Biden prepares for inauguration on Trump's last full day in office

By Meg Wagner, Melissa Macaya, Veronica Rocha, Mike Hayes and Melissa Mahtani, CNN

Updated 1:38 AM ET, Wed January 20, 2021
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2:56 p.m. ET, January 19, 2021

Biden delivers remarks before departing for DC on eve of his inauguration 

From CNN's Maeve Reston

President-elect Joe Biden speaks before departing from Wilmington, Delaware on Tuesday, January 19.
President-elect Joe Biden speaks before departing from Wilmington, Delaware on Tuesday, January 19. Pool

President-elect Joe Biden thanked Delaware and its people for supporting his political journey “through the good times and the bad" at a send-off event Tuesday.

"Look, this is kind of emotional," Biden said, speaking at the Delaware National Guard headquarters in New Castle County before departing to Washington, DC, where he will be sworn in as president tomorrow. "Through the good times and the bad, I want to thank you for everything, to my fellow Delawareans on behalf of the entire Biden family that's here today, we want to express how much you mean to me and to every one of us."

"So it's deeply personal that our next journey to Washington starts here, a place that defines the very best of who we are as Americans. I know these are dark times, but there's always light. That's what makes this state so special. That's what it taught me, it taught me the most, there's always light," Biden continued.

Biden also praised the state for the opportunities it has given him and his family.

"The state that gave my mother and father a home and livelihood when they needed it most. The state that made my brother and sister and I, both of whom are here, understand we can do whatever we dreamed of, whatever that was," he said.

"And I'm honored. I am truly honored to be your next president and commander in chief and I will always be a proud son of the state of Delaware," Biden said. 

The President-elect is expected to arrive at Joint Base Andrews at around 3:30 p.m. ET.

He will then participate in a memorial honoring the nearly 400,000 Americans who have died from Covid-19, with 400 lights illuminating the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

Hundreds of towns, cities and communities across the country plan to join in the solemn tribute with lighting ceremonies of their own at buildings from the Empire State Building in New York to the Space Needle in Seattle, Washington.

Biden will be joined by his wife Jill Biden, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff. Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, will deliver the invocation and gospel singer Yolanda Adams will perform "Hallelujah."

Biden had hoped to infuse his arrival in Washington, DC, with a nostalgic twist by riding the rails from his home in Delaware, but that was deemed too much of a security risk at a time when the nation is facing threats from within.

Watch Biden's whole speech:

1:59 p.m. ET, January 19, 2021

Hearing for Biden's pick for secretary of state will start soon

From CNN's Nicole Gaouette, Jennifer Hansler and Kylie Atwood

Antony Blinken speaks during an event at the Queen Theatre on November 24, 2020, in Wilmington, Delaware.
Antony Blinken speaks during an event at the Queen Theatre on November 24, 2020, in Wilmington, Delaware. Mark Makela/Getty Images

Antony Blinken will soon appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to be considered for secretary of state.

Blinken has worked with former Vice President Joe Biden for so long that one former State Department official said "it's difficult to know where one person's policy vision ends and the other's begins."

In Blinken, Biden is tapping someone with a commitment to international cooperation, refugee issues and humanitarian work that is rooted in his personal history – along with enough playfulness to pair up with Sesame Street's Grover to make a video about welcoming refugees.

A father of two toddlers who has his own band – called Ablinken – the longtime Biden aide was widely praised as an ideal choice both to repair damage to US alliances and help fashion policies for a slew of challenges that are bigger than any one country can solve. Foggy Bottom observers hailed Blinken's deep knowledge of all corners of Washington's foreign policy institutions and his rapport with the President-elect.

After bitter and divisive years in Washington and at the State Department under President Trump's administration, many current and former foreign service officers made a point of describing him with a word rarely heard in the capital: "Nice."

1:49 p.m. ET, January 19, 2021

Biden administration planning to take action on Keystone pipeline tomorrow, sources say

From CNN's Dan Merica and Greg Krieg

Joe Biden’s incoming administration plans to rescind the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline on his first day in office, two sources familiar with the decision tell CNN, delivering a win to an array of progressive organization and rolling back one of President Trump’s earliest moves.

The decision was not included in a memo from incoming Biden chief of staff Ron Klain released on Saturday, but sources familiar with the move tell CNN that the Biden team intends to make the executive order one of the incoming President’s first climate change actions.

The pipeline has long been a political hot button and Trump made it a political issue during the 2016 general election. The Keystone Pipeline system current stretches more than 2,600 miles, carrying crude from Alberta, Canada through Manitoba, Canada and down into Texas. The Keystone XL portion, which has been protested and opposed by numerous indigenous groups, would run from Alberta to Nebraska and cut through Montana and North Dakota. 

The Supreme Court delivered a substantial blow to the project in 2020 when they cleared the way for several pipeline projects to be receive fast-tracked permits, but excluded the Keystone XL pipeline from that order.

