“Republicans clamoring to accuse President Joe Biden of slow-walking support for Ukraine don’t see a shred of comparison with Donald Trump’s impeachment for withholding aid from the very same nation,” Politico reports.
“The GOP’s refusal to acknowledge the Ukraine-related substance of the Trump impeachment as Russia bombards Zelenskyy’s nation is a case study in the hopeless partisanship of the modern Congress, and the difficulties ahead as leaders weigh more support for Ukraine.”
Washington Post: “In the weeks since the White House launched its full-court offensive on Capitol Hill to get Jackson confirmed, Republicans have struggled to land an attack on Jackson, who even the Senate GOP leader has said will probably be confirmed. Interviews with more than a dozen Republican senators, aides and advisers involved in the nomination fight make it clear that Republicans are largely pursuing their own individual strategies ahead of the hearing, with no overarching theme.”
Stacey Abrams had a cameo in the season finale of Star Trek Discovery as the president of United Earth.
Deadline has the backstory.
“I have never seen the CDC coming out, saying, ’Oh you’ve got to get your second polio shot, you gotta get your third, you gotta get your fourth.’”
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), on the House floor, apparently not realizing the CDC says polio vaccination is a four dose regimen.
“When President Biden declared to reporters on Wednesday that President Vladimir Putin of Russia was a “war criminal,” he was speaking from the heart, his aides said, reacting to the wrenching images of civilians being dragged from ruins of buildings shelled by Russian forces,” the New York Times reports.
“But he was also personalizing the conflict, in a way past presidents have avoided at moments of crisis with the United States’ leading nuclear-armed adversary for most of the past 75 years. And his remark underscored how personal condemnation has become policy.”
Washington Post: “The grotesque scene was a small glimpse of the human toll of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s assault on Ukraine. Just 25 miles from the country’s eastern border with Russia, Ukraine’s second-largest city was an early target in Moscow’s advance.”
“But failing in their attempts to enter the city for the past three weeks, Russian forces have rained down a daily shower of artillery fire, missiles and rockets, which appear to strike at random in civilian neighborhoods. The Washington Post also witnessed evidence of cluster bombs being used in the area around the main market in the city center.”
“Officials here said at least 250 civilians have died, but that is not a full toll and countless more lie buried under the rubble. It is a grim bellwether of the trajectory that could be in store for other Ukrainian cities that hold out against Russian forces.”
“The US secretary of state has poured cold water on hopes of a diplomatic settlement to the war in Ukraine, saying there were no signs Vladimir Putin was ‘prepared to stop’ Russia’s invasion of its neighbor,” the Financial Times reports.
“Antony Blinken played down expectations the warring countries would be able to come to an agreement that would see Russia withdraw its forces from Ukraine as he vowed Washington would investigate ‘war crimes’ carried out by the Russian military.”
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s (R) latest financial report reveals his wealth has grown by more than $3 million since he took office in 2019, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.
Ed Yong: “This week, Congress nixed $15 billion in coronavirus funding from a $1.5 trillion spending bill, which President Joe Biden then signed on Tuesday. The decision is catastrophic, and as the White House has noted, its consequences will unfurl quickly.”
“Next week, the government will have to cut shipments of monoclonal-antibody treatments by a third. In April, it will no longer be able to reimburse health-care providers for testing, vaccinating, or treating millions of uninsured Americans, who are disproportionately likely to be unvaccinated and infected. Come June, it won’t be able to support domestic testing manufacturers. It can’t buy extra doses of antiviral pills or infection-preventing treatments that immunocompromised people are banking on but were already struggling to get.”
“It will need to scale back its efforts to improve vaccination rates in poor countries, which increases the odds that dangerous new variants will arise. If such variants arise, they’ll likely catch the U.S. off guard, because surveillance networks will have to be scaled back too. Should people need further booster shots, the government won’t have enough for everyone.”
Bloomberg: “President Vladimir Putin can be expected to brandish threats to use nuclear weapons against the West if stiff Ukrainian resistance to Russia’s invasion continues, draining conventional manpower and equipment, according to a new assessment by the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency.”
Scott Pruitt (R), the former head of the Environmental Protection Agency, is weighing a run for an open Senate seat in Oklahoma, CBS News reports.
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) told a church assembly that he’s “open” to mounting another run for New York governor, Bloomberg reports.
“The House voted overwhelmingly Thursday to suspend normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus, preparing for President Joe Biden to enact higher tariffs on more products and further weaken the Russian economy in response to its military assault on Ukraine,” the AP reports.
President Joe Biden on Thursday called Vladimir Putin a “pure thug” and “murderous dictator,” his latest pointed attack against the Russian President as the war in Ukraine rages on, CNN reports.
“In recent weeks, the Biden administration and key Republican lawmakers have forged a rare consensus on the need for a tougher response to Russia’s war in Ukraine, advocating for providing deadlier weapons, imposing ruinous sanctions, and promoting vigorous efforts to address the worst refugee crisis in Europe since World War II,” Foreign Policy reports.
“Yet, at the same time, Republican lawmakers, including Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Roger Marshall of Kansas, have placed holds on the confirmation of several key Biden administration appointees with critical roles in addressing Ukraine’s crisis.”
“The North Carolina attorney general’s office has asked the State Bureau of Investigations to look into former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows’ voter registration in North Carolina,” WRAL reports.
“Meadows, also a former congressman for western North Carolina, is registered to vote in Macon County, at an address where he doesn’t live.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.