GEOFF BENNETT: Good evening.

I'm Geoff Bennett.

AMNA NAWAZ: And I'm Amna Nawaz.

On the "News Hour" tonight: a major breakthrough.

Israel and Hamas reach a hostage and cease-fire deal that could end the 15-month war in Gaza.

GEOFF BENNETT: Firefighters battle high winds that threaten to further spread the wildfires blazing across the Los Angeles area.

AMNA NAWAZ: Many of president-elect Trump's Cabinet picks face congressional scrutiny, giving a glimpse into how they would carry out his agenda.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL): If we stay on the road we're on right now, less than 10 years, virtually everything that matters to us in life will depend on whether China will allow us to have it or not.

AMNA NAWAZ: Welcome to the "News Hour."

After nearly a year-and-a-half of brutal war in Gaza that widened across the region, a cease-fire and hostage deal was struck today between Israel and Hamas.

GEOFF BENNETT: The deal between the warring sides was mediated by the United States, Egypt, and Qatar, and will start this weekend.

The Biden administration had spent many months trying to force the parties toward a deal, but a final push in coordination with the incoming Trump team helped get to this agreement today.

Nick Schifrin is here with more.

So, Nick, how down to the wire was this?

NICK SCHIFRIN: Well, Geoff, a senior administration official says that the U.S. didn't know there would be a deal until just minutes before announcing it after Hamas tried this morning to insert new objections.

But, tonight, after 15 months of one of the most intense aerial campaigns in history, the deadliest ever war on Israeli soil and the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians, there is cautious hope the cease-fire will hold.

Tonight in Gaza, a celebration and in Israel relief that after 467 days of war, in just 72 hours, the guns over Gaza will go silent.

JOE BIDEN, President of the United States: At long last, I can announce a cease-fire and a hostage deal has been reached between Israel and Hamas.

NICK SCHIFRIN: The three-phase deal begins with a six-week cease-fire.

Hamas will release 33 Israeli hostages, beginning with five female soldiers on Sunday, and two Americans, Sagui Dekel-Chen and Keith Siegel.

Israel will release nearly 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, including hundreds serving life sentences for terrorism, a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and Israeli soldiers will leave population centers but remain along Gaza's borders, including on the Philadelphi Corridor with Egypt, allowing Palestinians to return to their homes.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog: ISAAC HERZOG, Israeli President (through translator): This is the right move.

This is an important move.

This is a necessary move.

There is no greater moral, human, Jewish or Israeli obligation than to bring our sons and daughters back to us.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Senior U.S. officials believe the two sides agreed now because a diminished Hamas realized the cavalry wasn't coming.

Israel's regional military success gave Netanyahu political flexibility and bipartisan coordination.

A senior Biden administration official says National Security Council Middle East Director Brett McGurk and president-elect Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, created a -- quote -- "historic collaboration" and negotiated side by side, alongside mediator Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani MOHAMMED BIN ABDULRAHMAN BIN JASSIM AL THANI, Qatari Prime Minister: The steps that's been taken recently from the U.S. has yielded to this moment.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Today, Trump took credit, posting -- quote -- "This epic cease-fire agreement could have only happened as a result of our historic victory in November."

JOE BIDEN: I told my team to coordinate closely with the incoming team to make sure we're all speaking with the same voice, because that's what American presidents do.

NICK SCHIFRIN: If the cease-fire holds, the two sides would negotiate a second phase for a permanent cease-fire.

Hamas would release all remaining living hostages, including male soldiers.

And Israel would withdraw from Gaza completely.

And if the two sides get that far, the third phase would return the remains of hostages killed in captivity and launch Gaza's long-term reconstruction, with foreign troops providing security, as laid out yesterday by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. Secretary of State: Given the costs, especially the human costs, we have a responsibility to ensure that the strategic gains of the last 15 months endure and lay the foundation for a better future.

NICK SCHIFRIN: Those costs began with the October 7 terrorist attack.

Gunmen killed more than 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped more than 220 people, holding them in what former hostages call awful conditions.

Today, more than 90 remain in Gaza.

Officially, at least one-third are still alive.

The war has transformed not only Gaza, but also the Middle East.

A brutal fight in Lebanon that beheaded Hezbollah helped lead to a new government less beholden to Hezbollah, the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a chief Iranian ally, and an Israeli attack on Iran itself that destroyed much of its air defense and missile production.

JOE BIDEN: We're handing off then to the next team a real opportunity for a better future for the Middle East.

I hope they will take it.

NICK SCHIFRIN: And those caught in the middle hope this is an end to 15 months of suffering and agony.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Nick Schifrin.

GEOFF BENNETT: For more on all of this, we turn now to two "News Hour" regulars, David Makovsky of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and Hussein Ibish of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.

Thank you both for being here.

Hussein, we will start with you.

President Biden today made clear that he laid out the precise contours of this agreement back in May.

HUSSEIN IBISH, Senior Resident Scholar, Arab Gulf States Institute: Right.

GEOFF BENNETT: It was, of course, almost agreed to in July.

Why now?

HUSSEIN IBISH: Well, and even it had antecedents going back to January and even November of 2023.

So these ideas have been around for a long time.

But I think the two inflection points are the election of Donald Trump and the pressure he put on Prime Minister Netanyahu, which builds on pressure from the Israeli public and the Israeli military to make such a deal.

I think Netanyahu -- Trump was very clear that he did not want this war to go on during his inauguration.

