Setting the stage for the next phase of American politics: Updates from Washington, D.C.

As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office Jan. 20, eyes around the world are looking to see how American politics will be changing. From the death of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to the ongoing Trump court cases, three major recent events may set the precedent for the next four years of American politics.
The Death of a President
America’s 39th president and Noble Peace Prize laureate, Jimmy Carter, died Dec. 29. According to Today.com, Carter was America’s oldest recorded president, living to 100 years old with his last two years spent in hospice care.
Following his passing, plans were made to transport the late president’s body to Washington, D.C. where President Biden gave a eulogy Jan. 7. According to CNN, those in attendance paid their respects, with Vice President Kamala Harris, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader John Thune speaking in honor of the deceased president.
“President Jimmy Carter brought life-saving medicine in the face of conflict,” Johnson said in his eulogy. “He brokered peace in the face of discrimination. He reminded us that we are all made in the image of God. And if you were to ask him why he did it all, he would likely point to his faith.”
The public was then allowed to pay their respects to the president, as Carter lay in state at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda for two days before returning to his hometown of Plains, Georgia, for a private funeral service followed by a private burial at the Carter residence Jan. 9.
The House Speaker Returns
Mike Johnson will return for his second term as house speaker. According to Fox News, after the first round of voting failed to present a clear winner, lawmakers were “urged” to return for a second voting session. When the first-round votes were counted, it was found that three Republican rep-elects had voted for an opposing candidate. While one rep-elect, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, was strongly against Johnson, Ralph Norman, of South Carolina and Keith Self, of Texas spoke with Johnson in the GOP cloakroom and subsequently returned to announce their new-found support of Johnson.
According to Fox News, the results were a Republican majority of 219-215. President-elect Trump is reported to have played a close role in the election, as two witnesses said Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, placed Self and Norman on the phone with Trump after their initial votes against Johnson.
According to Fox News, Norman said Trump had “made his point about how Mike is the only one who could get elected…Trump did not change (Norman’s) vote but rather gave a ‘commitment that things are gonna change’ from Johnson.”
The Case Continues
At least one of Trump’s four current legal battles have progressed over December. Nicknamed “The Classified Documents Case” by Politico.com, the case was presented by federal prosecutors and special counsel Jack Smith. They accused Trump of taking national security documents containing sensitive information after he left the White House and allegedly showing them to unauthorized individuals on at least two presumed occasions.
According to Politico.com, the trial, which was scheduled for May 20, 2024, was postponed indefinitely by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon on July 15, after she ruled Smith’s position on the special counsel as unconstitutional. Smith’s report against Trump was temporarily blocked from the public while an appeals court considered whether or not it should disclose the information right before the president-elect took office, according to the Associated Press.
Todd Blanche, Trump’s deputy attorney general, and several other lawyers who support Trump, requested Attorney General Merrick Garland block or defer the report’s release to the new attorney general via letter. They also requested Smith be “promptly” removed from his position.
In the letter which was made public Jan. 6, Blanche echoed Trump’s previous statements about Smith’s actions, telling Garland that releasing the confidential report by what he called an “out-of-control private citizen unconstitutionally posing as a prosecutor” would only create a political stunt arranged to hurt the reputation of President-elect Trump and justify Smith’s use of taxpayer money on his previous failed and dismissed cases against Trump.
The Associated Press reported that all special counsels must submit a confidential report at the end of their investigation to comply with Justice Department regulations. Smith’s team said it intended to submit the report on Jan. 7 and would not publicly disclose details about the release of classified documents until Jan. 10.
According to NPR.org, Smith resigned Jan.10. However, his resignation was not made public knowledge until the following day in a court filing. Cannon then barred prosecutors from presenting any of the report. While the appeals court did override the ruling for the release to be blocked, it decided to keep Cannon’s mandate that the case be fully decided in the appeals court before any of the findings can be released.
McKinnon is the off-campus news editor for the Liberty Champion.