text: A rehearsal for the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump take place at the US Capitol in Washington, DC (AFP Photo/SAUL LOEB) 
   
   Washington (AFP) - The inauguration of Donald Trump as America's 45th president is the highlight of several days of pomp and circumstance in the US capital. Here's a look at the timeline of events. 
   
   Thursday, January 19 
   
   10:35 am - Performances begin at Lincoln Memorial. "Voices of the People," the first act of a day-long public concert, will feature groups such as the DC Fire Department Emerald Society Pipes and Drums, the Republican Hindu Coalition, high school marching bands, choirs and baton twirlers. 
   
   3:30 pm to 4 pm - Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in honor of the nation's veterans. 
   
   4 pm to 6 pm - Trump will deliver remarks during the second act of the concert at Lincoln Memorial, dubbed the "Make America Great Again! Welcome Celebration." The event, broadcast live nationally, will be headlined by country stars Toby Keith and Lee Greenwood and feature a fireworks finale. 
   
   Trump is expected to spend Thursday night at Blair House, the presidential guest residence across the street from the White House. 
   
   Friday, January 20 
   
   Morning - Trump, Pence and their families are expected to attend services at St. John's Episcopal Church, just steps from the White House. 
   
   Afterward, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama welcome Trump and his wife Melania to the White House for morning tea. The two couples will then travel together to the Capitol by motorcade. 
   
   9:30 am - Inauguration ceremony begins on the west front of the Capitol with musical performances. 
   
   Attendees will include members of Congress, Supreme Court justices, diplomats and the public. Former presidents Jimmy Carter, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton will attend, as will Trump's election opponent Hillary Clinton. 
   
   Former president George H.W. Bush is in frail health and will not be present. 
   
   Sixteen-year-old soprano Jackie Evancho will sing the national anthem. The Rockettes dance troupe will also be performing, at a time yet to be announced. 
   
   11:30 am - Opening remarks. Religious leaders will offer the invocation and readings. 
   
   Pence will be sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. 
   
   Noon - Trump will recite the oath of office, administered by US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. He will use president Abraham Lincoln's inauguration Bible, as well as the Bible that Trump's mother gave to him at his Sunday school graduation in 1955. Afterward, Trump will deliver his inaugural address. 
   
   12:30 Ceremony ends. 
   
   Afterward, in keeping with tradition, Trump and Pence will attend the Congressional Lunch in the Capitol. 
   
   3 pm to 5 pm - Inaugural parade. The newly minted president and vice-president make their way 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) along Pennsylvania Avenue from the Capitol to the White House, trailed by some 8,000 parade participants. They will include members of all US military branches, as well as high school and university marching bands, equestrian corps, first responders, veteran groups and even a tractor brigade. 
   
   7 pm to 11 pm - Trump, Pence and their wives will make appearances at three official inaugural balls, two of which will be held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center and the other at the National Building Museum. A number of semi-official and unofficial balls also will take place throughout the city. 
   
   Saturday, Jan 21 
   
   10 am to 11 am - Trump and Pence attend the interfaith National Prayer Service, held at the Washington National Cathedral. ||||| Why it matters: A funding freeze could be seen as a slap against the organization — which the U.S. and Israel consider to be biased against Israel and too politicized — and an attempt to pressure the Palestinians to return to peace talks with Israel. But a State Department official said that the fact the money wasn't transferred on Jan. 1 doesn't mean it was frozen. "There are still deliberations taking place, and we have until mid January to decide what we are going to do,” the official said. 
   
   The Trump administration has frozen $125 million in funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which provides aid to Palestinian refugees, according to three Western diplomats who were informed of the move. They said the funding, one third of the annual U.S. donations to the agency, was supposed to be transferred by Jan. 1 but was withheld. 
   
   The details: The diplomats, who asked to speak on conditions of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said the funding was frozen until the Trump administration finishes its review of U.S. aid to the Palestinian Authority. 
   
   The move comes after the Palestinian Authority suspended their contacts with the Trump administration in response to its decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. A senior White House official said no decision have been made yet, but confirmed that a review of the U.S. assistance to the Palestinians is underway "in light of the Palestinians' recent conduct." 
   
   The diplomats added that U.S. officials told U.N. officials in the last two days that President Trump is considering totally cutting the part of the funding which was frozen, and is even considering cutting up to $180 million, which amounts to half of the U.S. funding to UNRWA. 
   
