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The Biden administration is already running behind

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Today's Agenda

Biden's Presidency Is Still a Work in Progress

This time tomorrow, Donald Trump will no longer be President Donald Trump. He'll simply be Mar-a-Lago resident Donald Trump. Let's all just stop and consider that for a minute: For the first time in 700 years, America will have a new leader.

Unfortunately, that's about the only part of this transition that will be automatic. Having a president whose schedule consists of much more than watching TV and tweeting will of course represent an immediate change. But President-elect Joe Biden will need to stock his administration with people who can get stuff done, and that's not happening quickly enough. To indulge Trump's fantasy that he won the election, the Republican-controlled Senate didn't hold hearings on Biden's cabinet selections until the last possible second. The Senate, which will be in Democratic hands after Kamala Harris becomes vice president, must make up for lost time on filling Biden's administration, Bloomberg's editorial board writes. As you may have heard, Trump will leave behind several honking emergencies that must be addressed quickly.

To be fair, the Senate isn't the only foot-dragger here. Biden has so far only nominated 51 people for positions that need congressional approval, notes Jonathan Bernstein. That's a lot better than Trump's 28 at this point, but far less than the 100 that experts agree would be optimal. In less than 24 hours, this will really start to matter.

Further Biden-Staffing Reading:

Bonus Biden-Priority Editorials: Biden should move as quickly as possible to regulate guns and lead the world on climate change

A Stimulus Plan Is Just a Good Start

Biden's immediate priorities on Day One will be fighting the Covid-19 pandemic and rescuing a newly ailing economy. His $1.9 trillion relief plan should do both. After that, he'll also propose infrastructure spending and other longer-term projects. Somewhere in between those two agendas, he'll also have to work on fixing the long-term damage the economy has already suffered, warn Nir Kaissar and Tim O'Brien. Millions of Americans have been out of work for months, and thousands of businesses are gone forever. Systemic inequalities have worsened. Biden needs big plans to address all of this. 

And he'll have to stay laser-focused on such problems, and popular solutions to them, for Democrats to have any hope of keeping control of Congress in the midterms, writes Matthew Yglesias. That's one reason Biden's early and unexpected focus on immigration reform is a little worrisome: It's a potentially divisive and distracting issue. 

What Democrats don't need is to reunite a Republican Party left in disarray by Trump's extended tantrum, which Ramesh Ponnuru calls an unforced error that cost the GOP both the White House and Senate

Further Politics Reading:

Putin Has a Navalny Problem

Spare a thought and/or prayer for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is having a rough month. His favorite U.S. president couldn't manage to self-coup back into the White House. And now his main political rival, Alexey Navalny, is back in the former USSR after recovering from a highly suspicious poisoning. Putin could have simply ignored Navalny's return, but he instead had him arrested as soon as he stepped off the plane, notes Clara Ferreira Marques, which only proves how threatening Navalny is to Putin's rule.

To be sure, Putin has a wide array of weapons he can throw at his nemesis, including but not limited to poison, writes Leonid Bershidsky. But Navalny's bravery in the face of impossible odds could be an even stronger weapon — maybe strong enough to beat Putin.  

Telltale Charts

Big-cap stocks are hot right now, but small-cap stocks may be due, writes Nir Kaissar, and the best portfolios balance both anyway. 

Americans have so many streaming options now that providers must worry about "hoppers," writes Tara Lachapelle — people with several subscriptions who switch them on and off.

Don't expect a gusher of Iranian oil anytime soon, writes Julian Lee, with Biden unlikely to quickly restore the 2015 nuclear deal. 

Further Reading

New Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser will be challenged to merely raise the bank's returns and controls to the level of its peers. — Elisa Martinuzzi 

Goldman Sachs's earnings suggest bond trading will be far less lucrative this year. — Brian Chappatta 

People are increasingly hoarding cash, with interest rates low and the threat of societal collapse high. — Mark Gilbert 

Which Covid treatments work and which don't? — Sam Fazeli

Norwegian Air has stopped offering cheap transatlantic flights, but somebody else will soon take its place. — Chris Bryant 

Jim Simons proved you can consistently beat the market; it's just incredibly difficult. — Noah Smith 

Too often, chief diversity officer is a dead-end job. Here's what companies can do to make it more integral. — Denise Hamilton 

I still don't regret becoming a U.S. citizen. — Dan Moss 

ICYMI

The U.S. passed 400,000 Covid deaths.

Here's what you need to know about vaccine-related deaths.

Mitch McConnell blamed Trump for the Capitol attack.

Kickers

Just need to scream? There's a hotline for that. (h/t Uffe Galsgaard)

So it begins: Scientists pull 100 million-year-old living microbes from the sea floor.

Supposedly all of the CIA's UFO documents are available online.

One astrophysicist thinks we were recently visited by aliens.

Note: Please send screams and complaints to Mark Gongloff at mgongloff1@bloomberg.net.

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