🤫 Biden's "powerful" step

Plus: Who's Googling "Russia" | Tuesday, February 22, 2022

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Facebook   Axios Sneak Peek By the Axios Politics team ·Feb 22, 2022 Welcome back to Sneak. The Ukraine situation entered a new phase. Smart Brevity™ count: 1,075 words ... 4 minutes. Edited by Glen Johnson.     1 big thing: Biden's "powerful first step" Friends and family attend the funeral of Ukrainian Army Capt. Anton Olegovich Sidorov today. He reportedly died from shrapnel wounds after shelling by separatists in eastern Ukraine. Photo: Chris McGrath/Getty Images   Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sees President Biden's announcement of tougher sanctions against Russia as "a powerful first step" — though he's not starry-eyed about them changing Vladimir Putin's calculus, people close to Zelensky tell Axios' Jonathan Swan and Zachary Basu. Why it matters: Zelensky has previously criticized Biden for being too soft on the Russian president. This included an extraordinary interview with Axios in June that infuriated the administration and strained the bilateral relationship. But a source close to the Ukrainian president branded the sanctions Biden announced today "a powerful first step" — especially with the U.S. signaling it will drastically ratchet up the pressure if Putin escalates. "There'll be a huge economic catastrophe for Russia as he goes forward," the source said. Behind the scenes: For the moment, at least, Zelensky and his team say he's not considering relocating from the capital Kyiv to Lviv, in western Ukraine, to protect himself against a potentially catastrophic Russian invasion. "The president will not be running away from his own capital," the source close to Zelensky said. But the mood in Kyiv is "much more nervous than it was even 48 hours ago," the source said. "So far ... [there's] still hope that the worst can be averted, but it's much more nervous than it was a day or two ago." Keep reading. 🇷🇺 Go deeper: The speech Putin gave yesterday laid out his views about why Russia has claims in Ukraine — and why Biden felt he needed to be sanctioned in response. Read the speech here in a transcript provided by the Kremlin.     2. Scattered Congress weighs in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi first bumps with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz over the weekend in Munich. Photo: Sven Hoppe/Pool/AFP via Getty Images   Written statements supplanted hallway interviews today, as members of Congress reacted to Russia's invasion of Ukraine while scattered across the country and around the world, Axios' Sophia Cai and Andrew Solender write. Why it matters: The Senate began its recess last week without taking action on a package of proposed Russian sanctions. Now, the House and Senate are effectively consigned to watching and waiting for the next steps taken by Putin and Biden. National Security Council staff briefed congressional leadership and relevant committee staff on the sanctions Biden announced during a White House speech today, a person familiar with the briefing told Axios. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has requested an all-senators briefing at some point, a spokesperson for Schumer says. What they're saying: Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner (D-Va.) — upon return from a trip to London and the Munich Security Conference — called the sanctions "a good step." He added, "We must be prepared to impose additional costs on Putin if he carries through on his threats to further invade Ukraine." Last night, two key Senate Foreign Relations Committee members — Chairman Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) — called for the U.S. to impose "crushing sanctions" and "significant costs" on Russia, respectively. Their comments came shortly after a Biden administration official had touched off a controversy by telling reporters, "Russian troops moving into Donbas would not be a new step." Biden and his aides reversed course today. Keep reading.     3. Charted: America also tunes in Data: Google Trends; Chart: Will Chase/Axios Russia's talk of invading Ukraine has now captured America's attention, although residents in some congressional districts are paying closer attention than others, according to new Google Trends data and analysis reviewed by Axios' Stef Kight. Why it matters: Some Republicans criticized the president today for not taking stronger actions. Some Democrats have largely supported his focus on diplomacy. It's unclear how much the issue will affect the midterms in November — but right now, interest among potential voters is growing. By the numbers: Nationwide, searches for the "MOEX Russia Index" increased +4,900% in the past day, and use of the terms "russia ukraine news latest update" increased +1,750% over the past week, Google Trends' Simon Rogers notes in his Tuesday newsletter. Congressional districts encompassing Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Buffalo, New York, saw high interest in the search term "Russia" earlier than most other districts. During the past week, "Russia" made up the greatest percentage of Google searches in the newly drawn district for Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.), whose territory includes Monterey, California. The Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, as well as other military bases and communities in other high-ranking areas could explain the interest in some districts. Keep reading.     A message from Facebook We're making investments in safety and security — and seeing results     Facebook has invested $13 billion over the last 5 years to help keep you safe. Since July, we've taken action on: 34.7M pieces of explicit adult content. 26.6M pieces of violent and graphic content. 9.8M pieces of terrorism-related content. See how we're working to help you connect safely.     4. Worthy of your time President Biden multitasks today by attending a virtual meeting focused on securing critical mineral supply chains. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images   🏛️ The president has interviewed at least three Supreme Court contenders as his end-of-month deadline approaches, The Washington Post reported. (subscription) "We're close," Cedric L. Richmond, the director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, was quoted as saying, Axios' Andrew Solender reports in tonight's Sneak roundup. ⚖️ Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell broke with GOP senators who've criticized Biden for pledging to nominate a Black woman to the high court, saying he "did not think that was inappropriate," and citing similar pledges from Presidents Reagan and Trump to appoint women. "I'm not complaining about that," McConnell said during an event in Kentucky. "I guarantee you she will be respectfully vetted with the kind of process I think you can be proud of." 🇺🇸 Former President Trump said during a radio interview that Russian President Vladimir Putin was "genius" to recognize the two breakaway "republics" in eastern Ukraine. "So, Putin is now saying, 'It's independent,' a large section of Ukraine. I said, 'How smart is that?' And he's gonna go in and be a peacekeeper. ... We could use that on our southern border," Trump said. 🎤 The House Administration Committee will hold a hearing about congressional staff unionization after the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights said in a letter it does "not see the need for any technical changes" to existing regulations for staffers to organize. Rep Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), the committee chair, said in a statement the hearing aims to "move the House forward on recognizing Congressional workers' right to organize." 🗳️ As Axios Twin Cities teased this morning, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz scheduled the special election to fill the remainder of deceased Rep. Jim Hagedorn's (R-Minn.) term for Aug. 9 — the same day voters are set to choose the nominees for the November general election. The district has been trending Republican but remains fairly competitive, with Hagedorn winning by just 3 points in 2020, meaning the election could serve as an early bellwether for the midterms.     5. Tweets du jour Via Twitter   The verified Twitter account used by jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posted a thread today lashing out at Russian President Vladimir Putin. Read all 16 tweets here.     A message from Facebook We're making investments in safety and security — and seeing results     Facebook has invested $13 billion over the last 5 years to help keep you safe. Since July, we've taken action on: 34.7M pieces of explicit adult content. 26.6M pieces of violent and graphic content. 9.8M pieces of terrorism-related content. See how we're working to help you connect safely.   📬 Thanks for getting back in the workweek groove with us! Please tell others they can subscribe to Sneak or any of Axios' other free local and national newsletters through this link. Like this email style and format? Bring the strength of Smart Brevity® to your team — more effective communications, powered by Axios HQ.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. 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