Today in one sentence: Trump pledged to use the first hours of his second presidency to pardon most individuals convicted in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack; Trump promised deploy the military to deport migrants living in the country without legal permission, despite federal law barring the use of the military for law enforcement on U.S. soil; Trump admitted that bringing down grocery prices will be “very hard” despite repeatedly promising during his campaign that "prices will come down”; Mitch McConnell warned that Trump’s re-election puts Americans "in a very, very dangerous world" that’s "reminiscent of before world war two”; and Time magazine named Trump — the twice-impeached, four-times indicted, twice-convicted, and now twice-elected president — its “Person of the Year” for a second time.

1/ Trump pledged to use the first hours of his second presidency to pardon most individuals convicted in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. “I’ll be looking at J6 early on, maybe the first nine minutes,” he said in an interview with Time. “We’re going to do it very quickly, and it’s going to start in the first hour that I get into office […] A vast majority should not be in jail, and they’ve suffered gravely.” Trump suggested that the pardons would go to “nonviolent” people who were at the Capitol, which was overrun after he encouraged his supporters to “fight like hell” to stop Congress from certifying Biden as president. In response, Trump was impeached for “incitement of insurrection” for his role in the riots at the Capitol that left five people dead. Trump is the only U.S. President to have been impeached twice. (New York Times / ABC News / NPR)

  • A Justice Department inspector general report found no evidence that the FBI used undercover agents or authorized illegal activities during the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. The report debunked conspiracy theories alleging FBI orchestration of the Capitol attack, noting that among 26 informants present, none were directed to incite violence or enter restricted areas. It criticized the FBI for not thoroughly canvassing sources to assess threats and for misstatements to Congress about pre-attack intelligence. (Politico / Associated Press / ABC News / CNN)

2/ Trump promised deploy the military to deport migrants living in the country without legal permission, despite federal law barring the use of the military for law enforcement on U.S. soil. “I’ll only do what the law allows, but I will go up to the maximum level of what the law allows,” Trump said, arguing that federal law permits military action “if it’s an invasion of our country, and I consider it an invasion of our country.” Trump also intends to rescind a long-standing policy that prevents Immigration and Customs Enforcement from arresting immigrants at or near so-called sensitive locations, like churches, schools, and hospitals. “Whatever it takes to get them out. I don’t care. Honestly, whatever it takes to get them out,” Trump said. He has repeatedly promised to carry out what he has said he wants to be the “largest deportation operation in American history.” (CBS News / NBC News / Axios)

3/ Trump admitted that bringing down grocery prices will be “very hard” despite repeatedly promising during his campaign that “prices will come down.” During a speech in August, Trump told rallygoers “you just watch: They’ll come down, and they’ll come down fast, not only with insurance, with everything.” And in September: “Vote Trump, and your incomes will soar. Your net worth will skyrocket. Your energy costs and grocery prices will come tumbling down.” And earlier this week: Trump said he “can’t guarantee anything” when asked whether his promised tariffs would increase prices for Americans. Trump, nevertheless, said that while he’d like to bring down grocery prices, “It’s hard to bring things down once they’re up. You know, it’s very hard.” When asked whether his presidency would be a “failure” if grocery prices don’t come down, Trump responded that it was the Biden administration’s fault, saying “Look, they got them up.” (NBC News / Washington Post / USA Today / Rolling Stone / HuffPost)

4/ Mitch McConnell warned that Trump’s re-election puts Americans “in a very, very dangerous world” that’s “reminiscent of before world war two.” He added: “Even the slogan is the same. ‘America First.’ That was what they said in the ’30s.” McConnell, who called Trump “stupid” and a “despicable human being” in his new biography, nevertheless admitted that he voted for Trump last month. The 82-year-old Republican orchestrated three conservative Supreme Court confirmations, blocked Obama’s nominee Merrick Garland, and filled over 230 federal court vacancies as the Senate Republican leader. Earlier this week, McConnell fell and sprained his wrist and cut his face while walking out of a Republican luncheon. (Financial Times / New Republic / HuffPost)

5/ Time magazine named Trump — the twice-impeached, four-times indicted, twice-convicted, and now twice-elected president — its “Person of the Year” for a second time, despite his record of 34 felony convictions, 88 criminal charges, allegations of insurrection to overturn the 2020 election, over half a billion dollars in civil judgments, claims of unfitness from his first-term cabinet, openly fascist intentions, responsibility for overturning Roe v. Wade, at least 26 allegations of sexual misconduct, a failed Covid-19 response resulting in 400,000 deaths, promises to prosecute political opponents, his family separation immigration policy, autocratic handling of Black Lives Matter protests, unprecedented meetings with North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong Un, withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord, and repeated attacks on the press as “fake news.” To celebrate, Trump rang the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange. (Politico / Time / Associated Press / Washington Post / CNBC)

✏️ Notables.

  1. Biden commuted the sentences of roughly 1,500 people and pardoned 39 nonviolent offenders in the largest single-day act of clemency in modern history. “America was built on the promise of possibility and second chances,” Biden said in a statement. The announcement comes two weeks after Biden issued a pardon for his son Hunter, who had been convicted of gun possession and pleaded guilty to income tax evasion. (NBC News / New York Times / Associated Press)

  2. Former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov pleaded guilty to fabricating allegations that Biden and his son Hunter accepted bribes from Burisma, and to additional tax-related charges, closing the special counsel’s probe into Hunter Biden. Smirnov, a confidential informant, falsely claimed in 2020 that the Bidens received $5 million each from the Ukrainian energy firm Burisma, leading to an FBI document that fueled congressional Republican investigations. Prosecutors charged him with creating a false federal record and three tax-related crimes, to which he agreed to plead guilty. (CBS News / Politico / New York Times / CNN)

  3. Trump nominated Kari Lake, a loyalist and former journalist known for spreading conspiracy theories, to lead the federally funded Voice of America news outlet. Lake previously referred to journalists as “monsters.” (New York Times / Reuters / CNN / Politico)

  4. Trump suggested he’ll end some childhood vaccinations following “big discussion” with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., one of the nation’s leading vaccine skeptics and Trump’s pick to head the Department of Health and Human Services. “It could if I think it’s dangerous, if I think they are not beneficial, but I don’t think it’s going to be very controversial in the end,” Trump said about working with RFK to review evidence on them. “The autism rate is at a level that nobody ever believed possible,” Trump said. “If you look at things that are happening, there’s something causing it.” Trump recently said he plans to have RFJ investigate the repeatedly debunked conspiracy theory that vaccines cause autism despite hundreds of studies repeatedly finding childhood vaccines to be safe. (Axios / Politico / Reuters)

Two years ago today: Day 692: "Chaos."
Five years ago today: Day 1057: Crazy.
Seven years ago today: Day 327: Sexist smear.