The decision to put a block on the cross-border pipeline was first reported by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, citing a presentation that included “Rescind Keystone XL pipeline permit” in the list of environmental executive actions Biden would take on his first day.

The Biden transition declined to comment on the plans. A source familiar with the decision, however, said that the presentation reported by the CBC was weeks old.

Trump signed executive actions at the outset of his administration that approved the Keystone XL pipeline, dispensing with plans from the Obama era to block construction.

1:50 p.m. ET, January 19, 2021

Pence not expected to attend Trump's departure ceremony tomorrow, sources say

From CNN's Jim Acosta

Megan Varner/Getty Images
Megan Varner/Getty Images

Vice President Mike Pence is not expected to attend President Trump's departure ceremony at Joint Base Andrews, according to two Pence sources. 

Logistically, the sources said it would be difficult for Pence to be at Joint Base Andrews for Trump's sendoff and attend President-elect Joe Biden's inaugural, as the outgoing vice president is expected to do. 

Trump will depart the White House South Lawn via Marine One for Joint Base Andrews early tomorrow morning, giving Pence a chance to bid farewell to the President then. 

More on Trump's departure: Trump is scheduled to deliver remarks before his final departure from Joint Base Andrews, where a military-style ceremony is being planned.

Invitations have gone out to Trump's friends, allies and former administration officials saying it will begin at 8 a.m. ET. Each invitee is allowed five guests; organizers hope to secure a large crowd because Trump has complained about the size of his gatherings in the past.

In a sign the guest list may not have been carefully curated, Trump's former communications director turned critic, Anthony Scaramucci, was invited to the departure. He told CNN he did not plan to attend, but saw his invitation as a sign the White House was eager to bulk up the guest list.

1:26 p.m. ET, January 19, 2021

Yellen: US needs to "seriously" look at risks to financial system from climate change

From CNN's Kate Trafecante 

Janet Yellen speaks during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on January 19.
Janet Yellen speaks during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on January 19. Pool

Janet Yellen, President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee to head the Treasury Department, told lawmakers the United States needs to "seriously look at assessing the risks to the financial system from climate change." 

Yellen said she takes those risks "very, very seriously," adding that both the impact of climate change itself and the policies to address it "could have major impacts creating stranded assets, generating large changes in asset prices, credit risks, and so forth that could affect the financial system."

Yellen said that, if confirmed as Treasury Secretary, she plans to create a hub within Treasury in which focusing on "financial system-related risks and tax policy incentives" in respect to climate change. 

1:16 p.m. ET, January 19, 2021

Biden announces creation of White House Gender Policy Council

From CNN’s Sarah Mucha

The transition announced on Tuesday that the Biden administration will have a White House Gender Policy Council, created specifically to "guide and coordinate government policy that impacts women and girls." 

The council mirrors to some extent the aims of the White House Council on Women and Girls, formed under former President Barack Obama, which was later disbanded under the Trump administration. 

The White House Gender Policy Council will be co-chaired by TIME'S UP officer Jennifer Klein and Julissa Reynoso, the incoming chief of staff to future first lady Jill Biden. 

1:14 p.m. ET, January 19, 2021

Trump agonizing over whether to give former chief strategist a pardon, source says

From CNN's Jim Acosta

A source close to discussions said President Trump has spent a lot of time agonizing over whether to give his former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, a pardon.

This source said Trump felt Bannon was one of the few high-profile conservatives still defending the President until the very end.

"That's in his head," the source said, another sign that Trump and Bannon have more than patched up their relationship.

The President is expected to issue around 100 pardons and commutations on his final full day in office Tuesday, according to three people familiar with the matter. It will be a major batch of clemency actions that includes white collar criminals, high-profile rappers and others but – as of now – is not expected to include Trump himself.

1:16 p.m. ET, January 19, 2021

GOP senator says it's critical to move quickly on key Biden nomination

From CNN's Ali Zaslav and Hazel Mang 

Sen. Rob Portman speaks during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on January 19, in Washington, DC.
Sen. Rob Portman speaks during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill on January 19, in Washington, DC. Joshua Roberts/Pool/Getty Images

Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican from Ohio, said he thinks it’s critical Congress expedited the Homeland Security secretary confirmation hearing "because the job is so important.. we have so many threats right now internal and external so I'm glad we were able to get started."

On the Senate impeachment trial, Portman said he doesn’t know what’s going to happen but said, "typically with impeachment that's all you can do, you know, during that period of time."

1:19 p.m. ET, January 19, 2021

Pelosi says focus is on inauguration right now when asked about impeachment timing

From CNN's Annie Grayer

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks during a press conference on January 15, in Washington, DC.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaks during a press conference on January 15, in Washington, DC. Samuel Corum/Getty Images

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said her focus was on the inauguration when asked when the article of impeachment against President Trump would be sent over to the Senate.

“We’re doing the inauguration now,” Pelosi told reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday.

The Pool reports that Pelosi then headed into Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s corridor.