   The impact: The Western diplomats said freezing or cutting of such a big part of the U.S. funding would be catastrophic for the organization, would hamper its work and might lead to negative consequences for the Palestinian refugee camps in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan and Lebanon. 
   
   U.N. secretary general António Guterres has spoken with senior U.S. official about the UNRWA funding and also consulted with foreign ministers from other donor countries, according to the diplomats. 
   
   The Israeli security establishment and the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories — the Israeli organization that oversees government activities in the West Bank and Gaza — are concerned about possible freezing or cutting of U.S. funding to UNRWA, fearing the escalation of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. 
   
   “The humanitarian situation in Gaza is complicated enough and harming UNRWA funding will only make it more complicated," a senior Israeli security official told me. 
   
   What we're hearing: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not enthusiastic about the cutting of U.S. funding to UNRWA, but is politically pressed by conservative ministers in his cabinet and by the fact he can't be more dovish on the Palestinian issue than President Trump. 
   
   Officials in the prime minister's office told diplomats from several western countries that Israel does not object to the cutting of U.S. funding to the Palestinian Authority, but prefers that the U.S. doesn't cut funding to UNRWA due to the fact it also serves Israeli security interests. 
   
   A senior Israeli official told me Netanyahu is in touch with the White House on the UNRWA funding issue, and conveyed the message that Israel prefers “gradual disengagement" with UNRWA by the U.S. and not a big funding cut. 
   
   The prime minister's office said in a statement: "Netanyahu supports President Trump's critical attitude towards UNRWA and believes practical steps need to be taken in order to change the fact that UNRWA is being used to entrench the Palestinian refugee problem instead of solving it." ||||| Instead of being the party of “no,” Democrats could be the party of “maybe” during Donald Trump Donald John TrumpTrump to fundraise for 3 Republicans running for open seats: report Trump to nominate former Monsanto exec to top Interior position White House aides hadn’t heard of Trump's new tax cut: report MORE’s presidency. 
   
   Democrats on Capitol Hill will try to block much of Trump’s agenda during the next four years. 
   
   But there are some areas where the incoming administration and minority Democrats could find room for cooperation, including infrastructure, trade deals, the minimum wage and entitlements. 
   
   Both sides risk a serious backlash from their respective bases if they pursue too close of an alliance, but there are potential upsides, as well. 
   
   For Trump, using the opposing party could help him cobble together the votes needed to push parts of his populist agenda through Congress. And for Democrats, it’s a way to exploit divisions between Trump and Capitol Hill Republicans to achieve some of their policy goals. 
   
   With that in mind, here are several policy areas where Trump and the Democrats could join forces. 
   
   Trade 
   
   Trump can act on his own to begin changing America’s overseas trade agreements, which he derided on the campaign trail. 
   
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   He has vowed to announce that the U.S. is leaving the Trans-Pacific Partnership on his first day in office, and he could also deliver official notice of the country’s plans to leave the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico (NAFTA). 
   
   But he will need Congress’s help to put in place new trade policies, a painstaking process that could take years. 
   
   To do that, he could turn to Democrats, who have traditionally been more averse to free trade than Republicans. 
   
   Trump could attempt to pick up Democratic votes to ratify a rewrite of NAFTA, if he is able to succeed in potential future negotiations with Canada and Mexico. 
   
   He could also pitch them on his proposed tariff on imports, which has been met with crickets from Republicans. 
   
   Some Democrats who are skeptical of free trade have already made overtures to Trump on the issue. Progressive groups have praised his nominee for U.S. Trade Representative. 
   
   But they have also threatened to whack Trump if he veers off course. 
   
   “During the campaign, President-elect Trump promised to reform American trade policy, but a promise is not enough,” Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) said earlier this month. 
   
   Minimum wage 
   
   Boosting the federal minimum wage — which currently sits at $7.25 per hour — has long been a major policy goal for Democrats. 
   
   They are hoping they have an ally in the new president. 
   
   Trump sent conflicting signals during the campaign about what he wants to do with the minimum wage, which has not been raised in seven years. 
   
   During a November 2015 GOP primary debate, Trump famously said that wages in the U.S. are “too high.” 
   