And on the other hand, a major change of power within Hamas, inflected mainly by the fall of the Assad regime, which signals the rise of Turkey and Qatar in the region, at the expense of Iran and Hezbollah, and shifts power within Hamas away from the gunmen on the ground in Gaza who did the October 7 attack back to the politicians, the politburo, that have left Qatar, but are now gathered in Turkey.

And the main regional card that Hamas can play now is not the military links they have with Iran, but the political and diplomatic links they have with Turkey and Qatar.

And Turkey and Qatar don't want this war to go on.

So between pressure on those two sides, you got a deal.

GEOFF BENNETT: David Makovsky, there was a temporary cease-fire that was in place in November of 2023 that fell apart after a week.

It fell apart on the eighth day.

What's different about this agreement or what's different about the climate that might suggest the cease-fire deal might be more enduring?

DAVID MAKOVSKY, Senior Fellow, Washington Institute for Near East Policy: Like you said, that was the last big point was November, when 105 hostages were released for a few days of cease-fire.

This is a much more ambitious effort in terms of not just a few days, but at least 42.

And we hope it's extended.

Your heart goes out to the families of these hostages who are being reunited and also to the people of Gaza who are going to get relief.

I agree with Hussein Ibish that there's been a convergence of factors here.

I mean, I agree with President Biden when he said it happened because of the extreme pressure on Hamas that it's been under, and Nick Schifrin and his setup piece about that, losing Hezbollah -- they were fighting in stereo.

And now they're -- Hezbollah is out of the war after the death of Sinwar, the death of Nasrallah and the decapitation and the weakening of Iran, Biden said the weak -- the worst than in decades -- its weakest in decades, and the transition between governments, clearly, the fact that I think there's unprecedented in American history that an in going and outgoing administration were sitting at the same table to get this done.

They can't agree between Biden and Trump if it's light or dark outside, but they could agree on this.

And -- but all these people want to be in the good graces of the United States, of a new administration.

And I think that was also part of it as well.

But I guess I disagree a little bit with Hussein in that I don't think it's just the external elements of Hamas.

The people that hold the keys to the hostages are in Gaza.

And those are the people who are doing the killing.

And so I think, without weakening them, you would not have had a deal.

HUSSEIN IBISH: No, I agree with that.

GEOFF BENNETT: And there's such fragility around the cease-fire deal.

And the road ahead, of course, will be critical.

But who are the guarantors?

Who are the people on the ground who can ensure that both sides abide by the terms of this agreement?

Because there's no international -- there's no international observers.

There's no government structure that can make sure of that.

HUSSEIN IBISH: No.

Really, the parties are on their own, I think.

It's up to -- after the 42 days, which they will both probably live up to, both sides are going to have to decide if they want the agreement to survive the 42 days and then to go into a second phase.

And they're both going to have to agree.

Either side could decide to scuttle things at any moment.

And, certainly, especially within Gaza, a small group of people with guns could do something violent and give Israel the -- either the reason or the or the excuse to say, no, the war is back on.

So it's going to be very delicate.

I think, if the leaders are committed to following through into a second phase, they're going to have to be willing to put up with some provocations that maybe simply have to be baked into the process.

Otherwise, there are no external guarantors.

There is no one overseeing this.

GEOFF BENNETT: And, moving forward, the incoming Trump administration, David, believes it has the upper hand.

Of course, for a new presidential administration, leverage can be a wasting asset.

How do you assess the Trump team's chances of helping both sides navigate their way toward a lasting peace?

DAVID MAKOVSKY: Look, this is going to be hard.

I think what the Trump administration is counting on is that Netanyahu in a certain way wants to turn the page and have a much broader conversation with the incoming administration about regional opportunities and regional challenges.

The opportunity is, is a normalization deal with the Saudis, which you have to credit the Biden people.

They are the ones who did a lot of the work on this, but Trump might get the benefit of it.

And that is something the Israelis want very much as part of a wider mega-deal with Saudi Arabia and the United States.

That is the opportunity.

And the challenge is, what do you deal with Iran now that it has been weakened?

Some of you know I like sports metaphors.

And this is like -- Iran is like a soccer team without a goalie.

They have no air defenses right now.

So, is this a way to leverage getting Iran to the table on nuclear terms that they wouldn't agreed to before?

But this is a broader conversation.

It goes way beyond Gaza.

There is an opportunity here for Netanyahu to engage the administration.

If everything is just Gaza, Gaza, Gaza, it is going to be much harder to have that conversation that I think both the U.S. and Israel want to have.

So I do think there is an incentive there that should not be overlooked.

GEOFF BENNETT: In the minute we have left, do you agree?

And what does this mean for the governing authority, the governing structure in Gaza?

(CROSSTALK) HUSSEIN IBISH: That is exactly the problem.

There is the rub, because Israel has done nothing to prepare for this day and especially for phase two and phase three.

Netanyahu has refused to discuss a day-after scenario.

They have adamantly opposed any moves to create an alternative civil administration in Gaza.

So there is a straight-up, forward choice between Israeli military rule, the resumption of Hamas rule, which appears to be a strategic decision Israel has made in this agreement, for fear of strengthening the Palestinian Authority, which I believe they fear more than Hamas, because they think that the P.A.

might eventually be able to create a Palestinian state.

It's a continuation of the old policy of dividing the Palestinians.

And I think Israel is intending to leave Hamas in de facto control of Gaza, and there's no other way to interpret this agreement, frankly.

GEOFF BENNETT: Certainly more to come.

