For six years, the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, headed the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Office of Public Witness in Washington, D.C. He had a front-row seat to the goings on in the halls of Congress and the federal government in general.

As President-Elect Joe Biden prepares to take the oath of office Wednesday, Nelson, who now serves as Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the PC(USA), says the new president will have a full plate when he steps into the Oval Office.