"Republican strategist Karl Rove criticized President Joe Biden's inaugural address Thursday on Fox News, accusing Biden of delegitimizing his political opponents.

'There was a point in there where he said we're divided as a country between the people who believe in the American ideal and racism, nativism and fear. No, we're divided as a country politically over questions of policy and direction and respect, but we're united as a country against racism and nativism,' Rove said on 'America's Newsroom.'"

"One danger for Biden is that the electorate will come to view his call for unity as a mask for a partisan liberal agenda. There was little policy in the Inaugural Address, but the executive orders he is signing, and the legislation he is proposing to Congress, do not herald a future where the parties are reconciled to one another. His presidency might proceed along two tracks, with Biden standing as a symbol of comity and consensus while his administration sustains and expands the Democratic coalition. Biden might want to pay particular attention to a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll showing that 55 percent of independents have 'just some' or 'no confidence' in his decision-making abilities. Letting Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer have their way will not shrink that number."

"The irony of the Squad's fame contributing to Democrats' losses is that their party's weakness empowers them. As the moderate wing of the Democratic Party has thinned, the progressive contingent has grown in strength. Of the 15 incoming Democratic freshmen, eight are members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and two -- Cori Bush from Missouri, a 'racial justice activist' who wants to 'defund the military,' and socialist Jamaal Bowman from New York, who claims America has moved from 'physical chattel enslavement' to a 'plantation economic system -- are new members of the Squad.

"The center of the modern Democratic Party isn't moving toward moderation."

"Small businesses have been crushed by COVID-19 and its attendant restrictions, as well as by riots and protests. At least 100,000 small businesses have permanently closed their doors. And nearly 60 percent of small-business owners don't expect their enterprise to survive until June 2021, according to a December survey.

"And all of this is before Biden's massive proposed minimum wage hike. The CBO concluded that it would have strained businesses and potentially eliminated millions of jobs in the normal pre-pandemic scenario. What's more, the loss of 1.3 million jobs was a median estimate. The CBO estimated that 'the change in employment would be between about zero and a decrease of 3.7 million workers.' There's little doubt this negative fallout would be even more pronounced right now.

"After all, payroll is often one of a company's biggest expenses, and a massive spike in labor costs would certainly push many struggling small businesses over the brink. Despite the policy's benign intentions, it would do no good for the millions of workers left unemployed as a result.

"'The timing is terrible and the tradeoffs are not worth it,' Competitive Enterprise Institute economist Ryan Young said of Biden's plan. 'Small businesses often have a hard time making payroll as it is, with bills and rent still piling up amid COVID-related slowdowns. A higher minimum wage would do no good for the workers who would be let go because of it.'

"There is little doubt that many of Biden's supporters earnestly believe a $15 minimum wage will help uplift struggling Americans. But as the Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman famously quipped, 'one of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by their intentions rather than their results.' And evaluated from this perspective, Biden's push to force through a $15 national minimum wage in the name of COVID-19 relief fails woefully."

Read entire article here.

"President-elect Joe Biden will rescind the cross-border permit for TC Energy's Keystone XL pipeline on his first day in office, three sources confirm to POLITICO.

"The move is billed as one of Biden's Day One climate change actions, according to a presentation circulating among Washington trade groups and lobbyists, a portion of which was seen by POLITICO. ...

"Two lobbyists confirmed that Biden plans to yank the project's permit on Inauguration Day, a development first reported by CBC News. It's the latest development in a decade-long fight over the controversial pipeline and solidifies a campaign promise the Canadian government had hoped was negotiable."

"Joe Manchin, the most conservative Democrat in a split Senate, is signaling that he'll be a check on liberal climate change policies such as a mandate for carbon-free electricity.

"'You cannot eliminate your way to a cleaner environment. You can innovate your way. That is the difference in some people's aspirational goals,' Manchin told the Washington Examiner in an interview.

"Manchin, who represents the coal state of West Virginia, is perhaps the most powerful man in Washington, where the Democrats control the Senate but only by the thread of a tiebreak vote from Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

"Manchin's control over climate change policy is especially significant because he is set to be the chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, where he was the top-ranked Democrat last Congress.

"President-elect Joe Biden, in response to pressure from liberals, proposed the most aggressive agenda ever to combat climate change."

"The inaugural committee for President-elect Joe Biden reportedly returned a $500 donation from former California Sen. Barbara Boxer after it was learned she registered as a foreign agent for a Chinese surveillance firm.

"Axios reported that the committee rejected Boxer's donation since the Chinese firm -- named Hikvision -- has been 'accused of abetting the country's mass internment of Uighur Muslims.' According to Justice Department documents published Friday, Boxer provides 'strategic consulting services' to Hikvision's subsidiary in the United States.

"Hikivision was banned from doing business with U.S. firms absent a government-issued license in 2019, and was accused by the Trump administration of having ties to the Chinese military."

"Add one more voice of reason to the long list urging President-elect Joe Biden to rethink his plan to re-enter the Iran nuclear deal: Henry Kissinger warns that it could kick off a disastrous nuclear arms race in the Middle East.

"At a conference for the Jewish People Policy Institute on Monday, Kissinger argued that Biden should by no means reverse President Trump's decision to pull the United States out of the accord.

"Biden has said he means to return to it as long as Iran agrees to comply with the restrictions on its actions. But Kissinger notes that the deal's time limits on key restrictions and 'so many escape clauses' render it effectively useless in stopping Iran's nuclear development."

"The Democratic wins in Georgia have elevated Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to a key legislative role in the new Congress.

"President-elect Joe Biden's former primary rival is now set to become chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, where he will wield influence over some of the biggest legislative priorities under the Democratic majority.

"The panel sets the terms for budget reconciliation, a procedure that allows senators to approve certain tax and spending bills with a simple majority and sidestep the 60-vote threshold needed for most legislation.

"With a 50-50 split that will often require tie-breaking votes cast by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, Democrats are likely to find themselves relying on reconciliation to advance the parts of their legislative agenda most likely to draw full GOP opposition, from more COVID-19 relief, including another round of stimulus checks, to infrastructure, health and climate legislation.

"As Budget chair, Sanders will have the opportunity to shape each reconciliation bill, a role fellow progressives are relishing."

"Usually in a closely divided government, leaders make deals to placate the various factions in their own party while trying to bring in some collaborators from the opposite party, which means offering a little something to its rival factions, too. That often produces bad policy -- Washington's go-to compromise has been giving Republicans the tax cuts they cherish while giving Democrats the spending they demand -- but it directs parties away from their extremes toward the center and toward bipartisanship. That is not what is going to happen to Democrats in 2021.

"Instead, with a 50/50 Senate, the power of far-left Democrats willing to buck party leadership will be amplified, because Democrats will need every single vote to get anything done. Drift in a leftward direction is almost assured. Far-left Democrats in the House will understand this, too, as will progressives inside the administration. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, et al. will have an opening to push their party to the left -- and the Republicans will not be in a good position to push back."