The Senate is holding hearings for five Biden nominees on Trump’s last full day in office

Washington – Senate holds confirmation hearings for five of President-elect Joe Biden’s cabinet candidates on Tuesday, while Democrats rush to approve key officials shortly after Biden’s president becomes president Wednesday.

Senators met again for the first time since Trump was ousted a second time. They hold confirmation auditions for five crucial candidates: Janet Yellen in Finance, Antony Blinken in State, Lloyd Austin in Defense, Alejandro Mayorkas to Homeland Security and Avril Haines as director of national intelligence.

Biden is scheduled to arrive in Washington on Tuesday afternoon and attend a ceremony in the evening in honor of the victims of COVID-19 at Lincoln Memorial.

Hearings arrive on President Trump’s last full day in office. He is expected to issue 100 pardons or commutes in the final hours of his chairman, a senior administration official and a senior White House official on CBS News.

It is not yet known who plans to pardon Trump, although a source said the president is not expected to pardon himself.

Trump was left out of public view Monday, while First Lady Melania Trump aired a farewell video. He made no direct reference to the January 6 Capitol assault, but said, “Be passionate about everything you do, but always remember that violence is never the answer and will never be justified.”

In a break with tradition, Melania Trump did not give a tour to incoming first lady Jill Biden, and the Trumps will be the first president and first lady to skip the incoming president’s inauguration in over 150 years.

Security is tight before Wednesday’s opening. The Pentagon has authorized more than 25,000 National Guard personnel to secure the event and the FBI is examining all members of the Guard. The head of the National Guard office, Daniel Hokanson, told CBS News’ David Martin that he was “absolutely not” concerned about the reliability of his troops.

With the army focused on protecting the takeover, Trump will not get the great military honors he wanted for his expulsion. Instead, it will have a reduced shipment at 8 a.m. Wednesday before heading to Mar-a-Lago.