Comment on Clinton ends China visit with church, Web chat (Reuters)

“The Biden administration is engaged in an 11th-hour scramble to provide Ukraine with billions of dollars in additional weaponry, a massive effort that is generating concerns internally about its potential to erode U. S. stockpiles and sap resources from other flash points,” the Washington Post reports. “The lame-duck initiative was spurred in part by Russia’s battlefield momentum and a fear among Ukraine’s fiercest advocates that once President-elect Donald Trump takes office Jan.

Peter Baker: “There was a time, not that long ago, when President Biden imagined he would etch his place in history as the leader who ended the chaotic reign of Donald Trump, passed a raft of ‘Build Back Better’ laws to transform the country and reestablished America’s place in the world.” “Now, in the desultory final days of his administration, Mr.

New York Times: “In private meetings and memos, the justices made new rules for themselves — then split on whether they could, or should, be enforced.”

Punchbowl News: “Here’s the thing to remember: Challenges like this don’t happen spontaneously, especially in the seniority-obsessed House Democratic Caucus.” “These shots at the top of the committee structure only come after a tacit nod from the House Democratic leadership. Sources close to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, House Minority Whip Katherine Clark and House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar have said that the caucus is to ‘work its will’ in selecting ranking members.” “In other words, the Democratic leadership is providing absolutely no cover to its lawmakers in top committee slots.” “For all of its perceived strengths — gender, racial and ethnic diversity — House Democrats have a huge structural inefficiency.

“President Biden’s pardon for his son not only allowed him to escape consequences from his current convictions, but likely for any crimes he might have committed in the past 11 years,” the New York Times reports. “That sweeping amnesty is raising awkward historical comparisons and sharp questions about the use of presidential clemency.” Axios: Hunter Biden pardon deepens Dems’ identity crisis.

“There’ll be a strong sense of déjà vu when French President Emmanuel Macron lays the flattery on thick for Donald Trump in Paris this weekend,” CNN reports. “Few foreign leaders did more to woo Trump when he was the 45th president. In fact, Macron treated him with such deference at a Bastille Day parade on the Champs-Élysées that Trump came home wanting a military parade of his own — on July Fourth.” “As Trump prepares to become the 47th president, Macron has surpassed himself, inviting Trump to attend the year’s most vaunted opening — the unveiling of the newly restored Notre Dame Cathedral five years after a savage fire.”