captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight: the biden agenda. the new president continues the flurry of executive orders with actions aimed at counteracting the economic damage wrought by covid-19. then, minding his business. former president trump leaves office facing mounting debt, devalued assets, and a scarcity of willing lenders. >> he really runs the risk of being cash-strapped at a time when his banks and other businesses are turning their backs on him because of the january 6th insurrection. >> woodruff: and, it's friday. david brooks and jonathan capehart break down a historic inauguration, the biden administration's early actions,

and the looming impeachment trial. all that and more, on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> fidelity wealth management. >> consumer cellular.

>> financial services firm raymond james. >> johnson & johnson. >> the john s. and james l. knight foundation. fostering informed and engaged communities. more at kf.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions: and friends of the newshour. >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: tackling the pandemic's devastating impact on the economy was top of mind for president biden today. he assured americans who are

struggling to make ends meet that help is on the way. our white house correspondent yamiche alcindor begins our coverage. >> alcindor: the president's second full day in office, and a focus on the pandemic's economic toll. >> we're in a national emergency. we need to act like we're in a national emergency. so we've got to move, with everything we've got. and we've got to do it together. i don't believe democrats or republicans are going hungry and losing jobs-- i believe americans are going hungry and losing their jobs. >> alcindor: last week, 900,000 americans filed for unemployment benefits. today, president biden signed two executive orders aimed at delivering some economic relief. they include boosting food assistance benefits; improving the equal distribution of previously allocated direct payments; protecting unemployed job seekers; and raising the minimum wage for federal employees to $15 an hour.

the move comes as biden pushes congress to pass a $1.9 trillion covid relief package. that plan would include an additional round of $1,400 stimulus checks. at a white house briefing, national economic council director brian deese said the orders were not a substitute for congressional legislation. >> the single most important thing economically right now is to take decisive action. the risk of undershooting far outweighs the risk of doing too much. >> alcindor: at the briefing, white house press secretary jen psaki also said the biden administration would be taking several steps to fight domestic extremism. they include requesting federal agencies conduct a threat assessment; building on the national security council's capability to counter extremism; and, coordinating parts of the government to combat radicalization. that comes after the january 6th capitol riot. president trump is facing a second impeachment trial. he is accused of inciting that attack.

the trial, though, is complicating the push for more covid relief. today, speaker nancy pelosi announced the house would deliver the impeachment article to the senate on monday. still, senate majority leader chuck schumer stressed that lawmakers must balance the biden agenda with impeachment. >> we have three essential items on our plate: one, the confirmation of president biden's cabinet, and other key officials. two, legislation to provide desperately needed covid relief. three, a second impeachment trial of donald trump. the senate must and will do all three. >> alcindor: for his part, the republican leader, senator mitch mcconnell, had pushed for delaying the impeachment trial until february. he said it would give the senate more time to give trump due process. >> that timeline would have provided the senate some more time before we step up fully into the unknown of a trial-- which, by the way, would have been a substantial benefit to the incoming administration and allowed them to get more of

their cabinet confirmed. >> nomination is confirmed. >> alcindor: on the biden cabinet confirmation front, today, retired army general lloyd austin became the first black secretary of defense. the senate voted to confirm him 93 to 2. thursday, congress agreed to exempt austin from a rule banning recently retired military officers from heading the department. and, the senate will vote on the confirmation of janet llen to be treasury secretary. she would be the first woman to hold that job. >> woodruff: and yamiche joins me now. so, yamiche, so much going on. give us a little more insight into these executive actions president biden is taking to address the economic crisis. >> reporter: well, president biden, today, really wanted to focus on the economic toll to have the covid 19

pandemic, talking specifically about americans whoever gone hungry, lost their jobs, americans who have been evicted from their homes. he said that america needed to do better and that these americans needed the help of the federal government. there are also a number of biden officials today who told me there needs to be decisive action right now. now, in particular, when we look at these executive orders, in part they increase assistance to low-income families, nutritional assistance, and when we look at that executive order, i want to in some ways talk to people about what are the facts when it comes to food insecurity in this country. 29 million americans face a hunger crisis in this country. the 12 million children often don't have enough to eat. one in five black and latino households struggle to secure food when they need it. the white house says these are executive orders and the congress needs to pass the $1.9 trillion covid relief package joe biden is getting

pushback from especially from some moderates and some republicans. >> woodruff: yamiche, just backing up, looking at this overall, here we are at the end of the president's first few days in office. he only has a few cabinet members in place. what do we know now about his priorities? >> reporter: well, at the end of his first week as president, joe biden, it's clear, has a lot to juggle, and the top priority for him remains covid 19. it is true that he only has a few cabinet officials confirmed. he has two, avril haines the director of national intelligence and lloyd austin who is the first black man to hold the position of defense secretary. he expects antony blinken to be confirmed today and alejandro ma

mayorkis as head of the montgomery county. covid is his priority. he talked about immigration. he put plans on racial justice, criminal justice. the other thing to know is all of this is happening, joe biden pushing his agenda and plans as that impeachment trial is looming and the biden administration doesn't want to talk about how they think president trump, the former president, should held accountable for his role in the january 6 capitol attack. instead, they're saying leave that up to the congress. but they are doing something interesting which is they're overhauling, for the most part, the way that this country deals with domestic terrorism. today as we laid out in the story, they're really going to be asking federal and intelligence agencies to look deeply add rat callization and white premacisty in this country. so that tells you where they're heading at this point. >> woodruff: a lot on the

plate. no question. yamiche alcindor, reporting on the white house. thank you, yamiche. >> woodruff: we now turn our attention to capital hill, and to our dan bush, who is tracking the action there. so, dan, late developments late this afternoon and early this evening observe the timing for that impeachment trial. >> that's right, judy. so much is fluid now and it's been changing by the hour, but the "newshour" learned senate majority leader chuck schumer and senate republican leader mitch mcconnell are nearing a deal to begin the trial the week of february 8. schumer is about to speak? a little while on the senate floor to provide more details. there are things we don't know, how long it will last, whether there will be witnesses or not. those details are being ironed out. democrats do want a couple of things, they would like to split up the days to conduct other

business, firm biden's nominees, conduct covid relief while they have the senate trial. republicans pushed back on that. in the last couple of days, i can say support for conviction of former president trump among republicans has been going down. several republicans have been telling me that they think impeaching a former president is unconstitutional. so there's a lot of division about the trial when it starts but even how it will get underway, and we should see more details on that in the next couple of hours. >> woodruff: so you have that impeachment trial pending, dan. you also have this very busy agenda on the part of the new president. what are the folks in congress telling you about their ability to do all of this at the same time? how confident are they they can gelt it all done? >> well, right now, judy, all eyes are on the senate, and that's because mcconnell and schumer have yet to come up with an great for the rules of the

new senate, how to do the power sharing agreement in a 50/50 split. because of that, essentially right now, most work is on hold except for some confirmations. now republicans are technically still chairing committees even though democrats are in charge of the senate. they're going to have to work out how this will function, and the main sticking point is the legislative filibuster mcconnell has requested democrats ensure they don't do away with it. chuck schumer said on the floor earlier today that that is unacceptable and he won't accept it. democrats want to make sure that essentially they keep that option on the table. this is a difficult moment for democrats. mitch mcconnell is essentially saying cede to some of our requests. joe biden said to have some june di, we will see if that happens. >> woodruff: no question it's all about how they work out the majority, whether 51 or 60.

big question to be resolved. dan bush, thank you so much. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, president biden has invoked the defense production act to ramp up the nation's supply of covid-19 vaccines amid shortages. that comes as the centers for disease control and prevention quietly changed its vaccination guidance to allow patients to mix vaccine brands for their first and second doses, in "exceptional situations." meanwhile, in geneva, the world health organization hailed a new deal with pfizer to supply up to 40 million doses to help inoculate poor countries. >> vaccines are giving us all hope of ending the pandemic and getting the global economy on the road to recovery.

but, we can only end the pandemic anywhere if we end it everywhere. and to do that, we need every member state, every partner and every vaccine producer onboard. >> woodruff: pfizer said the vaccines would be provided at an undisclosed, not-for-profit price. there is word that nearly 200 national guard members sent to washington in the days leading up to the inauguration have tested positive for covid-19. officials fear they were exposed from working in close proximity with one another. about 26,000 troops were sent to the district to protect the u.s. capitol since the insurrection on january 6. that comes amid outrage over news reports that u.s. capitol police ordered the national guard to leave the capitol building yesterday. they were temporarily relocated to rest in a nearby parking garage while congress was in

session, but have since returned to the capitol. today, the acting capitol police chief denied they instructed the national guard to vacate the capitol. lawmakers demanded an investigation. meanwhile, first lady dr. jill biden made an unscheduled stop near the capitol, where she delivered cookies and thanked a group of guardsmen for protecting her family. russia today welcomed president biden's proposal to extend the two countries' last remaining limit on their nuclear arsenals. the so-called "new start" treaty is set to expire on february 5. it would remain in place for five more years, once the renewal is formalized. meanwhile, the first-ever international treaty to ban nuclear weapons went into effect today. the united nation's "treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons" was ratified by 61 countries who vowed to never develop or acquire such weapons. but it's largely symbolic, since none of the world's nuclear-

armed nations, like the u.s. and russia, signed on. back in this country, the national association of realtors reported that home sales in 2020 soared to their highest level in 14 years. it is largely due to a surge in existing home sales in december. overall, yearly sales rose to nearly 6.5 million. record-low mortgage rates and remote work during the pandemic helped to drive up demand. meanwhile, stocks were mixed on wall street today. the dow jones industrial average lost 179 points to close at 30,997. the nasdaq rose 12 points, and the s&p 500 slipped 11. and, hank aaron, one of baseball's greatest all-around players, has died. the hall of famer spent most of his career with the braves in milwaukee and then atlanta, and held the home run record for 33 years. he was also a passnate civil rights advocate, after enduring

rampant racism through much of his career. hank aaron was 86 years old. and we will have more on his life later in the program. >> woodruff: one of the consequences of the chaos from the u.s. captiol on january 6? a distancing from banks and other businesses from former president trump. paul solman, for our "making sense" series, looks at the economic hit facing mr. trump. >> i'm the king of debt. i'm great with debt. nobody knows debt better than me. i've made a fortune by using debt. >> reporter: in the early 1990s, donald trump also lost a fortune using debt. he could face similar prlems today. >> most of his money is

tied up in real estate, and real estate that's been hit hard by covid-19. he has debts north of $1 billion and a big chunk of that debt is coming due soon. >> reporter: journalist tim o'brien has covered trump for decades, and wrote “trump nation” with trump's cooperation published in 2005. >> he really runs the risk of being cash-strapped at a time when his banks and other businesses are turning their backs on him because of the january 6th insurrection. >> reporter: famous hotels; famous golf courses. a $2-plus billion empire, by most estimates. but 60% of trump's wealth is held in just five buildings in san francisco and new york, says o'brien. >> the four buildings in new york are trump tower, a retail space next to trump tower that used to be known as nike town. but nike moved out. >> reporter: then there's 1290 6th avenue, and he owns what once vied for tallest skyscraper in the world: 40 wall street, filled with offices. >> he's very dependent on all of those spaces in that building

being occupied, and occupancy rates are at rock-bottom levels. >> reporter: at the moment, the real estate-- the collateral on his debt-- just isn't worth what it used to be. and if it were less than he owes on it... >> it would be the same thing as a homeowner who has too much mortgage on their home, and they have to sell the home for less than they paid for it. with him, he's got a whole basket full of properties that are stressed like that. >> reporter: so the possibility is, to use the homeowner analogy, that he gets foreclosed on. >> that could happen. it really depends on the timing of when each loan comes due. it's how strict the debt holders are about making him pay. it's whether or not he can find other properties he could sell quickly. >> reporter: or find new lenders. but, says nancy wallace... >> donald trump has burned a lot of bridges in commercial lending. >> reporter: professor wallace chairs the real estate group at berkeley'susiness school. >> given his casino failures, most large commercial lenders wouldn't work with him because of his behavior in those

bankruptcies. >> reporter: even his go-to lender for decades, deutsche bank, has now severed ties. as have three other banks, including signature, on whose board his daughter ivanka once sat. >> basically, they closed his accounts. i mean, forget about borrowing. they don't even want his bank accounts. >> reporter: you mean a bank said, here's your money, we don't even want your deposits? >> that's correct. >> reporter: because they're afraid of what? >> there is huge reputational risk in banking, and anything that's associated with significant lack of transparency is too risky. and we haven't even spoken aut the scottish assets. ( bagpipes ) >> reporter: yes, the scottish assets: several golf courses and hotels. no outside loans on those properties, says reporter martyn mclaughlin in glasgow. but... >> not a single one of trump's companies here has ever turned a profit. they have yet to pay a penny in

corporation tax, and cumulatively, they have incurred losses of approximately 55 million pounds. i've looked through some of the business that the hotels are doing. in some cases, single-figure weddings over the course of a year. >> reporter: and thus the question now being asked by authorities in scotland: where did the money come from? >> there's obviously been a lot of speculation that the money is coming from somewhere like russia. like, azerbaijan and georgia. and suspected foreign individuals who may or may be involved or have family who are involved in money-laundering. >> reporter: and if they determine money laundering was involved? could they take his property? >> if the owner of the property can't disclose the financing, there is a mechanism for those properties to be seized. >> reporter: purely hypothetical. but if his properties were seized, he'd obviously have fewer assets with which to raise cash. and even if he holds onto to

everything, says tim o'brien... >> private equity investors, hedge funds, anyone who wants to get into distressed real estate, they just want to wait until he has to sell the property so they can get it cheaply. >> reporter: so you're suggesting that the private equity community or private capital in general basically is smelling blood in the water? >> they all can smell when someone else is hurting, and they're more than willing to watch that person bleed out until they can get something as cheaply as they possibly can. >> reporter: but he was just able to raise like a couple of hundred million dollars from people who back him. i mean, doesn't he have a tremendous source of financing there? >> he can try to use those funds for non-political purposes, but it's illegal. >> reporter: there's a final financial specter haunting trump: his taxes, says walla. >> and given what looks to be a lot of shenanigans in terms of how he declares assets for tax purposes and how he declares

assets for borrowing purposes, there could be a serious problem there. >> reporter: and the issue there is, he declares a building worth a great deal of money, so that he can borrow a lot against it. and then when he files his taxes, he claims that the building is worth a lot less. >> yes. for the underpayment of taxes. >> reporter: possibly a crime. but even if not... >> he might have a huge tax bill to the tune of $100 million. >> reporter: all this had me deeply skeptical of trump's financial future, and left me with one last question, which i put to dan alexander, author of "white house, inc." why can't he just declare bankruptcy? >> well, the thing is, is that trump, his overall portfolio, is actually solvent. he's got really valuable assets. he does have some cash that he could use so he can pay back these loans. the question really is whether he wants to. >> reporter: we asked the trump organization for comment, and

have not gotten a response. but yesterday, donald trump's son eric told the "new york times" that the trump organization remained stable, with steady cash flow and relatively low debt. still, according to the company's own filings, the trump organization revenues declined more than 35% last year. says dan alexander... >> you're either going to see new lenders or you're going to look at a trump organization and trump empire that looks much smaller come about 2024 than it does in 2021. and the irony of all of this is that if he had just done what everyone told him to do at the start, which was liquefy everything, take all that money, stick it into the s&p 500, he would be hundreds of millions of dollars richer today. >> reporter: because the stock market is up nearly 80% since donald trump took office. for the pbs newshour, i'm paul solman.

>> woodruff: the confirmed lloyd austin to become the country's first black secretary of defense, after decades in the u.s. army. nick schifrin reports on the challenges that black offices like austin have faced in rising through the ranks. >> hello, everybody. >> schifrin: when lloyd austin arrived at the pentagon today, he broke through what's been called the brass ceiling. in a 40-year career, he was the first black officer to command a division in combat, the first black officer to command an entire theater of war, and now the first black secretary of defense. >> to hit every single one of those gates is incredible. so to me, that is much like hitting the lottery. >> schifrin: irving smith is a retired army colonel and former west point professor. he says the military provides opportunity for black enlisted troops to rise to positions like sergeant. but, to rise through the officer ranks, like four-star general austin did, the barriers are

systemic. he read a 1995 u.s. army war college research project, "why black officers fail," and in 2010, wrote a follow-up: "why black officers still fail." >> there's this thing called the good ol' boy network. there's a system in the army that is very-- it's like nepotism that exists there. and as long as that persists, black officers will have a very hard time making it to the senior ranks. > schifrin: in 1994, black soldiers were 27% of the army, but only 11% of the officers. today, the problem persists. the pentagon provided pbs newshour data we analyzed for the entire military. black service members are 16% of the military, but only 8% of its officers. white service members are 55% of the military, but 72% of the officers. a major problem: lack of black mentorship.

>> most of the african american officers were coming out of historically black colleges, and those historically black colleges weren't providing the mentorship up front, whereas the west point cadets were getting the very best officers to teach them from day one. and so, they weren't necessarily being given the right guidance on the right assignments to take. >> schifrin: that's a reference to the military's combat units, where black service members are 11% of the enlisted, but only 5% of the officers. white combat service members are 64% of the enlisted, and 78% of the officers. in fact, in combat units, as the percentage of white officers rises with seniority, the percentage of black officers, drops from 8% of second lieutenants, down to 4%, for colonels. in combat support units, such as logistics, the disparity remains, but the numbers get better: black service members

are 20% of the enlisted, and 10% of the officers. smith says that's indicative of black soldiers self-selecting. >> i came intohe army because i was going to do five years, get out and make a lot of money. right? i fell in love with the army when i was in the army, and i found my calling when i was there. but my parents were like, why did you go into the infantry? that was the dumbest thing you could do. why didn't you go in the signal corps, where you could learn to work satellites and get a job at, you know, some big satellite company afterwards? >> schifrin: smith says young black soldiers who choose support roles, like signal corps, limits the number of black officers who become generals. >> it's well known that the combat units, those combat arms professions, produce the senior leaders of the future. >> there is no justifiable reason for discrimination. >> schifrin: the military is proud of its past efforts to

fight racism. thanks to a president truman executive order, the military was one of the first american institutions to integrate. black men have risen to its most senior ranks. colin powell, the first black chairman of the joint chiefs. and just last summer, air force general c.q. brown, the first black service chief. but before he was confirmed, he posted a video about the racism he experienced. >> i'm thinking about the pressure i felt to perform error-free, especially for supervisors i perceive had expected less from me, as an african american. >> we can't just lay this on a black leader to say, go fix this. the caucasian leaders of the services, you know, have to fix this issue, have to really go after it. >> schifrin: admiral mike mullen was the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff from 2007 to 2011. today, he voiced rare criticism of his successors. do you believe that the current leadership across the military has taken this as a priority? >> the current leadership of the military has not taken it as a priority, and i think the

evidence is just in the numbers, look at the lack of senior four -stars in particular who are black or hispanic. >> schifrin: in 2011, mullen hired austin to be the joint staff director. one day, austin told his boss, come downstairs to take a photo. never before had so many senior black officers helped lead the joint staff at once. >> i said, what's all this about? one of them said, this is history. and every one of them had, was doing an exceptional job for me. >> schifrin: to increase the%age of black officers, mullen says that “old boys network” has to change, from the lowest ranks. >> i've had this theory forever on these promotion boards. there's a phrase i use, you know, ducks pick ducks and these are dominated-- these boards are dominated by caucasian senior officers typically. it's hard to break that. and this is a long term issue where you have to enlarge the

pool there in order to expect to be able to promote people to admiral and general. >> narrator: ssmith says commanders shoulbe judged by the diversity of their staff and the climates they create, and that r.o.t.c. programs must be improved. he's confident secretary austin, can do that. >> this is a great occasion not for black america, but for america. >> schifrin: if the saying is, i cannot be what i cannot see, today, every young service member, can see him. for the pbs newshour, i'm nick schiin. >> woodruff: and now we turn to the first friday analysis of the biden administration, with brooks and capehart. that is "new york times" columnist david brooks, and jonathan capehart, columnist for the "washington post." so good to see both you have. we got to spend wednesday gether virtually, but there's

nothing like friday night. it's great to have you both. jonathan, i'm going to start with you. we've had a couple of days to absorb what inauguration was. what stays with you, what lingers? >> judy, the thing that stays with me is the mood and the tone set by president biden, and we talked about this on wednesday how the poem by amanda gorman and the national anthem sung by lady gaga and turning to the flag and saying the flag was still there, just how stirring that was. but in the days since, the thing i keep coming back to is i felt i was welcomed in this country again. i had a feeling of welcome home, and that we were being led by a person of empathy, of decency, of moral character, but also one

who sees the country as it is and wants to lead all of us, not just the 80 million people who voted him in to office. >> woodruff: goes pretty deep. david, what about you? what stays with you? >> a phrase that didn't seem too remarkable at the time but sums up joe biden pretty well, he said there's this thing about life that sometimes you need a hand and sometimes you're called upon to lend a hand. that's true about life but it's also true about the kd of family joe biden grew up in and the sort of town he grew up in and the sort of america he envisions which is an interdependent america where we help each other out and we help each other rise and succeed. it's a vision of america. and, so, when he calls for unity, it's not let's all come together, it's an argument for a certain kind of america where people can rise and succeed with each other's help, and we've lived for four years and longer

with winding and very wide cleavages between right and left, m.l.k. and white, rich and poor. the country has just had these ravines stay open that are ancient. now you at least get themage somebody is working on the problem to bridge the ravines, and i to think that's why it's unity for something not just for the sake of being united. >> woodruff: and jonathan, he's followed up wht he said on wednesday with, what, a flurry of these executive orders and statements. what is the sense you're getting from this in terms of his priorities, what message he's trying to send to the american people, and are these things that can make permanent change, even though they're executive orders? >> well, the message that he's been sending since that picture was taken is that there's confidence back in the oval

office, there's action back in the oval office, and that he meant what he said on the campaign trail about what he was going to do as president, and certainly what he was going to do as president on day one. a lot of those executive actions and executive orders are about reversing some of the more egregious things that president trump did from the muslim ban to pulling the united states out of the w.h.o. his priorities, president biden's priorities have been, first and foremost, covid, getting a handle on the pandemic, and the first executive order he signed had to do with the coronavirus pandemic. but then let's not forget that he submitted a $1.9 trillion covid relief package, so that's not executive action, that's legislation, and if that gets passed by congress, that is law and relief will come to the american people. but i think with the executive

actions, and apparently there's going to be ten days of this, he's trying to show that the absence of leadership that we have seen, certainly since election day from from the previous administration, has been completely reversed and he is focused like a laser beam on helping the country and helping the american people. >> woodruff: what's coming through to you, david? and, i me, what's to keep this from just being the ping-pong, donald trump reverses what barack obama did, joe biden reverses what donald trump did? >> nothing. nothing. lyndon johnson used to say executive orders are just paper. you can sign them and then four years later someone can unsign them. that's why johnson emphasized passing laws. when i think of these e.o.s, they're strong but not overly ambitious. jonathan and i were on a couple of calls during the transition with president biden and he said i do not believe in the imperial presidency. he's a man whose life was formed

in the senate, he believes in congress. so if you look at these, they take actions but they don't take actions in a way that would alarm somebody who thinks he's taking power he doesn't have. reversing trump orders, he has the trying to do that. the others are modest, making sure there's mask wearing within federal property, fairly limited. raising food stamp benefits, a great policy but quite limited. i think he's threading needle also doing stuff, but not reaching in a way that would alm members of his own or the other party. >> woodruff: and what about that, jonathan? do you get the sense that -- because you're hearing some welcoming comments but you're also hearing some pushback from republicans. do you get the sense he's going to find cooperation or a closed door? >> i think that president biden has been operating under the

cloak of his calls for unity and let's work together and make washington work for the american people, that there will be people on the other side of the aisle who will join with him in getting legislation over the finish line. on one of the calls that david and i were on with then president-elect biden, i asked the question, look, mr. president-elect, yes, you want to work with republicans, but what do you say to democrats who believe that you are naive and don't see the sucker punch that's coming from republicans? and i quoted mike tyson to him saying mike tyson once famously said, everyone has a plan until they're punched in the mouth. and, so, are you ready for th punch in the mouth that's coming? and he said, basically, you guys think i don't know what i'm doing. i have been around the block for a long time, i am not afraid of a fight. and, so, i think what president biden is doing is rhetorically but also through actions giving -- showing that

he wants people to come in, but time will tell at what point was president biden decide, okay, enough to have trying to work with these folks, now i'm going to lower the hammer and now i'm going to show them that i know how to fight. and i suggest to anyone, or i would say to anyone who doubts that president biden has the will and the stomach for a fight, that they need to make a reassessment, because i actually believe that he is willing to fight. >> woodruff: well, he certainly, david, has the recent example of president obama and what happened when he tried to work with the congress. i mean, what do you think he fces? >> yeah, i think jonathan's question really got the hair on the back of his neck going straight up because he was angry. not at jonathan, just angry. >> he was feisty. yeah, he was feisty. and i would say it's worth giving it a shot. the republican party is very divided. i know many republicans in the

senate who would like to work with him and they think there are issues upon which they can work with him. there's the problem solvers caucus and common sense caucus, the pi parents group who did the covid relief bill want to remove partisan gridlock. republicans voted for $3 trillion in new federal spending over the last 11 months, that's a lot of spending they voted for, and the problem is not over. i think there is some possibility. having said that, there's a big debate now on whether the democrats should end the filibuster, and i've spent my entire professional life supporting the filibuster because i think it forces parties to try to at least work a little across the aisle. nonetheless, in this crisis, in this situation, i don't think we could afford two years of government paralysis. so if republicans go into full op mode, senator manchin said he would never vote for it and

maybe other democrats. we can't have paralysis and taking down an institution i believe in principle seems to be the necessary thing. >> woodruff: wow, well, we'll see in the coming case what happens with that. we've got a little over a minute or so left. i want to ask each of you about this impeachment trial. looks like may be februa february 9th. what do you expect from that, jonathan? >> judy, i expect the trial to be brief, meaning not 20-something days. i wouldn't be surprised if that friday after the trial starts, which i believe might be the eighth or the ninth of february, that we could be talking about a potential verdict. we're talking about one article of impeachment, and we all witnessed what they're going to be talking about with our own eyes, so i don't expect the trial to last very long. >> woodruff: david, do you want to go on the record of whether you expect conviction or

not? >> no. i'd like to know if it's constitutional. constitution sails impeachment is about removal from the office. it's not clear they have the ability to remove somebody who's already been removed by voters. but if it does happen, i hope it's short. presidents only get one 100 at a period and they've got to use every day of that 100-day period, so i hope it does not become a distraction. >> woodruff: february, big month coming up. just like january. but hopefully different, certainly, in a lot of respects. thank you both, david brooks, jonathan capehart. >> thanks, judy. >> woodruff: so good to see you both. >> you, too. >> woodruff: as we've reported, one of america's greatest athles, henry aaron, died today at the age of 86.

i was privileged to know him a little: a few years ago, he and his wife billye accepted my invitation to a press dinner here in washington, where they were mobbed by admirers, and he received the longest standing ovation i think i've ever heard. he couldn't have been more gracious. it was typical of this man who, as jeffrey brown reports, endured blatant racism through much of his life. ( cheers and applause ) >> and another standing ovation! >> brown: atlanta, fulton county stadium, april 8, 1974. henry “hank” aaron steps into the batter's box, one home run away from passing babe ruth for the all-time record. >> there's a long drive, ball's hideep, deep... it is gone! he did it! >> brown: the moment, a capstone to a career that had already cemented hank aaron as one of baseball's best ever.

>> you're watching one of the great moments in baseball history. >> i felt great. i felt i had the world was lifted off my shoulders. >> brown: a great moment in all of sports history... but also one tinged with the bitterness of american history, as racism chased aaron as he chased the record that would hold up for 33 years. >> i got threatening letters about kidnapping and things like this. vicious, the racist letters. i had to slip out the back of the ballpark with escorts and things like this. it was terrible, terrible. it was bad times for me. >> brown: his perseverance and grace throughout would gain him widespread admiration, and he became a trailblazer and inspiration for black athletes who followed. aaron was born in jim crow-era mobile, alabama, during the great depression. he played his early baseball in the segregated negro leagues, and at 20 years old, joined the milwaukee braves. he followed the team to atlanta, and in 21 years with the franchise, "hammerin' hank"

became one of the game's most fearsome hitters. in all, aaron slugged 755 home runs and amassed 3,000 hits. he was an all-star for 21 straight seasons and won an m.v.p. award and a world series. in 1982, he was inducted into the baball hall-of-fame. tributes to aaron today poured in. former president barack obama called aaron “one of the strongest people i've ever met”" dodgers by the phone. >> for me en show as a man of color, just to kind of think about how he handled the adversities and the personal hate towards him as he approached that home run record, and he always handled it with grace, dignity and there was never any resentfulness when he was talking to current players or peers of his.

>> reporter: hank aaron died today at 86 years ago. joining me is howard bryant, sports writer and author of "the last hero: a life of henry aaron." thanks for joining us again. let's start with the player first. i mean, we always talk about the home runs, but he was one of the all-time greats in every way, right? >> no question. let me just give you one example of how good henry aaron is -- or was as a player. when he came into the big leagues in 1954, his goal, his mission as a young prayer was to break usual all time hit record of $3,630. by the time his career moved forward, he began realizing the team, the atlanta braves or milwaukee braves at the time needed more offense and he decided to hit more home runs. one day i said to him, were you so good you were able to choose which all-time record you wanted to break? and he sort of whrafd about it. it is really is true that he had

so much ability as a hitter that he started his career trying to brake one all-time unreachable record and ended up breaking another one. >> reporter: it is, though, impossible to talk about the achievement without looking at all the evil he went through. i was reading about a 20 20th anniversary after he broke the home run record when he told a reporter, it really led to turning me off of baseball, all that he went through, it really made me see a clear picture of what the country is about. talk a little bit about that, what he did experience. >> what he experienced is the american story. he experienced what america tells you do do, which is to pull yourself up by your boot straps. it tells you to work hard and not complain. it tells you to give the best of your ability and henry did all those things. and when he got to the top, what did he receive? he received people trying to kill him, which undermined everything about this meritocracy that we have been told to believe in.

and when you have an f.b.i. detail and you have kidnapping threats to your family just because you're swinging a baseball bat, it makes you look at things in a very different way. he always told me, this was supposed to be the happiest moment of my life, and it never turned out to be that way. and that's really telling. it's a real indictment. i think people recognized over time that america caught up to henry, but he was far, far ahead of it back in 1974. >> reporter: and yet he persevered. he went on to a career afterwards. what was he like as a person that allowed him to do what he did, even after his career? >> well, i think he had an enormous amount of confidence in himself and an enormous amount of pride. he understood that his ability was affording him a life that was never going to be available to so many other african-americans and he felt he had a responsibility to ue that talent. one of my favorite stories with

henry is i remember being in his house and we were talking and he was telling me about how he did not want to move to atlanta when the milwaukee bravesoved to atlanta after the 1965 season because he knew what racism was down there, what jim crow was about, and he met with ralph abernathy and andrew young and mamartin luther king, jr., aroud he told him i don't think i'm doing my part for this movement, i'm just a player. dr. king said you're as important to this movement as we are. you do the things you do. we need you the way the rest of the country needs us. h said he couldn't imagine what life would have been like had he not gone to atlanta, that centered him as a person in the middle of the civil rights movement. >> reporter: i wonder where he was thinking the game is now. i mean, he talked a lot about lamenting more blacks weren't going into baseball, the

openings for managers still were fairly limited. where are we now? what do you think he thought? >> he felt all those things, you're right, but he was far more concerned about where the country was at. i talked to him three weeks ago to wish him a happy new year. he wanted to talk about surviving the trump era and how proud he was of georgia. he and his wife very deep into democratic politics there, and they saw some history and they were in the center of change. i'm personally happy he got to see this thing through. >> reporter: he saw and made history. the life and legacy of henry aaron. howard bryant, thank you very much. >> my pleasure. thank you. >> woodruff: as we passed the grim milestone this week of more than 400,000 americans killed by covid-19, we take this moment to

remember another five of the extraordinary lives lost. james glica-hernandez was drawn to the stage and became a fixture on the regional theater scene in california's central valley. as musical director of the woodnd opera house for over two decades, he mentored generations of young performers. friends described him as “bold and unapologetic,” and someone who inspired people to live authentically. a self-described "family man," james was a loving husband, father and grandfather. he was 61. maude jones was known for her soft voice and positive attitude. her daughter said the 64-year- old loved working as a teacher's aide for elementary school students with disabilities in gwinnett county, georgia. maude was born in liberia and moved to the u.s. in her 20s, but always maintained close ties

to her homeland and culture. faith also played a big part in maude's life. her family said she never missed her church's sunday service or wednesday bible study. richard means spent his life fighting for free and fair elections in his home state of illinois. born in chpaign, richard settled in chicago and represented local, state, and national candidates from all parties as a top election lawyer. he was irreverent and fearless, his wife said, and he advocated for many progressive causes outside of the courtroom. richard loved his grandchildren, cooking and architecture. he was 78. if you were friends with virginia roberts, you were friends for life, her daughter said. the new jersey native loved her

community of lake parsippany, where she lived in the same cottage for 55 years and raised four children. she also rescued and cared for many animals. virginia worked most of her life, retiring three years ago from her job as a school bus aide. she was 84. louis ayala loved cutting hair. it was his job for 75 years. he started young, as a teenager, working at a neighborhood barbershop in fort worth, texas. he went on to own his own shop on the city's main street. his nephew said he was a quiet and stoic man who would make house visits if customers couldn't make it into his shop. an avid golfer, louis advocated for the redevelopment of an inner-city golf course-- a dream that came true in 2017. louis was 90 years old.

and our thanks to all the family members who shared these stories with us. our hearts go out to you as they do to everyone who's lost a loved one in this pandemic. and a correction before we go. and, a correction before we go: yesterday, we mistakenly showed an image of damage from a volcanic eruption when we were discussing nuclear weapons. we regret the error. and don't forget to tune into "washington week" tonight, when newshour's amna nawaz leads a discussion of president biden's first days, and democrats' plans to impeach the former president. and before we go, it is hard to believe, but tomorrow marks one year since jim lehrer's death. every day, we think of him, and do our best to live out his journalistic ethics. we send our love to his wife kate, to their daughters amanda, lucy, and jamie, and their families. and that is the newshour for tonight.

i'm judy woodruff. join us online, and again here on monday evening. for all of us at the pbs newshour, have a good, safe weekend. thank you, and good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> fidelity wealth management. >> consumer cellular. >> johnson & johnson. >> financial services firm raymond james. >> bnsf railway. >> the william and flora hewlett foundation. for more than 50 years, advancing ideas and supporting institutions to promote a better world. at www.hewlett.org. >> supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the wld's most pressing problems-- skollfoundation.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions

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hello, everyone, and welcome to "amanpour & co." here's what's coming up -- >> one year ago to this very day the united states confirmed its first case of sars-covid 2 in the state of washington. >> one year later a new american president unveils the first coordinated federal response to the coronavirus pandemic. public health expert debbie streeter tells me what must be the first move. then -- ♪ >> america is back. nato allies are celebrating a return to more normal. secretary-general jens stoltenberg joins me. also ahead -- >> congratulations. >> nowhat the democrats have taken power, what is on their agenda? i asked senior house congressman adam schiff. and -- >> one of the things that