President Biden makes a big decision with just weeks left in office, and with Republicans set to take power, a funding fight reveals potential cracks in the GOP.

It is a perfect time for a Politics Monday duo.

That's Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter and Tamara Keith of NPR.

Welcome to you both. Thank you. Thank you. to you both. Tam, sorry we couldn't have you

sitting here with us. But starting with you, Tam, I mean, Biden is near the end of his term.

As he has with his entire political career, he's been going all out on this legal front. The commutations we saw today,

following thousands of others before that, pushing a lot of judges through to confirmation.

How much of this is just normal end of term, end of political career tidying up, and how much of

this is eyeing the incoming administration?

Well, certainly President Biden was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee for a significant

part of his career. And he, as soon as he came into office, had his eye on these judicial

positions. When President Trump was in office,

he set a near record with the number of nominees that he was able to get to confirm to lifetime

positions. And that really shaped the court and in a way helped shape the Biden presidency because

there were times where policies he wanted came up against

Trump appointed judges. Well, now Biden has beaten Trump's number of these lifetime appointments,

and those nominees, those appointments, those judges will then shape the legal opinions that go forward, the legal opinions that will affect the Trump presidency, at least partially.

As far as the pardons and commutations, the announcement today is essentially Biden trying to do criminal justice reform to change federal policy by way of the power that he

does have, which is that power of partons and commutations.

Right.

I mean, Amy, what do you make of all of this activity?

In the power that he wanted to have through the legislative process, right?

...