• Daniel Pinto will step down as president and CEO of JPMorgan in June and retire at the end of 2026.
• The JPMorgan veteran has long been CEO Jamie Dimon's stand-in in case of an emergency.
• Jennifer Piepszak has been promoted to COO but doesn't want the CEO role.

Daniel Pinto, long the JPMorgan Chase executive who would stand in for Jamie Dimon as CEO in the event of an emergency, will be stepping down as a top lieutenant.

Pinto, who has been referred to by Dimon as his "hit-by-the-bus" executive, will be stepping down as president and chief operating officer in June and retiring at the end of 2026, the bank said in a press release. His COO replacement, Jennifer Piepszak, currently cochief executive officer of JPMorgan's commercial and investment bank, said she doesn't want the CEO role.

"Jenn has made clear her preference for a senior operating role working closely with Jamie and in support of the top leadership team going forward and does not want to be considered for the CEO position at this time," bank spokesman Joseph Evangelisti said.

"She is deeply committed to the future of the firm and our people and wants to help the company in any way she can," Evangelisti added.

The moves could rekindle speculation and guessing over who will ultimately succeed Dimon, who turns 69 in March. At the bank's investor day last May, Dimon abandoned his usual answer to the succession question to say that his timeline was "not five years anymore." He has led the bank, America's biggest and most influential, since January 2006.

Piepszak will be succeeded at the commercial and investment bank by Doug Petno, currently co-head of global banking, the bank announced on Tuesday. Troy Rohrbaugh, the other coCEO of the commercial and investment bank, had been promoted to the post in a reshuffle a year ago.

Rohrbaugh has been seen as a potential candidate to succeed Dimon, as has Marianne Lake, who remains chief executive of consumer and community banking at JPMorgan.

In other moves announced on Tuesday, John Simmons, head of commercial banking, will succeed Petno. He will team up with Filippo Gori as coheads of global banking.

Pinto, 63, will remain on through the end of 2026 to help with the transition to Piepszak.

In the press release, Dimon called Pinto "a first-class person who I am proud to call a friend, and he has made a truly significant impact on our company for more than 40 years. I'm thrilled he will continue to support and advise us."

• Southwest Airlines is cutting costs.
• It's pausing corporate hiring, summer internships, and a team-building tradition.
• The move comes after a dispute with the activist firm Elliott Investment Management.

Southwest Airlines is pausing corporate hiring to cut costs, a company spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider.

The spokesperson said the airline was "pausing all noncontract internal and external hiring."

It's also pausing summer internships. Southwest said it would honor all internship offers already made but would not make new offers.

CNBC first reported the news, citing a memo from CEO Bob Jordan.

"Every single dollar matters as we continue to fight to return to excellent financial performance," he told staffers in the memo.

Southwest said it was also cutting noncore spending, including its staff rallies.

"We are limiting discretionary costs, including holding on the Southwest Rallies for this year, as we focus on reducing costs," the spokesperson told BI.

Southwest Rallies, where senior leaders lay out plans for the year and celebrate accomplishments with staff, have been a team-building tradition since 1985.

"We'll continue to evaluate hiring needs on an ongoing basis to determine when it makes sense for the business to resume hiring," the spokesperson added.

Southwest continues to face pressure from investors over poor financial performance.

The activist fund Elliott Investment Management has been the most prominent voice; in 2024 it called for the airline to replace its CEO and review its business model.

Last July, Southwest said it would ditch its open-seating model and offer some premium-seating options — a departure from its no-frills offering that inspired the budget-airline model.

In October, Southwest and Elliott reached a deal in which Jordan would remain in the top job while Elliott named six directors to the airline's board.

Southwest's stock is up by 13.7% over the past year but down by 40% over the past five years.

President-elect Trump engaged in an "unprecedented criminal effort" to overturn the results of the 2020 election, Special Counsel Jack Smith alleged in the final report of his investigation into Trump's election subversion case.

Why it matters: The report's release early Tuesday came despite Trump's legal efforts to block it, making the Justice Department's findings public less than a week before Trump's inauguration.

What they're saying: Trump lambasted the report in a Truth Social post Tuesday, claiming he was "totally innocent" and calling Smith a "lamebrain prosecutor who was unable to get his case tried before the Election."

State of play: Trump was indicted and charged with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and other counts for his purported role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and the events leading up to it.

• However, the case was dismissed in November following Trump's 2024 victory, in light of longstanding DOJ policy that a sitting president can't be prosecuted.

Here are the top takeaways from the 174-page report:

Conviction at trial

Smith remained convinced he could have convicted Trump for his alleged efforts to subvert to the 2020 election if the case had gone to trial.

• A Justice Department policy prohibiting the prosecution of a sitting president doesn't change the "gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government's proof, or the merits of the prosecution," Smith wrote.
• "But for Mr. Trump's election and imminent return to the Presidency, the Office assessed that the admissible evidence was sufficient to obtain and sustain a conviction at trial," he added.

Responsibility for Jan. 6

Smith drew a direct line from Trump's actions to the events of the Capitol riot.

