Bye, Biden
Bye, then: In a primetime address, President Joe Biden bid goodbye to the nation.
On the one hand, he promised that eventually, Americans would realize that his presidency was actually super duper great: “It will take time to feel the full impact of all we’ve done together,” the president said. “But the seeds are planted, and they’ll grow, and they’ll bloom for decades to come.”
On the other hand, he also warned that things were about to get very dark. “Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead.” So…he’s not taking credit for planting the seeds of oligarchy?
It’s an odd parting message, in that it essentially boils down to: You can’t see how much great work I’ve done yet, but trust us, it’s coming, and it’ll be wonderful—but also, so is a terrifying anti-democratic oligarchy that threatens all we know and love.
Mixed bag, I guess?
Ceasefire? After 15 months, there’s finally a ceasefire deal between Israel and Gaza. Or at least it looked that way on Wednesday afternoon. The arrangement, which calls for a 42-day truce and the release of hostages, was expected to be swiftly approved by the Israeli cabinet. But the vote has already been delayed, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has “accused Hamas of reneging on parts of the agreement,” The New York Times reports, “without specifying which ones.”
A cessation of the hostilities, if it happens, would be welcome. But it shouldn’t have taken this long. As Reason‘s Matthew Petti writes, the ceasefire deal is fundamentally the same as the one that was discussed in May 2024:
Israel and Hamas will reportedly exchange captives as Israeli troops pull out of Gaza, the Palestinian enclave, in a three-stage deal beginning on January 19. It is basically the same framework that Hamas, Israel, and the United States had all agreed to in May 2024. But over the following months, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu walked back his agreement, stating that he “will not stop the war and leave Hamas standing in Gaza,” and expanded the war into Lebanon.
President Joe Biden tacitly endorsed the “de-escalation through escalation” strategy, flooded Israel with weapons at U.S. taxpayer expense, and even deployed U.S. troops onto Israeli soil. In November 2024, the Hamas negotiating team was kicked out of Qatar, reportedly because of Biden administration pressure. Thousands of Lebanese and Palestinians were killed. And for what?
Hundreds of Israeli troops have died since May 2024, as well as several Israeli hostages who would have been released under this week’s deal, including at least one American. Hamas has nearly recovered from its military losses by recruiting new fighters, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared in his farewell speech on Tuesday. As Israeli troops withdraw, Hamas fighters will once again be in charge of Gaza.
Bondi, Pam Bondi. After incoming President Donald Trump’s first pick for attorney general, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R–Fla.), withdrew his name from consideration, the once (and future) occupant of the White House gave the nod to another Floridian: former Sunshine State Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Yesterday, Bondi appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee for a confirmation hearing. During the hearing, Democrats re
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