WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch

To make good on his pledge to secure the border, Donald Trump promises to send troops to the southern border, unleash ICE agents into cities to find criminal illegal migrants, and punish sanctuary cities. Plus, Trump launches the “$TRUMP” cryptocurrency right before taking office, potentially making him billions of dollars in the process, but leading to questions about how he is profiting off the Presidency. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

He says his administration won't issue documents to babies whose parents were present in the U.S. illegally, or legally on temporary visas. But 22 states sue, arguing this flies in the face of the 14th Amendment and long-standing Supreme Court precedent. Plus, 12 Democrats vote yes, as the Senate passes the Laken Riley Act to mandate detention of migrants arrested for certain crimes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump began his second term with a flurry of executive orders and bold plans for his House and Senate majorities. Where does that leave Democrats and how can they work with Republicans to get things done? On this episode of All Things, Problem Solvers Caucus Vice Chair Josh Gottheimer (D., N.J.) voices his "surprise" at Donald Trump’s executive orders on Jan. 6th and immigration, explains why he was handing out “SALT shakers” at the inauguration, and lays out the bipartisan possibilities and pitfalls of this next Congress. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As one of his first acts after being sworn into a second term, Trump grants unconditional pardons to nearly all of the Jan. 6 Capitol rioters, including those who brutally assaulted police. He also signs executive orders on federal efficiency, energy, and foreign policy, while ordering the Justice Department to hold off on enforcing the law that says TikTok must cut ties with China or be banned. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 47th President declares that “America’s decline is over,” and announces his executive order to declare a national emergency on the southern border. Will the second Trump administration get off to a faster start after learning from the mistakes of the first term? Plus, Joe Biden uses his final hours in office to issue pre-emptive pardons to his family and political allies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Justices uphold a law saying that TikTok must be divested from Chinese ownership by Jan. 19 or else it will be booted from U.S. app stores. Yet the social-media app's future remains unclear. With only days to go until the Jan. 20 inauguration, the Biden Administration says it will not enforce the ban, and Donald Trump has said he wants to cut a deal to save TikTok. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A cease-fire deal in Gaza is delayed after Israeli President Benjamin Netanyehu said Hamas reneged on part of the agreement. What will it take for the deal to get done and what effect did Donald Trump have on it? Plus, Joe Biden delivers his farewell address from the Oval Office with a bitter tone and warnings about an "oligarchy taking shape in America” and the “tech industrial complex.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nominated by Donald Trump to be the next Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth faces hostile inquiries at his Senate confirmation hearing regarding his alleged past personal conduct. But did the televised theatrics provide much insight about Hegseth's views on national-security issues or how he would lead the Pentagon, and does he seem to have won enough votes to get the job? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The justices hear a challenge to a Texas law that requires websites with sexual content to verify the ages of their users, which the Free Speech Coalition says is too burdensome for the First Amendment rights of adults. Plus, the high court sounds skeptical about saving TikTok, which faces a Jan. 19 deadline either to be divested from Chinese ownership or banned from app stores. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How will history remember Joe Biden’s one term in office? On this episode of All Things, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer recounts his investigation into the Biden family business, and his belief that the 40th president will not escape a public judgment of "corruption." Upon the publication of his new book about the probe--"All the President's Money: Investigating the Secret Foreign Schemes That Made the Biden Family Rich--Mr. Comer details the main takeaways of the inquiry, his argument for why President Trump should sign his Presidential Ethics Reform Act and what his committee has teed up for the 119th Congress. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fires in California have claimed at least 24 lives in what is becoming one of the costliest natural disasters in American history. What decisions made it harder to mitigate the damage, and how will Congress navigate the politics of providing federal aid for the recovery? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the president-elect about to take office, Judge Juan Merchan says a sentence of "unconditional discharge," meaning no penalties for a jury conviction on 34 felonies, is the only option that won't interfere with Trump's official duties. The Supreme Court split 5-4 on letting the sentencing go forward, but could it help Trump in the end, if it permits his appeals on the merits to proceed? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The president-elect meets the press at Mar-a-Lago and makes news by calling to rename the Gulf of Mexico, combine Canada and the U.S., end construction of wind turbines, and potentially invade Panama and Greenland. How much of this rhetoric reflects Trump's actual policy views, how much of it is political theater, and could such bullying be counterproductive diplomatically? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mark Zuckerberg, citing "too much censorship," says that Meta will quit fact-checking content and switch to a "community notes" system, the same approach being taken by Elon Musk’s X. Plus, the House passed the Laken Riley Act, which cracks down on illegal immigrants who commit theft, with 48 Democrats voting yes. Will that bipartisan support extend to the Senate? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The president claims that the $15 billion acquisition by Nippon Steel could threaten national security, even though Japan is a close ally that would have been investing in U.S. industry and workers. What signal does it send, if the review process for such deals can be corrupted by union politics? Plus, Biden puts millions of acres of U.S. waters off limits for oil-and-gas leasing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 119th Congress is steaming ahead, with a mountain of work that includes everything from confirming Donald Trump's cabinet nominees to sealing a reconciliation spending bill (or two) into law. How will the House and Senate navigate it all? On this episode of All Things, Kim Strassel speaks with the Vice Chair of the Senate GOP Policy Committee, Sen. James Lankford, about where things stand in the reconciliation wars, the wisdom of Trump's quick nominations, Joe Biden’s aggressive midnight regulations and how the new GOP Senate majority will function under new GOP leader John Thune. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congress certifies Donald Trump’s electoral victory, but the memories of Jan. 6 four years ago still loom large as the President-elect considers pardons and clemency for rioters. Plus, Donald Trump says he wants 'one big beautiful' reconciliation spending bill but signals he would be open to two, which many lawmakers prefer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The House GOP avoids an embarrassing crackup, after two Republicans who initially opposed Speaker Mike Johnson switch their votes to him at the last minute. But the leaders of the Freedom Caucus post a letter afterward with a list of demands, suggesting that Republican disunity could return as soon as the House tries to pass a significant bill on spending or the debt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The FBI says Shamsud-Din Jabbar acted alone when he killed at least 15 people in the early hours of New Year’s Day, but questions remain about his motive and how the military veteran was radicalized. Plus, what happens if Mike Johnson fails to win another term as House Speaker as the 119th Congress begins? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Justices take up an expedited challenge to a law that could ban TikTok on Jan. 19, unless the social app agrees to divestment from Chinese ownership. Why did the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals uphold this ultimatum passed by Congress? Plus, Donald Trump files a brief asking the Supreme Court to pause the law, though he's making less of a legal case than a political one. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices