With help from Nicholas Wu RUSSIA ROCKS UKRAINE — There's no more "if" or "when" about an all-out assault by Russia on Ukraine. It has arrived. Explosions hit Kyiv soon after Putin's declaration of war at 5:45 a.m. Moscow time (which came simultaneous to a United Nations Security Council meeting in New York, where Western nations pleaded for Russia to deescalate). POLITICO's Sergei Kuznetsov said: "Several huge explosions were heard in Kyiv, in the district where I'm living, a few minutes ago." He said the blasts appeared to be coming from Boryspil airport, the country's largest. Our colleagues at POLITICO Europe have some close-up reporting. Dispatches from Ukraine: On Eve of War, No Exodus From Ukraine, Only Anxiety and Disbelief, from The New York Times, Russia Attacks Ukraine, Drawing Broad Condemnation, from The Wall Street Journal STATESIDE RESPONSE— The House and Senate will both receive briefings today on the latest developments in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, calls that were planned before the overnight escalation. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen are set to brief all Senators at 5 p.m. and House members at 6:30 p.m. The calls are unclassified, so information will be limited. But expect more briefings and administration officials to be on the Hill next week to bring Congress up to speed. President Joe Biden plans to meet with G-7 leaders early today and announce "further consequences the United States and our Allies and partners will impose on Russia" for what he called a "needless act of aggression against Ukraine and global peace and security." After a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Biden said "We will continue to provide support and assistance to Ukraine and the Ukrainian people." Congress weighs in: Lawmaker statements and responses to Russian action came fast and strong – Myah Ward has a good roundup. Republicans and Democrats called for swift "crushing economic sanctions." Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said the U.S. "must cut off Putin and his cronies from the global economy," and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said the Biden administration must end "Europe's dependence on Russian oil for good." Sen. Mitt Romney's (R-Utah) criticism was aimed at all corners: Biden, Trump and even Obama. But he saved his harshest comments for Putin: "Putin's Ukraine invasion is the first time in 80 years that a great power has moved to conquer a sovereign nation. It is without justification, without provocation and without honor," he said. |
GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Thursday, February 24.
HUDDLE TRIVIA LIVE: THE WINNERS CIRCLE — Thanks to all who played in the inaugural Huddle Trivia Live last night! There were dogs, drinks, about a 100 people and some absolute stumper questions. Now for the winners (drumroll, please)... Best Team Name goes to Dear Wise Staffers, with an honorable mention for Illegitimate Discourse (IYKYK). Splashy and topical, just how we like it. The winning team, with an impressive 23 correct answers out of 24, was Waiting for Giroux! (Thanks to the eagle-eyed players who spotted a misidentified district in one round, helping us make sure the final tallies were correct.) Here is where the rest of the teams stood: Dear Wise Staffers (20), Steny and the Jets (18), Continuing Resolutionaries (16), Slutty Green M&Ms (16), Chair of the Committee on Trivia (16), Minion Caucus (16), 1,000 Points of Order (15), Camp David Changing Two-Drink Solutions (15) IronPodiField (14), Don't Look Dr. Upp (14), V for Victory (12), The Iron Maidens (12), Team Malinowski (12), WHPA Whippers (11), 302B's (11), Divisible Questions (11), APAN (10), HVAC 1 (10), Illegitimate Discourse (9), HVAC 2 (9), Silas (7), Sinema Paradiso (6), Barracks Row Backbenchers (6), Capitol Lounge Historical Society (6), The Buoys (6), Miller Fine Gold (6) WHAT 'BIDEN REPORTS' FORESHADOW FOR SCOTUS — President Joe Biden wrote a law in 1990 that required judges to submit data on the pending civil actions in their courts, to promote transparency, expediency and cost savings. If he's applying those principles to his SCOTUS search there could be a clear frontrunner. South Carolina District Court Judge J. Michelle Childs has a cleaner "Biden report" than former D.C. District Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's, reports Burgess and Laura Barrón-López. They crunched the numbers and found that over an eight-year period, Childs Had an average of zero motions pending for more than six months and an average of two civil cases pending for more than three years. Over the same period, Jackson had an average of 12 motions pending for more than six months and an average of 11 civil cases pending for more than three years. More on what the data shows from Burgess and Laura Barrón-López. BETWEEN THE LINES — "Judges in Pennsylvania and North Carolina handed down new congressional