Hussein Ibish and David Makovsky, our thanks to you both.

HUSSEIN IBISH: Thank you.

DAVID MAKOVSKY: Thank you.

AMNA NAWAZ: The cease-fire deal will end the agonizing wait of dozens of families whose loved ones have been held hostage in Gaza.

Some of them are American.

As Nick reported earlier, the first phase of this deal will include the release of two Americans.

One of them is Sagui Dekel-Chen, kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz while trying to defend his family on October 7.

I spoke to his father, Jonathan, before the U.S. confirmed that Sagui was on the list to be released in phase one.

Jonathan, thank you so much for being with us.

Good to see you.

JONATHAN DEKEL-CHEN, Father of Hamas Hostage: Thank you for having me.

AMNA NAWAZ: I just want to begin with your reaction to the announcement of today's deal.

What did you think when you heard the news?

JONATHAN DEKEL-CHEN: Well, my first reaction is gratitude to the two administrations, the outgoing Biden and the incoming Trump administrations, for really being the catalyst to make this happen.

You know, it's a very rare thing, I think, in American politics today, and for something like this to happen, to sort of put aside the partisanship, and to work together shoulder to shoulder over the course of the last few weeks to bring us to the brink of ending this madness in Gaza and bringing our 98 hostages home.

AMNA NAWAZ: I know the details are still emerging, but the hostage release is likely to occur in phases, likely to begin with women.

Have you heard anything about when you might expect Sagui to be released?

Is it possible he could be part of this first phase?

JONATHAN DEKEL-CHEN: Honestly, we really don't know.

There's a lot of background noise.

We will be wiser in six weeks, once this first phase is completed.

We hope and we pray that Sagui will be a part of that, but we will be overjoyed for the families of anyone who is released.

And, more importantly, I implore the incoming Trump administration and the intermediaries to make sure that all phases of this deal are implemented.

It is simply not going to be enough to have the first phase go through and then allow the situation to deteriorate again.

We need all 98 home and the people of Gaza need peace.

AMNA NAWAZ: How worried are you that, over the next several weeks, something could fall apart and the deal could fall through?

JONATHAN DEKEL-CHEN: It's a constant worry.

This is a very volatile situation in a very volatile part of the world in which we live.

And, therefore, it's premature to -- for me, at least, to be overly enthusiastic or optimistic, because, as we have learned over the course of the last 15 months and for most of my lifetime in the Middle East, there's always a surprise, and usually a bad surprise, around the corner.

So we need help here, in the same way that we needed help from the U.S. government and the intermediaries to get to this point.

We will need their help to see it through.

I have very little doubt in keeping pressure first and foremost on Hamas to live up to its part of the agreement, and perhaps also the Israeli government if it in any way wavers in its commitment to getting this done.

AMNA NAWAZ: You have been very pointed in your criticism before of the Netanyahu government.

You have accused them of not meaningfully participating in the efforts to get the hostages released.

On the flip side, as you mentioned, Hamas has not been a reliable partner in these talks.

But, in Israel, what do you think shifted that allowed things to get to at least this point today, where there is a deal?

JONATHAN DEKEL-CHEN: It seems to me that there's very little doubt that what put this into motion was President Trump's statement, I believe about seven weeks ago, about hell to pay, and that rattled cages around the Middle East, Hamas, Egypt, Qatar, and also in the Israeli government.

And while the plan that has been approved today, as so we learned a couple of hours ago, is pretty similar to the one that was first proposed by President Biden in late May of last year, it's clear that the urgency to get it done no matter what came as a result of that statement seven weeks ago from President Trump.

AMNA NAWAZ: Jonathan, we have been so fortunate to have you join the show many times, to share your efforts to get your son and the other hostages home.

And I remember, in a conversation with my colleague Nick Schifrin, you talked about the day that your son was kidnapped.

You talked about how he was working to protect his wife and his children on Kibbutz Nir Oz in their home.

Can you tell us how his wife is doing today?

And his children, have you told them, your grandkids, that their dad could come home soon?

JONATHAN DEKEL-CHEN: We have not yet shared the news about the impending agreement or now the announced agreement, because we don't want these girls to be crushed again, a 3- and a 7-year-old.

Thankfully, the 1-year-old doesn't ask a lot of questions.

So there's no worries there.

What we are doing, we will be attending the inauguration of President Trump, for them to see the power really of America in its best light, getting something good done that has to happen, not just for the good of Sagui in Israel, but really I think for all well-meaning people in the world.

So I hope that the reunion will be as fast as possible, but, for now, we're keeping the news to ourselves.

AMNA NAWAZ: Jonathan Dekel-Chen, thank you so much for joining us once again.

We hope Sagui is home safe with you and his family very soon.

Thank you again.

JONATHAN DEKEL-CHEN: Thank you.

Thank you so much.

AMNA NAWAZ: All around Los Angeles today, residents again held their breath while firefighters work to prevent major fires from starting or spreading.

At least 25 people are dead and more than 12,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed.

More than 80,000 people remain undamaged under evacuation orders.

Stephanie Sy has our report.

STEPHANIE SY: It was another tense 24 hours in Southern California, as exhausted firefighters worked to contain flare-ups and protect hard-fought progress across the city.

ANTHONY MARRONE, Los Angeles County, California, Fire Chief: The anticipated 70-mile-an-hour winds have yet to materialize.

However, this could change and we are still at risk.

STEPHANIE SY: As of this evening, millions remained under red flag warnings, while crews continue to battle flames from the ground and the air.