   Trump changed his position after facing pressure from workers groups and liberals such as Sens. Bernie Sanders Bernard (Bernie) SandersHarris presses young people to vote early in Iowa trip Dems lower expectations for 'blue wave' Election Countdown: Takeaways from heated Florida governor's debate | DNC chief pushes back on 'blue wave' talk | Manchin faces progressive backlash | Trump heads to Houston rally | Obama in Las Vegas | Signs of huge midterm turnout MORE (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann WarrenWarren wants probe into whether former U.S. soldiers worked as assassins for UAE 'Broad City' stars urge Clinton not to run again Big Dem donors stick to sidelines as 2020 approaches MORE (D-Mass.). 
   
   He has said he supports raising it to as much as $10 per hour. 
   
   “I would leave it and raise it somewhat,” Trump told Fox News host Bill O’Reilly in a July interview. “You need to help people — and I know it’s not very Republican to say.” 
   
   Democrats, many of whom want to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour, have been discouraged by Trump’s pick of fast food executive Andrew Puzder to lead the Department of Labor, in part because he opposes a minimum wage increase. 
   
   “Mr. Puzder is the classic example of a millionaire CEO who nickel-and-dimes workers while raking in profits for himself,” Sen. Patty Murray Patricia (Patty) Lynn MurrayOvernight Health Care: House passes funding bill | Congress gets deal on opioids package | 80K people died in US from flu last winter Wilkie vows no 'inappropriate influence' at VA Dems push back on using federal funds to arm teachers MORE (D-Wash.) said last month. “He has spoken out against increasing the minimum wage.” 
   
   Transportation/Infrastructure 
   
   Among Trump's most prominent — and consistent — vows on the campaign trail was to move quickly on a sweeping package designed to improve the nation's roads, bridges and infrastructure. 
   
   It's an idea long-championed by Obama and congressional Democrats, who repeatedly ran into a buzz saw of opposition from Republicans, primarily over the scope of federal spending and how the massive costs would be paid for. 
   
   Trump is attempting to ease those concerns by pushing the Republicans' favored “public-private” strategy, in which Washington would provide financial incentives, largely through tax breaks, to encourage buy-in from private companies. But Elaine Chao, Trump's pick to head the Transportation Department, told a Senate panel last week that Trump's plan will also feature direct federal spending — an idea that may need Democratic support to move through Congress. 
   
   “Private tax breaks … will only aid infrastructure projects that have their own revenue stream,” Sen. Cory Booker (N.J.), senior Democrat on the Commerce Committee's surface transportation subpanel, warned Chao. 
   
   Finding the right balance will be tricky, as Republicans are insisting that any infrastructure package must curtail regulations — a strategy sure to alienate Democrats — while Trump is also promoting so-called Buy American provisions certain to get pushback from Republicans. 
   
   But it's the funding question that will pose the highest hurdle — a dynamic Chao acknowledged. 
   
   “The pay-fors for any infrastructure proposal are all challenging, and all have their particular champions and … detractors,” she said, vowing to work with both parties. “We cannot do this alone.” 
   
   Medicare drug-price negotiations 
   
   Trump's attack on the law barring Medicare from negotiating drug prices breaks with the long-held position of Republicans, who secured the ban when Medicare's prescription drug program was created in 2003. 
   
   But the president-elect has vowed to press on, using last week's press conference to accuse the “disastrous” industry of “getting away with murder.” 
   
   The comments are music to the ears of Democrats, who have pushed for years to undo the negotiation ban. 
   
   “I like what I'm hearing,” said Rep. Peter Welch Peter Francis WelchPoll: GOP Vermont governor has 14-point lead on Dem challenger Dems damp down hopes for climate change agenda Electric carmakers turn to Congress as tax credits dry up MORE (D-Vt.), who introduced legislation this month allowing Medicare to purchase drugs in bulk directly through the companies. 
   
   “If President-elect Trump was serious,” Welch said, “I will work with him to make it happen.” 
   
   Trump would need the Democrats' help. 
   
   Speaker Paul Ryan Paul Davis RyanElection Countdown: Takeaways from heated Florida governor's debate | DNC chief pushes back on 'blue wave' talk | Manchin faces progressive backlash | Trump heads to Houston rally | Obama in Las Vegas | Signs of huge midterm turnout Will the Federal Reserve make a mistake by shifting to inflation? Sanders: Democrats ‘absolutely’ have chance to win back rural America MORE (R-Wis.) is already taking the president-elect to task, telling Axios on Monday that the Medicare drug law “works extremely well.” 
   
   “I don't speak like that, generally speaking,” Ryan said. “There's a lot more we can do to bring down the price of drugs.” 
   
