Bipartisan Uncertainty: Pardons and Political Legacies

"I return to the presidency, confident and optimistic that we are at the start of a thrilling new era of national success," Trump said after being sworn in as the 47th president of the United States. In an inaugural address where he outlined a number of policy proposals, Trump called for sending the U.S. military to the border with Mexico to curb illegal immigration, said the government would only recognize two genders, male and female, and reiterated a desire to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.

Before Trump took office, the outgoing president, Joe Biden, issued a number of preemptive pardons, including for members of his own family, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and members & staff of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection.

This episode: political correspondent Sarah McCammon, senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith, political correspondent Susan Davis, and senior national political correspondent Mara Liasson.

The podcast is produced by Bria Suggs & Kelli Wessinger, and edited by Casey Morell. Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.

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