The good news for weary Angelenos, winds were mostly weaker than anticipated.

And the forecast for the week was largely favorable, though there's still no sign of rain.

KRISTIN CROWLEY, Los Angeles City, California, Fire Chief: The danger has not yet passed, so please, please prioritize your safety.

STEPHANIE SY: This morning, L.A. city officials faced tough questions about their preparedness and firefighting strategy.

The L.A. Times reported the Los Angeles Fire Department chose not to extend the shifts of roughly 1,000 firefighters and dozens of engines, even as the winds worsened in the hours before the Palisades Fire.

KRISTIN CROWLEY: Our firefighters on the truck.

STEPHANIE SY: L.A. Fire chief Christian Crowley did not detail just how many extra firefighters were initially called in, but she defended the department's response.

KRISTIN CROWLEY: We have the capability, and we did, pull every resource in and around the area.

We pre-deployed the resources in very, very calculated ways throughout the city, also not knowing where a fire might start and might not start.

I think that's very, very important that everybody understands that.

STEPHANIE SY: More than two dozen people are still missing.

Dogs trained to locate human remains are now combing the debris in both major burn zones, helping hundreds of first responders complete a painstaking house-by-house search.

ROBERT FOXWORTHY, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection: It's a considerable amount of structures to search, thousands, and it's going to be a long process.

STEPHANIE SY: Officials have charged at least nine people for isolated incidents of looting.

And L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath issued a stern warning to businesses that may try to profit from the crisis by price gouging.

LINDSEY HORVATH, Los Angeles County, California, Board of Supervisors: We cannot raise the price of rent, goods, or services more than 10 percent.

We are taking these instances seriously and there will be consequences.

STEPHANIE SY: The cause of both blazes is still under investigation.

MAN: Holy (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

STEPHANIE SY: But new video appears to show the early moments of the Eaton Fire at the base of power lines in Altadena.

In the Palisades, residents said flames erupted in an area where a fire had previously burned on New Year's Day.

DON GRIFFIN, California Resident: There was no lightning.

There's no power lines up there.

There's no reason necessarily that a fire would just start by itself, but who knows.

STEPHANIE SY: As efforts turn toward recovery, residents are still struggling to make sense of a natural disaster that took so much so quickly.

AARON LUBELEY, California Resident: You know, you stand there staring like, how am I going to tell my kids that everything is gone, and why didn't God answer my prayers and do this to me?

STEPHANIE SY: And yet even those who've lost everything, like Altadena resident Aaron Lubeley, are helping others.

He's been handing out food, water and other essentials from the charred remains of his front yard.

AARON LUBELEY: You can never plan for what you do in a situation like this.

All you can do is take one step forward, have the strength to take a second step forward.

STEPHANIE SY: Spoken like a true survivor and a good neighbor.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Stephanie Sy.

AMNA NAWAZ: We start the day's other news with two announcements from the Food and Drug Administration aimed at protecting Americans' health.

First, officials are banning Red Dye No.

3 from food for its potential cancer risk.

It was banned from cosmetics nearly 35 years ago.

The dye is now found in some sweets, flavored beverages and oral medicines.

Regulators gave food manufacturers until 2027 to remove it from their products.

The FDA also proposed a rule today to make cigarettes less addictive by capping their nicotine levels.

Officials say that smoking is still the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the U.S.

They estimate the rule could help nearly 13 million Americans quit within a year if implemented.

BRIAN KING, FDA Center For Tobacco Products: Today's action is a pivotal step towards reducing these monumental adverse health effects and the more than a billion dollars spent per day in this country on smoking-related health care costs and lost productivity.

AMNA NAWAZ: The agency announced the plan in the final days of the Biden presidency.

It's unclear if the incoming Trump administration will support the proposal.

The Supreme Court signaled support today for a Texas law aimed at blocking children from seeing pornography online.

Critics of the measure say it violates the First Amendment by requiring age verifications like photo I.D.

They say parents should filter what their kids see instead.

But members of the court's conservative majority pushed back, with Justice Samuel Alito asking -- quote -- "Do you know a lot of parents who are more tech-savvy than their 15-year-old children?"

Texas is among more than a dozen states with such laws on the books.

The court is expected to rule on the case by July.

In South Africa, police abruptly called off a rescue operation at an abandoned gold mine where hundreds of people have been trapped underground.

A rescue operation began on Monday, with crews pulling more than 240 people out alive, along with dozens of dead bodies.

Just yesterday, the police minister predicted the operation would last until at least next week.

The miners had been working the site illegally.

Authorities first tried to force them out in November by cutting off their supplies.

Civic groups said that left the minors at risk of starvation and dehydration.

Rescuers will try one final sweep tomorrow.

In Ukraine, officials say a major Russian missile attack forced authorities to shut down parts of its power grid today.

There were no reported casualties, but energy infrastructure is critical during Ukraine's frigid winter months.

Residents in Kyiv huddled together as they took shelter in the city's metro stations.

Today, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw.

Poland is Ukraine's neighbor and a major European ally.

Zelenskyy said all eyes will be on Washington next week, when president-elect Trump takes office.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, Ukrainian President (through translator): We are waiting.

I think the whole world is waiting, because the United States is a strategic partner in global stability.

This is my opinion.

They are the main donors supporting Ukraine in its war for survival against Russian aggression.

We expect continued support for Ukraine.

AMNA NAWAZ: Meantime, the Biden administration is ramping up sanctions on entities connected to Russia's war effort.

The Treasury Department said today it's reimposing sanctions on 100 companies and institutions that had already been targeted and adding sanctions on 15 new ones.

To South Korea now, where the nation's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol is now being held in detention.

He was taken into custody early on Wednesday, becoming the country's first ever sitting president to be detained.

Investigators are looking into whether Yoon's declaration of martial law last month amounted to rebellion.

In a video message recorded shortly before he was taken into custody, Yoon blasted his detention as unlawful.

YOON SUK-YEOL, South Korean President (through translator): I can't help but feel it is deplorable to witness the way these truly illegal proceedings are being forcibly carried out.

AMNA NAWAZ: South Korea's anti-corruption agency must now decide whether to seek a court order for Yoon's formal arrest.

By law, he could face the death penalty or life in prison if convicted of leading a rebellion.

In space news, meanwhile, two lunar landers are now on their way to the moon.

SpaceX launched the double moonshot from Florida in the middle of the night.

The landers shared the first part of the ride, but peeled off on separate routes about an hour in.

One belongs to the U.S. company Firefly Aerospace and is expected to arrive in March.

The other belongs to the Japanese company ispace and is supposed to get there by May or June.

If all goes well, they will gather samples and carry out tests to help with future moon exploration.

On Wall Street today, stocks jumped after a reassuring report on monthly inflation.

The Dow Jones industrial average spiked 700 points, or more than 1.5 percent.

The Nasdaq added around 460 points on the day as tech stocks enjoyed a rebound.

The S&P 500 also ended sharply higher.

And a heartwarming note from the world of classical music.

American pianist Ruth Slenczynska turns 100 years old today.

(MUSIC) AMNA NAWAZ: That is her playing Beethoven's Minuet in G major As a 5-year-old child prodigy back in 1930.

She's believed to be the last living student of Russian pianist and composer Sergei Rachmaninoff.

The two were known to drink tea together.

Slenczynska was still going strong well into her 90s.

She recorded her final album in 2022 at the age of 97.

Over a nine-decade career, she played for five U.S. presidents, including a duet with Harry Truman.

We wish her a very happy birthday.

Still to come on the "News Hour": president-elect Trump's Cabinet nominees in the hot seat for their confirmation hearings.

GEOFF BENNETT: Tonight, President Biden plans to deliver a prime-time farewell address to the nation.

Earlier today, in a letter released by the White House, the president said that Americans emerged stronger, more prosperous, and more secure since he took office.

For more, we're joined now by White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

Karine, thanks so much for being with us.

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, White House Press Secretary: Thank you so much, Geoff, for having me.

I appreciate the opportunity.

GEOFF BENNETT: President Biden, as you well know, has dedicated 50 years to public service.

As he prepares to exit the White House and conclude his career, what's the message that he hopes to leave with the American people tonight?

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: Well, I think what you said, in that letter that the president wrote that came out this morning with a fact sheet of over 100 pages laying out what he has been able to deliver for the American people in just four years.

He's done more in four years than most presidents have done in two terms.

And I think what -- obviously, I'm going to let the president speak for himself and he will have an opportunity to do that when he addresses the American people later today in the Oval address, his final, final farewell speech.

This is a president who's been in public service for more than 50 years, senator, vice president, and now president.

And he had the -- he brought the experience with him to get things done for the American people.

And so he's going to speak from his heart, like he always does.

He's going to talk about the possibilities of this country, meet the moment, talk about the future of this country, and also step a little bit backwards and say and lay out what he's done the last four years.

So I know he's very proud of what he's been able to accomplish and looks really -- very much forward to this moment tonight.

GEOFF BENNETT: And yet, according to the latest PBS News/NPR/Marist poll, 50 percent of Americans disapprove of President Biden's job performance; 42 percent approve.

How does he reconcile this gap between what he views as achievements, infrastructure investments, job growth, climate initiatives, and the perception that he's failed to deliver?

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: The American people have gone through a lot in these four years.

And so we understand that it's going to take a little bit of time for them, for folks to see the impact that this administration has had.

But there are facts, there's data out there to show that the work that this president has done, building an economy from the bottom up, middle out, has been -- has mattered.

Making sure no communities are left behind has mattered, more than 60 million jobs created.

Let's not forget, when he stepped in, thousands of people, more than 3,000 people were dying a day from COVID, from COVID.

And he had to turn that around very, very quickly.

And I will say this one last thing.

The historic pieces of legislation that he was able to get through, whether it's CHIPS and Science ACT, bipartisan Infrastructure Act, the PACT Act, the bipartisan, like I said, Infrastructure Act, Inflation Reduction Act, all of those things, and you look at the provision, for example, in Inflation Reduction Act, they are popular.

Insulin capped at 35 bucks, lowering prescription drugs, beating big pharma, so that Medicare could really negotiate on lowering those prescription drug prices, all of those things are popular.

And so he took actions that Americans really wanted.

And we do believe it's going to take some time for Americans to see the full breadth of what this president has been able to do.

But, right now, our focus with five days left is to try and continue to run through the tape.

What else can we do to make Americans' lives better?

GEOFF BENNETT: I also want to ask you about the cease-fire deal that was announced today between Israel and Hamas.

In the days that remain, what is the Biden administration doing to help ensure that this deal is sustainable?

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: So, just to give you a 30,000-foot view for a second, this is -- the framework of this deal goes back to May of last year, when this president put out the framework, got the endorsement of the world to move forward.

And that is what we're seeing, that work from this administration, that work from members of his team, working day and night to make sure that we get hostages home to their families, to make sure we get more aid into Gaza, and also to make sure we end this war, we end this war.

And so today is a great day.

We are one step forward in getting that done because of this president's leadership.

And so we're - - we have been -- since the election, have been consulting with the transition team, the Trump transition team, trying to make sure that we are in line and making sure that there's not just a peaceful transfer of power, but also an efficient, effective transfer of power.

And the president has led by example, has kept his word.

And that is exactly what we're seeing.

So the president is confident we're going into phase one of this deal, and the president's confident that it will continue because of the groundwork that we laid out over the past eight months.

Now, 15 months of this war, 15 months of this war, and now we're getting to a point where we can finally end this war.

GEOFF BENNETT: Lastly, Karine, you held your final White House press briefing today.

You made history when you assumed the role of White House press secretary.

How are you reflecting on your time with the administration?

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: It has been an honor and a privilege to serve in this administration.

You look behind me, and there is the White House.

And I get to walk -- for the past almost four years, I got to walk onto this campus, go into the West Wing, sit in my office, and do the work on behalf of this president, on behalf of the American people.

And it has been the best job that I have ever had.

And the next thing I'm going to do is spend time with my kid.

I will have a lot of time to reflect and look back on these last four years.

But we're going to run through the tape in the next five days and do everything that we can in our capacity and our power to make Americans' lives better.

I know that's what the president wants us to do.

GEOFF BENNETT: White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, thanks again for your time this evening.

We appreciate it.

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: Thanks, Geoff.

GEOFF BENNETT: And you can watch our live coverage of the president's address right here on PBS at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

President-elect Donald Trump is still several days from reentering the Oval Office, but some of his nominees for Cabinet posts were in Senate committees for one of the busiest days of confirmation hearings in U.S. history.

From the nation's top diplomatic post to a top spy to the country's top law enforcement officer, the hearings ran the gamut from cordial to confrontational.

AMNA NAWAZ: We start with president-elect Trump's picks for secretary of state and director of the CIA.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio would helm the State Department, and former Congressman John Ratcliffe would run the CIA.

They went before senators on the Foreign Relations and Intelligence committees this morning.

(SHOUTING) SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL): I get bilingual protesters, which is I think is... MAN: As you know, that's a first here for us, at least in recent times.

AMNA NAWAZ: President-elect Donald Trump's choice for U.S. secretary of state, Senator Marco Rubio, sailed relatively smoothly through his nomination hearing before the Foreign Relations Committee on which he served for 14 years.

MAN: Sir, welcome to the other side of the dais.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO: On May 27 in 1956 from Cuba.

AMNA NAWAZ: Born to immigrant parents from Cuba, Rubio would be the first person of Hispanic origin to serve as the top U.S. diplomat.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO: I had the privilege to be born a citizen of the greatest nation in the history of mankind and to be raised in a safe and stable home.

AMNA NAWAZ: And home, he promised, would be the focus, a robust America first foreign policy.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO: President Trump returns to office with an unmistakable mandate, a strong America engaged in the world, but guided by a clear objective, to promote peace abroad and security and prosperity here at home.

AMNA NAWAZ: In the past, Trump and Rubio have clashed.

DONALD TRUMP, Former President of the United States (R) and Current U.S. President-Elect: Just I call him little Marco.

That's what he is.

He's little Marco.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO: Donald Trump is a con artist.

AMNA NAWAZ: Over time, they found common ground.

A past supporter of aid for Ukraine, Rubio voted against last year's supplemental, saying it didn't do enough on southern border security.

Democrat and Ranking Committee Member Senator Jeanne Shaheen asked him about that shift.

SEN. JEANNE SHAHEEN (D-NH): Can you talk about how your views on Ukraine have developed and where you are now?

SEN. MARCO RUBIO: Once this war became what we now know it is, and that is a war of attrition, a stalemate, a protracted conflict, the dynamic on that situation has changed.

AMNA NAWAZ: The Biden administration has sent Ukraine more than $60 billion in military aid, vowing to continue that support -- quote -- "as long as it takes."

Rubio said that has to change.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO: That is not a realistic or prudent position.

I think it should be the official position of the United States that this war should be brought to an end.

AMNA NAWAZ: Rubio also said sanctions on Russia could expand and that Ukraine could get a long-term security guarantee, but did not pledge continued weapon support from the U.S. under a new Trump administration.

Mid-hearing, major news in the Middle East.

SEN. JAMES RISCH (R-ID): There's been a cease-fire announced in Gaza.

AMNA NAWAZ: And Rubio reaffirmed that their top priority with this deal and going forward is bringing back hostages when asked by Republican Senator Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania.

SEN. DAVID MCCORMICK (R-PA): Do you agree that a permanent cease-fire in Gaza must include, absolutely must include the release of those hostages?

SEN. MARCO RUBIO: Hamas has been severely degraded, but these people that include a number of American citizens need to be home as soon as possible.

AMNA NAWAZ: But it was China, where Rubio has long pressed the U.S. to take a stronger stance, that he insisted remains America's most potent adversary.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO: If we stay on the road we're on right now, in less than 10 years, virtually everything that matters to us in life will depend on whether China will allow us to have it or not.

AMNA NAWAZ: Also today, Trump's pick for the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, John Ratcliffe, faced questions from the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Democrat Mark Warner of Virginia asked about the potential for political retribution.

SEN. MARK WARNER (D-VA): What assurances can you provide to this committee and to the CIA work force that you will resist efforts to fire or force out career CIA employees because of their perceived political views or somehow their views of loyalty to the president?

JOHN RATCLIFFE, CIA Director Nominee: Well, I think the best example of that, Mr. Vice Chairman, if you look at my record and my record as DNI.

That never took place.

That is never something anyone has alleged and it's something that I would never do.

AMNA NAWAZ: Ratcliffe himself has been accused of releasing unverified Russian intelligence in a letter to a senator on the day of the 2020 presidential debate while he served as director of national intelligence.

Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia.

SEN. JON OSSOFF (D-GA): My purpose here is not to suggest some kind of political intent, but you have made it very clear that avoiding the politicization of the intelligence community's activities is a high priority for you.

Is that correct?

JOHN RATCLIFFE: Correct.

SEN. JON OSSOFF: It strikes me that releasing politically sensitive intelligence, that you would think carefully about the timing of that.

JOHN RATCLIFFE: You're correct.

It was my decision, but it wasn't my process.

AMNA NAWAZ: Both Ratcliffe and Rubio are expected to be confirmed and start in their roles next week, leading the next chapter of American intelligence and foreign policy.

GEOFF BENNETT: Senators today also questioned nominees who will be powerful forces in energy and law enforcement.

AMNA NAWAZ: Our Lisa Desjardins was on the Hill all day, and she was in the room for the hearing of attorney general nominee Pam Bondi.

Lisa, let's start right there with a reminder of who Pam Bondi is and why her nomination is so important to watch.

LISA DESJARDINS: Well, Bondi is well-known in political circles and is a very close ally, longtime friend of president-elect Trump's.

But in her own right, she has a lengthy legal resume.

Let's talk about it, 18 years as a prosecutor.

She's a former Florida attorney general for two terms.

Among her priorities then was the fight against the opioid epidemic, as well as some conservative culture war issues.

Now, she served on the first impeachment defense team for president-elect Trump.

Then she also more recently has done election-related legal work for pro-Trump groups, including filing lawsuits in the most recent election.

She's now nominated, of course, to be the top prosecutor in the country and the top law enforcement agent.

She would oversee the FBI itself.

Most of all, this hearing was about the Republican concern and contention that the DOJ has become politically weaponized against the right.

It's a powerful agency, but the thing is, Democrats fear that, if she was in this office, that she could weaponize it the other way.

So there's a question of how the politics work here.

Bondi told senators what she sees as her priority.

PAM BONDI (R), U.S. Attorney General Nominee: My overriding objective will be to return the Department of Justice to its core mission of keeping Americans safe and vigorously prosecuting criminals.

LISA DESJARDINS: Now, she declined to answer questions specifically about would she prosecute people like Jack Smith, the current special counsel who Donald Trump has spoken against?

She said it's a hypothetical, but she did say she would follow the rule of law.

AMNA NAWAZ: How did she answer questions about keeping herself independent from president-elect Trump, also keeping her agency independent from him?

LISA DESJARDINS: This was absolutely the focus for Democrats.

They referenced the fact that Trump dismissed his first attorney general, who refused to go along with his request, his demand that he intervene in an investigation on his behalf.

So Bondi was asked by Democratic Senator Chris Coons, who is your client?

PAM BONDI: The people of America would be my client.

And it is also my job to advise the president.

My client is the -- are the people of America.

SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): Is president-elect Trump eligible to run for another term as president in 2028?

PAM BONDI: No, Senator, not unless they change the Constitution.

LISA DESJARDINS: That was really her primary area of disagreement with Trump.

She didn't really talk about the independence of the agency very much.

She kept saying she would follow the law.

She would not answer a question over a hypothetical illegal order from Trump.

She said she didn't expect one, again, that she would follow the rule of law.

AMNA NAWAZ: What about specific issues that deal with that rule of law, things around January 6, also this issue of the potential targeting of Mr. Trump's political opponents?

LISA DESJARDINS: Yes, she was asked especially about Trump's nominee for the FBI director, Kash Patel, who has, in a memoir, listed people, he says, who are, what is his wording, deep state members of the government.

Bondi did two things.

Notably, she defended Kash Patel and she said she doesn't think that's an enemies list.

And she did say there will be no enemies list at the DOJ if she is confirmed.

Now, she, of course, has been herself involved in raising claims of election fraud, that, of course, unproven.

She was an election denier about 2020.

She was asked about the question, did Donald Trump lose the 2020 election?

Here's her answer.

PAM BONDI: President Biden is the president of the United States.

He was duly sworn in and he is the president of the United States.

There was a peaceful transition of power.

President Trump left office and was overwhelmingly elected in 2024.

LISA DESJARDINS: OK, so, notice that answer.

I know we have been over this ground.

A lot of Americans are tired of it, but it's important because of the job she is about to undertake if confirmed.

Democrats pointed out she did not say that Biden won or that Trump lost and said she said only that Trump won this time.

AMNA NAWAZ: Right.

LISA DESJARDINS: So, Democrats push back and they say this raises important questions about her independence and her own potential bias, as we sit now.

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): You have to be able to say no to the president of the United States.

You have to speak truth to power.

You have to be able to say that Donald Trump lost the 2020 election.

LISA DESJARDINS: Now, you will notice she is actually on track.

If you look at the hearing room, I took a couple of photos of it, it really was not as well attended as I expected.

I think all of these nominees at once have taken some pressure off their big nominations like this.

Right now, she had a very good day all in all.

She is on track to be confirmed.

AMNA NAWAZ: You were keeping an eye on another here that unfolded today as well, that for energy secretary nominee Chris Wright.

What did we learn?

LISA DESJARDINS: Right.

Let's talk about him.

He is an energy executive known especially for fracking and really kind of pioneering that industry.

In the past, he has said that there is no climate crisis.

But, today, Amna, he told senators that climate change is real and he agreed that it is manmade.

So there's a lot of question marks about where he really stands on that issue.

AMNA NAWAZ: All right, our Lisa Desjardins, thank you so much.

LISA DESJARDINS: You're welcome.

AMNA NAWAZ: Meanwhile, president-elect Trump's nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought, also faced difficult questions on the Hill today.

Appearing before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, he was pressed about the administration's plans to shrink spending and exert greater power over government agencies.

GEOFF BENNETT: Mr. Vought previously led the office for part of Mr. Trump's first term.

He's also a co-author of Project 2025.

That's the controversial Heritage Foundation blueprint for a second Trump administration.

Our White House correspondent, Laura Barron-Lopez, joins us now for more on that hearing.

So, Laura, remind us of who Russell Vought is and what the OMB does across the federal government.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: The head of the Office of Management and Budget, Geoff, is not usually a household name, but it is an incredibly important position in the White House.

And the head of the OMB oversees spending and can review all regulations across agencies that agencies write, is in charge of the president's budget policy, and is often involved in Hill negotiations.

Now, when it comes to Russell Vought, Vought served in this role, as you noted, Geoff, during the first Trump administration.

And he wrote a Project 2025 chapter specifically on transforming the presidency and expanding its powers.

And in the time between the first Trump administration and now this incoming one, he was head of a conservative think tank Center for Renewing America.

And at that think tank, he drafted hundreds of potential executive orders and memos in preparation for a second Trump administration.

GEOFF BENNETT: And you were, of course, tracking his confirmation hearing today.

What stood out to you?

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Geoff, the Republican senators welcomed this nomination, focusing more their questions on how OMB and the Trump administration would slash what they consider wasteful spending.

But Democrats pressed Vought on his track record.

When he was OMB director during the first administration, under his leadership, the Budget Office delayed disaster relief to Puerto Rico.

And it also withheld funds appropriated by Congress for Ukraine.

And so at the heart of those questions from Democrats is what's known as impoundment authority, Geoff.

And Vought said that he believes that impoundment authority is unconstitutional.

Now, what is that?

Under the law, the president is forbidden from clawing back, from declining to spend funds that are appropriated by Congress for government agencies.

But Vought made clear he thinks it's unconstitutional and that the president, the incoming president, thinks it's unconstitutional.

And that could very well -- they would test the limits of it and draw a court challenge.

He was also repeatedly asked about his support of replacing career civil servants across agencies and firing them and replacing them with political appointees who would put President Trump first.

SEN. ELISSA SLOTKIN (D-MI): Do you believe that intelligence agencies and law enforcement agencies need more political appointees to keep kind of management at those agencies?

RUSSELL VOUGHT, Office of Management and Budget Director Nominee: Again, I'm not going to speak on behalf of a specific proposal that the president has not made.

SEN. ELISSA SLOTKIN: But what's your view?

Would you support a proposal?

I'm just asking.

You want the job.

You want it back.

Would you support a proposal to put more political appointees to oversee the activities of American law enforcement at the federal level and American intelligence community?

RUSSELL VOUGHT: Again, the president hasn't spoken to that matter, to my knowledge.

And I'm not here on behalf of my own personal views.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Now, the facts are, Geoff, that Vought, as well as Trump, throughout the campaign cycle talked about reinstituting Schedule F, which is an executive order that would allow for the replacement of civil servants, essentially firing a number of civil servants, as many as 50,000, and replacing them with political appointees.

And that's expected to be at the top of their agenda when they take the Oval Office.

But, ultimately, Geoff, Russell Vought is expected to be confirmed, and he's unlikely to face any resistance from Republican senators.

GEOFF BENNETT: And he stands to be highly influential in a second Trump administration.

Has he said what he wants to do in this role?

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Today, he tried to create some distance between his past comments, Geoff, and what his think tank proposed versus Donald Trump's agenda.

But Vought stands to be highly influential and expand the Budget Office.

Specifically, he has talked about the fact that he believes the president can slash spending programs without Congress.

He has drafted plans to use military during times of civil unrest.

He believes that the president can assert more control over the Justice Department.

And Vought also supports stripping federal workers of protections.

And as for agencies' abilities to remain independent, Vought has previously said that he wants to destroy any notion of independence across agencies.

RUSSELL VOUGHT: We have to solve the woke and the weaponized bureaucracy and have the president take control of the executive branch.

So my belief for anyone who wants to listen is that you have to -- the president has to move executively as fast and as aggressively as possible with a radical constitutional perspective to be able to dismantle that bureaucracy and their power centers.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Big picture, Geoff, Russell Vought will be at the center of any of Donald Trump's plans to gut the federal work force or to challenge Congress' power of the purse strings.

GEOFF BENNETT: A jam-packed day of confirmation hearings.

Laura Barron-Lopez, our thanks to you.

LAURA BARRON-LOPEZ: Thank you.

GEOFF BENNETT: And that is the "News Hour" for tonight.

I'm Geoff Bennett.

AMNA NAWAZ: And I'm Amna Nawaz.

On behalf of the entire "News Hour" team, thank you for joining us.