maps on Wednesday that will affect the layout of 31 congressional seats, finalizing district lines in one state and inching closer to resolution in the other. In Pennsylvania, the state Supreme Court adopted a map that made few changes to the current districts but erased one Republican-held seat, while in North Carolina, a panel of judges adopted a map drawn by a special master that would likely split the congressional delegation evenly, a big boost for Democrats, who currently hold five out of 13 seats," report Ally Mutnick, Elena Schneider and Andrew McGill. GETTING READY — Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) caught up with Nicholas to talk about security preparations at the Capitol ahead of the State of the Union and potential trucker convoy protests. She'd just finished an hourlong phone briefing with Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger, and she explained that authorities felt ready. "It looks like they have learned from Canada and that they feel more confident because they've had time to prepare," she said. "What was important to know was that all of our police forces are coordinating together." While it's not entirely clear how large the protests could be, authorities were gearing up. The National Guard announced later Wednesday that as many as 700 National Guard personnel would be assisting local law enforcement in an unarmed capacity ahead of the protests. The roughly 300 National Guard personnel assisting the Capitol Police were coming from the Vermont Army National Guard, New Jersey National Guard, and the West Virginia National Guard, and about 400 D.C. National Guard personnel would assist the Metropolitan Police Department. |
Mark your calendars… The Committee on House Administration announced a hearing next Wednesday at 2 p.m. titled: "Oversight of Section 220 of the Congressional Accountability Act: Implementing the Rights of Congressional Staff to Collectively Bargain."
Survey-palooza… Staffer groups on Capitol Hill want to hear from their members. From workplace climate to what to spend dues on, leaders are looking for feedback. The Congressional Black Associates executive board is holding a discussion at noon today about the group's recent survey results. And a joint survey from three Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander staffer groups is live now. Congressional Asian Pacific American Staff Association, Congressional South Asian American Staff Association, and Congressional Korean American Staff Association are also holding office hours to allow members to share feedback and ask questions. Stay tuned for the official Congressional Climate Survey that the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights will be sending out . Results are used to "assess the congressional workplace climate, including incidents of harassment and discrimination." OCWR reminds staffers that participation is voluntary, and all responses will be "completely anonymous and confidential." But also… brunch. Senate Black Legislative Staff Caucus is holding a brunch this weekend. Blizzard time… Temperatures in the teens in Iowa yesterday didn't keep Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) from some Windsor Heights Dairy Queen u kno what. But really, he got a Blizzard. If I Had A Hammer…Who among us doesn't need a little help finding what you need at Home Depot? Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Okla.) suited up to stop by the big orange box store and shake some hands. There's an app for that… A staffer created an app called CNCT to bolster the lagging networking scene on Capitol Hill. Jim Saksa from CQ Roll Call was at the launch. The new app sent your Huddle host down memory lane… before Dear White Staffers or CNCT there was Cloakroom, an app that launched in 2015 and allowed Hill denizens to post anonymously, yielding some spicy posts. QUICK LINKS Courting G.O.P.'s Mainstream and Extreme, McCarthy Plots Rise to Speaker, from The New York Times Opinion | How a Capitol Hill Union Might Start to Fix Congress, from Winslow T. Wheeler in POLITICO Magazine An $80,000 surprise bill points to a loophole in a new law to protect patients, from NPR Lawmakers Press Garland on Access to Documents for Public, Congress, from The Wall Street Journal TRANSITIONS Emma Trittin has been promoted to be operations director for Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.). She most recently was a staff assistant for Murphy. Huntley Campbell is now scheduler/press aide for Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.). He was most recently a researcher at Brigham Young University. Alexandra McPhee is now director of government relations at Concerned Women for America. She previously was legislative counsel for Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.). TODAY IN CONGRESS The House and Senate are out. AROUND THE HILL It's quiet on the Hill. |
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