Daily Digest: Inauguration Day edition

Good morning and welcome to Friday. The Obama administration comes to a close and the Trump administration begins at 11 a.m. Minnesota time. We will have live coverage of the inauguration beginning at 9 a.m. on the radio and online and I hope you can tune in. Until then, let's check the Digest:

1. It will be a day of celebrations and protests. The race for president in Minnesota was extraordinarily close. Those who supported Donald Trump now have clear expectations for what they want him to do. Those expectations run the gamut from billionaires to plumbers to daycare owners. They're looking for less government, a stronger economy, tighter rules on immigration, better health care, a different tax system and more manufacturing jobs. Some of the new president's opponents say it'll be difficult to fulfill that agenda and voters may be feeling buyers' remorse by next year. (MPR News)

2. Minnesota's U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken could play key roles in minority Democrats’ effort to push back against Republican proposals over the next few years. In cases where Republicans propose measures Democrats broadly oppose, Klobuchar says the Senate can be an “emergency brake” on bad policy. But on issues Trump has discussed including lowering prescription drug prices, rebuilding roads and bridges, and even appointing a new Supreme Court justice, the two Minnesota Democrats say they might be willing to work with the new president. (MPR News)

3. The Republican-led Minnesota House approved its version of a health care relief package Thursday night by a 73-54 vote. It  mixes hundreds of millions of dollars of health insurance rebates with some changes aimed at expanding coverage networks, particularly in greater Minnesota. Now the negotiations involving the House, Senate and DFL Gov. Mark Dayton's administration can begin. (MPR News)

4. Donald Trump's Treasury secretary nominee, Steven Mnuchin, faced tough questions Thursday from Democratic senators concerned about him profiting off homeowners who lost their homes during the housing crisis. Oregon Democrat Ron Wyden, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, called his practices "predatory," saying the bank foreclosed on 35,000 homeowners.  Mnuchin said he welcomed the opportunity to set the record straight.  He said in many cases where loan modifications were not possible, it was because of  rules that did not give him the flexibility to do so. As Treasury secretary, he said, he would work to change some of those rules. (NPR)

5. On the eve of his inauguration the president-elect spoke from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. "We all got tired of seeing what was happening and we wanted change, but we wanted real change,” Trump said. “It’s a movement like we’ve never seen anywhere in the world, they say.” Speaking to thousands of supporters at the end of an evening concert, Trump said, “We’re going to work together, and we are going to make America great again — and, I’ll add, greater than ever before.” (Washington Post)

6. Finally, it's worth taking a minute today to read these letters from the outgoing occupant of the Oval Office to the incoming. We are all in this together, after all. (ABC News)

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