SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
The Biden administration has made some moves in its final days. It helped broker a ceasefire deal between Hezbollah and Lebanon and Israel and is trying to bolster Ukraine against Russia before Donald Trump takes office. NPR's Ron Elving joins us. Ron, thanks for being with us.
RON ELVING, BYLINE: Good to be with you, Scott.
SIMON: A couple of final pushes in two major international conflicts. What is the Biden White House hoping to leave for the incoming Trump administration?
ELVING: They know perfectly well that the Trump administration is going to set its own course on these foreign crises as on so many other matters. But the Biden administration has a responsibility to leave its allies in these crises in as strong a posture as possible. So in Ukraine, we've seen the Biden White House green-lighting greater use of long-range U.S. weapons against Russia, trying to shore up Ukraine's defenses and possibly bolster their negotiating position if things are going to turn in a talking direction.
Trump is assumed to have less commitment to Ukraine than Biden. But this is also an area where Trump has somewhat less support among Republican senators. We'll see how that goes. The Biden interest is also in having something to say in the face of critics who will say they did not do enough for Ukraine or, in some cases, that they had done too much.
In the Middle East, how can you supply Israel with weapons without taking at least some responsibility for how they're used? The ceasefire between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah may buy a little time and further isolate Hamas in Gaza, but it leaves open the question of Iran and its role in all this.
SIMON: Let me ask you about the steep tariffs that President-elect Trump has been promising not just on China, but Canada and Mexico, who I think a lot of Americans wouldn't consider threats to national security to the United States.
ELVING: It's been...
SIMON: Yes, please. You're reading.
ELVING: It's a long time since we sent troops against Mexico or Canada. By and large, they've been friendly neighbors and major trading partners - top trading partners out there with China. But in Trump's formulation, they've been bad neighbors because deadly drugs and too many immigrants have crossed the border in recent years. Now, Trump has been beating this drum at least since 2015.
Mexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, got on the phone to Trump, and Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau got on a plane to Mar-a-Lago for dinner and possibly some dealmaking this week. Both he and Sheinbaum are intent on defusing this crisis early and avoiding a trade war. Trump certainly seems serious about these threats, but he surely also knows, too, that there inflation risks posed by these tariffs, especially on food and energy.
SIMON: Votes for House seats are coming in the final count looks to be narrow. What does that mean for House Republicans who want to begin with a lot of business in January?
ELVING: They better all show up because - well, look, you recall that two years ago, it took House Republicans 15 rounds of voting to elect their leader, Kevin McCarthy, as speaker. It was tough for McCarthy because his majority was so slim - fewer than 10 seats out of 435. Well, current Speaker Mike Johnson's margin the first week of January 2025 now looks even slimmer. Maybe 219 Republicans to 215 Democrats. That means two defectors could produce a tie and a loss.
SIMON: It's been noted by a few people that Trump's cabinet this time around is politically diverse. You have Robert F. Kennedy Jr. - supports abortion rights. Lori Chavez-DeRemer is pro-union. Scott Bessent once held fundraisers for Al Gore and Hillary Clinton. Does this pretend a different second term?
ELVING: You know, you mentioned Scott Bessent's past history helping Democrats. Trump himself had such a history at one time. But Bessent also raised some eyebrows in the Republican Party because he's a gay man with a husband and children.
RFK Jr. may shock some Trump supporters as a pro-abortion rights secretary of health and human services. And we are hearing some protest in Trump world. Also, you mentioned Chavez-DeRemer. She voted for a bill to make it easier for workers to form or join unions. That's anathema to many Republicans. But then she was backed by the Teamsters, and you remember the national Teamsters leader, Sean O'Brien, at the Republican National Convention. This is a cabinet to please Trump's own heart - unpredictable, mediagenic, camera friendly and TV savvy - and above all, loyal to Trump.
SIMON: NPR's Ron Elving, thanks so much.
ELVING: Thank you, Scott. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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