US holds breath on tense final day
WASHINGTON: On the cusp of becoming president, Joe Biden pressed yesterday for unity, while President Donald Trump remained secluded in the White House at the centre of a capital inundated with armed troops and security barriers.
Mr Biden marked the Martin Luther King Jr holiday with a trip from his home in Delaware to pack food bags for charity in Philadelphia – a gesture symbolising his call for Americans to unite after four divisive years.
“Service is a fitting way to start to heal, unite and rebuild this country we love,” Mr Biden said in a video marking the occasion.
But the 78-year-old Democrat’s fervent appeals for optimism and healing – which are also set to dominate his inauguration speech at the Capitol on Thursday – are running up against the hard reality of multiple crises.
COVID-19 is out of control, vaccine distribution is stumbling, and economic recovery remains in the balance.
Senior members of Mr Biden’s administration team will on Wednesday begin their Senate confirmation hearings as Mr Trump enjoys his last full day at the White House.
Treasury secretary nominee Janet Yellen and incoming secretary of state Antony Blinken are among the names to be grilled in the Senate ahead of Mr Biden’s inauguration at noon on Wednesday in Washington (4am Thursday AEDT).
As an unprecedented security cloak further tightened around the capital, Mr Trump was reported to be finalising up to 100 presidential pardons before leaving office.
Outgoing presidents often issue pardons as they leave the White House, with Barack Obama giving a record 330 clemency orders on his final day and Bill Clinton handing out 170 in his final weeks.
But as always with Mr Trump, observers expect something different, with the under-fire President having publicly boasted before that he could pardon himself as well as the members of his immediate family.
The notion of a self-pardon is untested and legal scholars are divided over whether it would be possible under the constitution, given that it would effectively grant a president the power to judge themselves.
It came as First Lady Melania Trump released a farewell video from the White House in which she said “violence is never the answer”.
“No words can express the depth of my gratitude for the privilege of having served as your first lady,” she said. “You will be my heart forever.”
The Trumps have shrugged off more than 150 years of tradition by electing not to attend Mr Biden’s inauguration. They are also the first outgoing family in decades not to invite their successors to the White House for a handover chat and a cup of tea.
They plan to leave Washington for a final trip aboard Air Force One that will land in new their home base of West Palm Beach, Florida, an hour before Mr Trump loses the presidency.