration Wednesday. The Pentagon has authorized more than 25,000 National Guard troops to secure the event, and the FBI is notifying all Guard members. The head of the National Guard bureau, Daniel Hokanson, told CBS News’ David Martin that he was “absolutely not” concerned about the reliability of his troops.

While the military is focused on protecting the inauguration, Mr. Trump did not get the great military honors he wanted for his broadcast. Instead, he will receive a return letter at 8 a.m. Wednesday before leaving for Mar-a-Lago.