• After then-Vice President Pence refused to overturn the electoral college vote count in the Senate, Trump "took aim" at Pence, targeting him in his Jan. 6 rally speech and in a social media post.
• "Taken together, these actions resulted in rioters at the Capitol on January 6 singling out Mr. Pence for their ire and chanting, 'Where is Pence? Bring Him Out!' and, 'Hang Mike Pence!'" the report said.
• Trump's words also "inspired his supporters to commit acts of physical violence" by telling them to "fight like hell" against the purported election fraud.

Trauma of law enforcement officers

The report delved into the trauma experienced by law enforcement officers responding to the breach of the Capitol on Jan. 6.

• 140 law enforcement officers were assaulted during the Capitol riot and at least 123 rioters have so far been charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon that day or causing serious bodily injury to a law enforcement officer, according to the report.
• "This violence took a lasting toll," the report stated, noting that in addition to physical injuries many officers have experienced psychological trauma and depression as a result of the insurrection.

Prosecutorial independence

In a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland attached to the report, Smith pushed back against Trump's claims the investigation was corrupt.

• "I want it to be clear that the ultimate decision to bring charges against Mr. Trump was mine," Smith wrote, adding that "nobody within the Department of Justice ever sought to interfere with, or improperly influence, my prosecutorial decision making."
• Trump's claims that Smith's decisions while leading the case were in any way "influenced or directed by" the Biden administration or other political actors is "laughable," Smith noted.

Go deeper: Jack Smith claims in Jan. 6 report: Trump would have been convicted

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Trump's pick for Defense secretary, is scheduled to appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday at 9:30am ET for his highly anticipated confirmation hearing.

The big picture: After Trump chose the former Fox News host for the key Cabinet post, Hegseth was besieged with scandals that threatened to tank his nomination — even before he faced questions from lawmakers.

Driving the news: Hegseth, a 44-year-old U.S. Army veteran, will vow to "restore the warrior ethos" at the Pentagon, per his prepared opening statement obtained by Axios.

• "It is true that I don't have a similar biography to Defense Secretaries of the last 30 years," he is expected to say, positioning himself as a "change agent."
• His opening statement continues: "But, as President Trump also told me, we've repeatedly placed people atop the Pentagon with supposedly 'the right credentials' — whether they are retired generals, academics or defense contractor executives — and where has it gotten us?"

State of play: Hegseth is expected to face pointed questions over his fitness to lead the military, over allegations of sexual misconduct, excessive drinking and financial mismanagement. He has denied the accusations.

• As the criticism mounted late last year, Trump defended Hegseth — after a prolonged silence and news of his backup plan leaked.
• Hegseth managed to survive his bout of congressional interviews and fortify his GOP support — but he'll likely face a grueling showdown with Senate Democrats on the Armed Services panel at Tuesday's hearing.

Between the lines: Hegseth's FBI background check has become a point of contention ahead of the hearing.

• Just one top Senate Democrat — Armed Services ranking member Jack Reed (D-R.I.) — has been briefed on the findings.
• The Trump transition team opposes sharing it, Axios' Hans Nichols and Stephen Neukam report.
• Democrats have pushed for the findings to be accessible by the full Senate before the hearing, given the allegations against Hegseth.

Go deeper: Trump picks historically young group of top officials

Meta and Google are expected to be the biggest beneficiaries of a U.S. TikTok ban financially, according to a new analysis from eMarketer.

Why it matters: The growth of TikTok and retail giant Amazon has put real competitive pressure on Google and Meta, which for years haveowned more than half of the U.S. advertising business.

Zoom in: If TikTok is banned, more than half of the ad dollars spent on the platform in the U.S. would go to Meta and Google-owned properties, eMarketer projects.

• Instagram and Facebook would take 22.% and 17.1% of TikTok's reallocated ad spend, respectively. Google's YouTube would take roughly 10.7%.
• Other social media platforms would also stand to benefit. Snapchat, Linkedin, Pinterest, Reddit and X would collectively take roughly 18.3% of reallocated TikTok ad spend. Some of those platforms have already begun to restructure their apps around their own TikTok-like short video products.
• Connected TV companies, or streamers, and other digital media companies across social, search and retail advertising would collect roughly 30% of reallocated ad dollars.

Zoom out: Companies like Meta and Google have invested heavily in their TikTok rival products, Reels and Shorts, positioning them well to take advantage of a possible ban.

• Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg told investors last year that Reels alone makes up more than 50% of user time spent on Instagram.
• Google said last year that over 2 billion logged-in monthly users are watching YouTube Shorts.

Of note: eMarketer expects that advertising dollars will get reallocated immediately after a ban, as marketers have had many months to figure out alternative plans.

What to watch: For now, the ban seems likely, and the Supreme Court's arguments Friday led court watchers to expect it will uphold the ban law.

• China has indicated for months that it wouldn't let ByteDance sell TikTok to a U.S. company to skirt a ban.

Yes, but: A Bloomberg report out Monday suggests Chinese officials are eyeing a possible deal to sell TikTok to Elon Musk.

• If that were the case, Musk and X would likely stand to benefit enormously from the entire saga.
• TikTok is denying the report.

Go deeper: What will happen to TikTok on Jan. 19