   The issue could leave Rep. Tom Price in a tough spot. The Georgia Republican, who's been opposed to Medicare drug negotiation, is Trump's pick to lead the Health and Human Services Department. 
   
   Social Security 
   
   Trump's populist campaign message included promises to keep Social Security intact, marking another break with Republicans that puts the president-elect squarely in line with Democrats. 
   
   GOP leaders have proposed for years to scale back benefits under the popular seniors' program, including provisions to hike the eligibility age and lower payments for wealthier seniors. Ryan, a former Budget Committee chairman, has frequently been the face of those provisions. 
   
   Trump has attacked such changes, and Reince Priebus, Trump's soon-to-be chief of staff, said Sunday they'll be off the table in the coming budget debates. 
   
   “There are no plans in President-elect Trump's policies moving forward to touch Medicare and Social Security,” Priebus told ABC's “This Week” program. 
   
   Democrats are not about to let the incoming administration forget the promise. 
   
   Sanders, a liberal icon whose presidential bid has given him a national stage, arrived on the chamber floor this month hauling a poster-sized depiction of a Trump campaign tweet boasting of his plans to preserve the big entitlement programs. 
   
   “I was the first & only potential GOP candidate to state there will be no cuts to Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid,” read Trump's tweet. 
   
   “Millions of people voted for him,” Sanders said, “on the belief that he would keep his word.” ||||| The dollar tumbled to its lowest level in a month after Donald Trump suggested to The Wall Street Journal he favored a weaker dollar, breaking with decades of tradition and intensifying investor concern over the incoming administration’s capacity to surprise. 
   
   The president-elect in an interview published Monday described the dollar as “too strong. ” He dismissed a major tax proposal that would favor U.S. exports over imports— known as a border adjustment—that was expected to further boost the dollar, as “too complicated.” 
   
   ... ||||| Donald Trump enters office as the most unpopular of at least the last seven newly elected presidents, a new ABC News/Washington Post poll finds, with ratings for handling the transition that are also vastly below those of his predecessors. 
   
   Forty percent of Americans in the national survey approve of the way Trump has handled the transition, half as many as the 80 percent who approved of Barack Obama’s preparations to take office. Trump also trails far behind George W. Bush (72 percent transition approval), Bill Clinton (81 percent) and George H.W. Bush (82 percent) on this measure. 
   
   See PDF with full results, charts and tables here. 
   
   Similarly, just 40 percent in this poll, produced for ABC News by Langer Research Associates, approve of most of Trump’s Cabinet choices, trailing his four most recent predecessors by 19 to 26 percentage points. 
   
   Also, only 40 percent see Trump favorably overall. That’s 21 points behind Obama’s departing favorability rating (his best since November 2009) and by far the lowest popularity for an incoming president in polling since 1977. Previous start-of-presidency favorability ratings have ranged from 56 percent for George W. Bush to 79 percent for Obama. 
   
   Consider the flipside: Just 9 to 20 percent saw Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Obama unfavorably as they took office. It was 36 percent for George W. Bush. It’s 54 percent for Trump. 
   
   Expectations 
   
   Even with those weak ratings, Trump garners high expectations on some issues. Six in 10 Americans polled expect him to do an excellent or good job on the economy and on jobs alike, and 56 percent expect him to do well in handling terrorism. 
   
   On the economy, Trump may get tailwinds. Fifty-one percent say it’s in excellent or good shape, the most since October 2006 in ABC/Post polls. Even still, 63 percent say the country’s seriously off on the wrong track — a view on which Democrats and Republicans have essentially swapped positions since the election, with the biggest change for the party that won the White House. 
   
   Positive expectations for Trump drop to about 50 percent on three other issues: helping the middle class, handling the deficit and making Supreme Court appointments. Expectations go negative on four more: handling health care, international crises, race relations and issues of particular concern to women. Expectations of Trump are more negative than positive by 24 points on women’s issues, 37 versus 61 percent, and by 17 points on race relations, 40 versus 57 percent. 
   
   Skeptics/Issues 
   
   More generally, skepticism about Trump is extensive. Sixty-one percent of Americans surveyed lack confidence in him to make the right decisions for the country’s future. Obama was rated as poorly on this measure in the midst of his second term. But he started his presidency with the opposite result, 61 percent confidence. 
   
   Fifty-two percent see Trump as unqualified for office. Still, in a positive trend for him, that’s down from a peak of 64 percent in June. 
   
   Results are informed by opposition to many of the incoming administration’s policy plans. Out of eight such policies tested in this survey, majorities support three: deporting undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes (most popular by far, with 72 percent support), renegotiating NAFTA (57 percent) and punishing companies that move jobs overseas (53 percent). 
   
   Support goes below 50 percent for repealing “Obamacare” (46 percent support versus 47 oppose), building a wall on the border with Mexico (37 percent support), withdrawing from the nuclear deal with Iran (37 percent), barring entry to most Muslims who aren’t U.S. citizens (32 percent) and quitting the Paris climate treaty (31 percent). (On “Obamacare,” two-thirds of those who favor repeal say the law should be replaced with a new one at the same time.) 
   
   It’s notable that large majorities oppose two proposals that have been signatures of Trump’s political rise: barring entry of non-U.S. Muslims (63 percent opposed) and building a wall along the border with Mexico (opposed by 60 percent). 
   
   Opposition peaks, at 66 percent, to another idea, providing tax breaks for privately funded roads, bridges and transportation projects that would then charge tolls for people who use them. 
   
   Another likely policy debate may pose its own risks for Trump. He has proposed an across-the-board tax cut. Seventy-five percent in this survey support a tax cut for middle- and low-income Americans, but support falls to 48 percent for a business tax cut and just 36 percent for cutting taxes paid by higher-income Americans. 
   
   Others 
   
   Among other issues: 
   
   • Just 35 percent approve of the way Trump has handled the issue of campaign email hacking, while 54 percent disapprove. Nearly two-thirds think Russia was behind it, and among them, 7 in 10 think Russia’s goal was to help Trump win the election. Forty-three percent see Trump as “too friendly” toward Russia; about as many say he’s handling this well. 
   
   • Neither the media nor Trump is well rated in their handling of each other, but Trump fares considerably less well. Americans divide essentially evenly on whether the news media are treating Trump fairly or unfairly. But they see Trump’s treatment of the news media as unfair rather than fair by a substantial 57 to 38 percent. 
   
   Groups 
   
   Evaluations of Trump’s proposed policies and expectations for his presidency vary widely, with no division more prominent than the one between political partisans. 
   
   One of the largest rifts by party emerges on Trump’s planned wall along the Mexican border. Seventy-two percent of Republicans support it, most saying they do so strongly, while 87 percent of Democrats are opposed, nearly three-quarters strongly. Partisans split similarly on repealing the Affordable Care Act, with 8 in 10 Republicans in favor and three-quarters of Democrats against. 
   
   In terms of expectations, nearly all Republicans expect Trump to do an excellent or good job handling the economy and job creation alike, while fewer than 3 in 10 Democrats say the same. Democrats are the least optimistic about Trump’s handling of the health care system, with just 9 percent giving him at least a “good” prospective rating. That compares with 87 percent of Republicans. 
   
   Not all of Trump’s plans are welcomed as universally by GOP partisans. Fewer than half of Republicans support the public-private infrastructure plan proposed by his advisers or his previously stated intention to pull out of the Paris climate agreement. (He later said he has an “open mind” about the deal.) Fewer than a quarter of Democrats support either proposal. 
   
   Some divisions echo the election. White men without college degrees, a strongly pro-Trump group, support repealing the 2010 health care law by 65 versus 27 percent, while white women with a college degree — who narrowly backed Clinton — mirror them in opposition, 35 versus 63 percent. The pattern repeats in expectations for Trump’s handling of race relations; nearly two-thirds of non-college white men have high expectations, while as many college-educated white women have low ones. 
   
   Race is a key factor. Compared with whites, nonwhites are 36 points less likely to expect much from Trump in job creation and 30 points less likely to think he’ll do well on race relations. And while support for building the border wall has increased among whites from 42 to 50 percent since September, it remains extremely unpopular among Hispanics, with just 11 percent in support. 
   
   There will be much measurement of Trump’s job approval in the years ahead, and the best stand-in for that gauge now is approval of his handling of the transition. This peaks at 77 percent among Republicans, 68 percent among strong conservatives and 61 percent among evangelical white Protestants. But it’s just 45 percent in the states Trump won in the presidential election, as well as 42 percent among political independents, with 50 percent disapproving. 
   
   Further, whites, a group Trump won by a 20 points in the election (per the exit poll), approve of his work on the transition by a 10 point margin, 52 to 42 percent. That ranges from 64 percent approval among non-college white men to 36 percent among college-educated white women. Seventy-five percent of nonwhites disapprove, including 85 percent of blacks and 76 percent of Hispanics. 
   
   Methodology 
   
   This ABC News/Washington Post poll was conducted by landline and cellular telephone Jan. 12 to 15, 2017, in English and Spanish, among a random national sample of 1,005 adults. Results have a margin of sampling error of 3.5 points, including the design effect. Partisan divisions are 31-23-37 percent, Democrats-Republicans-independents. 
   
   The survey was produced for ABC News by Langer Research Associates of New York City, with sampling, data collection and tabulation by Abt-SRBI of New York City. See details on the survey’s methodology here. ||||| Presidential Transition Trump set to take office without most of his Cabinet Republicans are on track to take longer to fill out his team than for any administration since George H.W. Bush in 1989. 
   
   When Bill Clinton was sworn into office 24 years ago, every single member of his Cabinet but one was confirmed by the Senate within two days. When Donald Trump is sworn in on Friday, he’ll be lucky to have half that many installed. 
   
   With Republicans in control of the White House and the Senate, it wasn’t supposed to be this difficult for Trump to get his team in place posthaste, especially since Democrats did away with the 60-vote requirement for Cabinet nominees. But all signs are pointing to a slog for Trump and the Senate GOP, even if Republicans believe eventually all of Trump's picks will be approved. 
   
   Story Continued Below 
   
   “We were presented with the problem that the Trump administration was basically unprepared for presenting a Cabinet,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.). “They compounded that problem by picking both billionaires with enormously complicated financial situations, and people who have enormous conflicts of interests.” 
   
   Trump made his Cabinet selections in rapid fire after the election, but has been hampered since by ethics complications for some of them, Democratic opposition and an unforgiving calendar. His Cabinet is now on track to take the longest to fill since George H.W. Bush’s in 1989, according to an analysis by POLITICO of the confirmation process of the last five presidents. 
   
   Trump will also likely face by far the most dissenting votes from the Senate minority of any new administration in history. 
   
   Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are in negotiations about approving much of Trump’s national security team on Friday, potentially giving him a defense secretary, a CIA chief and homeland security head on Day One. A few of his less controversial nominees may also be approved soon after, including Elaine Chao as transportation secretary and Ben Carson as housing and urban development head. 
   
   But after that, it looks like a major traffic jam. And next week’s congressional retreat and a spate of hearings that were recently postponed could combine to slow the approval process for weeks or longer. What's more, on Tuesday evening Schumer came to the floor to denounce the GOP for limiting questioning of education secretary hopeful Betsy DeVos to five minutes per senator, predicting it could slow the entire confirmation process to a crawl. 
   
   "We feel very strongly there ought to be another hearing [for DeVos]," Schumer said. "This will affect how the rest of the nominees will go forward." 
   
   Several prominent confirmation hearings are scheduled for after Trump’s takes office, including for Rep. Tom Price to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Democrats can use parliamentary tactics to delay Cabinet confirmations for several days apiece, and any one individual senator can force McConnell to jump through procedural hoops and burn the Senate’s time before holding a confirmation vote. 
   
   “Their ultimate goal is to slow this thing down. And we can’t let them,” said Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas). “I don’t know what they’re going to do.” 
   
   While Cornyn and other GOP leaders are confident that Republicans will band together and approve Trump's entire Cabinet using their 52-seat majority, the ride looks rocky. 
   
   A Trump transition official said staff members were aggressively calling senators to make the case for Secretary of State designee Rex Tillerson, focusing on Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) "in particular." Democrats are hoping to hobble Price over stock trades he made while in Congress, labor secretary choice Andrew Puzder over domestic abuse allegations and treasury hopeful Steve Mnuchin over his bank's foreclosure practices. 
   
   The senior Trump transition official said all three were ready for a fight, and that rumors that any would drop out were not true. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said Puzder and Price are the “most challenging” right now, but predicted they will eventually be confirmed. 
   
   Republicans spent Tuesday rallying around the embattled Price, a conservative House member whom the GOP desperately need to be confirmed to help the party repeal and replace Obamacare. Price is accused of trading stocks whose value was affected by legislation he worked on in Congress. 
   
   “Tom Price’s stock? No. If he’s done something insider, I’d love to hear it,” said Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.). “I have not heard anything that disqualifies him.” 
   
   Other confirmation hearings were delayed because the Cabinet picks had not reached agreements to resolve ethical conflicts stemming from their financial holdings. Office of Government Ethics Director Walter Shaub said that’s an aftereffect of Trump not vetting his nominees ahead of time. 
   
   Democrats have used the slow-moving ethics process as justification to criticize some of Trump’s selections. Whitehouse said that just hours before DeVos was set for her confirmation hearing he received a thick stack of her papers, which he had little time to review before. DeVos’ hearing, along with that of billionaire Wilbur Ross’ hearing to be commerce secretary, were both postponed last week. 
   
   But Republicans say Democrats will pay politically if they further draw out the confirmation process. 
   
   “If Sen. Schumer tries to slow down, I think he will regret it,” said Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), one of Trump’s closest allies in Congress. 
   
   In 1989, George H.W. Bush’s Cabinet had no confirmations on Inauguration Day, mainly because the transition was from another GOP administration so there was less pressure to move swiftly. That year, some Cabinet nominees were confirmed as late as March. 
   
   But Trump is not keeping on any of President Barack Obama’s Cabinet secretaries, and the transition between administrations looks sure to be hobbled in the early days by Senate’s infighting. A Trump transition official said his team is hoping to get as many as seven nominees confirmed by voice vote on Friday, but Republican and Democratic sources said there’s little chance of hitting that mark. Trump hasn't even made a choice for his agriculture secretary. 
   
   There were just seven confirmation hearings last week, limiting how many nominees can be confirmed soon. And several, like Jeff Sessions to be attorney general and Tillerson, have no chance of being approved later this week. Sessions’ committee vote won’t occur until after Trump is sworn in and Tillerson’s nomination is “controversial,” said Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), which means a speedy vote should not be expected. 
   
   “I’m for moving as quickly as we can,” Cardin said. “But that one will take a floor debate.” 
   
   Though there are another seven confirmation hearings for Cabinet or Cabinet-level nominees this week, it would be stretch for them to be ready for floor action by Friday. But Republicans are trudging on, with Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) scheduling a Feb. 2 committee hearing for Puzder a day after CNN reported that the labor secretary pick is having “second thoughts" about remaining in the running for the job. 
   
   “I think they all make it through,” said Tom Quinn, a Democratic lobbyist who has met with Trump since the election. But “some of the [nominees] will really get roughed up.” 
   
   If Democrats fight the GOP tooth and nail, it could be more than a month before Trump gets his 15 Cabinet secretaries and six cabinet-level slots filled—- and potentially a lot longer for him to begin installing deputy-level officials that often run the department while the secretary serves as the public face. 
   
   “I haven’t heard anyone say, ‘Let’s drag this out as long as possible,’” said Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). Asked how long it could take to process Trump’s Cabinet, Durbin responded: “How long will it take to go through the financial papers of some of these billionaires? I can’t tell you.”
target: – Interviews with Donald Trump and related stories about him and his policies are in full supply two days before he takes office. A sampling: The Washington Post has a feature on Trump's life in Trump Tower: He "rarely leaves, not even for a breath of fresh air," and generally stays surrounded by a close circle of family and advisers. Despite his regular tweets, Trump doesn't use email and almost never surfs the internet, but he does have one unusual access point: He answers his own cellphone, "something that acquaintances and colleagues speak of in almost reverential terms." Read the profile here. Axios has an interview with Trump, and the interviewers write that the president-elect "seemed moved" by his intel briefings. "I've had a lot of briefings that are very … I don't want to say 'scary,' because I'll solve the problems. But … we have some big enemies out there." Read it in full here. The Wall Street Journal also interviewed Trump, and it had real-world implications: "The dollar tumbled to its lowest level in a month after Donald Trump suggested ... he favored a weaker dollar, breaking with decades of tradition and intensifying investor concern over the incoming administration’s capacity to surprise." Read it here. In a wide-ranging interview with the New York Times Magazine, Joe Biden sounds worried about Trump's shifting foreign policy pronouncements. "It's like a Rubik's cube trying to figure this guy out," he says. "We have no freakin' idea what he's going to do." Read it in full here. Trump will enter office with only about half of his Cabinet in place. Politico takes a look here. Trump also will enter office as the most unpopular president in at least 40 years (see ABC News), while President Obama exits with his approval ratings at an all-time high (see CNN). The Hill looks ahead and sees five areas where Trump and Democrats can make progress, including a possible boost in minimum wage. The list is here. See Friday's inauguration schedule here.