With an assist from Andrew Desiderio TRAINED ON UKRAINE — Some members of Congress spent the weekend on the Poland-Ukraine border, others heard Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's pleas for help over Zoom. This week they'll vote on just how much aid to provide. Latest letter: Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced in a Dear Colleague letter last night that the House is "exploring" legislation that would ban Russian oil imports, end trade relations with Russia and Belarus and curtail Russia's access to the World Trade Organization. It would also authorize the White House to hike tariffs on Russian imports. As domestic angst about skyrocketing gas prices grows, Pelosi pointed to the 60 million barrels of oil released from the U.S. strategic reserves in an effort to stabilize the market. "The Administration and the Congress remain laser-focused on bringing down the higher energy costs for American families and our partners stemming from Putin's invasion," wrote Pelosi. Angling for aid: This is all on top of action expected in the coming days on the $10 billion in emergency aid for Ukraine requested by the White House late last week. The aid will be wrapped into the larger $1.5 trillion omnibus spending package that needs to pass both chambers by Friday — when current funding runs dry — in order to avert a government shutdown. It won't all be smooth sailing for the White House's requests. Senate Republicans have balked at the administration's request for Covid aid and some are willing to slow down the omnibus package in order to get an accounting of how previous Covid funding was spent. Others want Ukraine aid to be divorced from the larger funding package -- but both Republican and Democratic leaders are on board with tying them together. |
| HAPPENING TUESDAY, INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY, AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION ON THE WOMEN IN AFGHANISTAN: Join Women Rule editor Elizabeth Ralph for a panel discussion on the future for Afghan women. Guests include Hawa Haidari, a member of the Female Tactical Platoon; Cindy McCain, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture; Roya Rahmani, Afghanistan's first female ambassador to the U.S.; and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.). Learn how female Afghan veterans are planning their futures, what the women still in Afghanistan face, and what the U.S. can do to help. REGISTER HERE. |
GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Monday, March 7, where constantly-clammy season is back in full force.
THE SOUND OF GREENE AND GOSAR — How do you solve a problem like extremism within your ranks? How do you make them stay (in line)? And listen to all you say? That's House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's problem with Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.). He promised to speak to the pair after they spoke at a recent white nationalist event, but hasn't yet, reports Olivia. What leverage does he have anyway? They've already been stripped of committee assignments and there's not an appetite for censure. He can't just say so long, farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, goodbye. More from Olivia: 'Pretty far down on the list': Why Greene and Gosar are McCarthy's unsolvable problem ON THE GROUND — A bipartisan delegation of Democrats and Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee went to the Poland-Ukraine border over the weekend where the group met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, U.S. Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski, Ukrainian activists, a team from the U.S. Agency for International Development and American military members who have been deployed to Poland. The delegation was led by HFAC Chair Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) and ranking member Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) along with Reps. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), Ann Wagner (R-Mo.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Susan Wild (D-Pa.), and Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.). The group also saw border crossing and refugee admittance up close and shared their journeys – here are snapshots from Cicilline and Meeks. ZELENSKYY HOUR — Around 300 lawmakers hopped on a Zoom call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday morning where they had an opportunity to hear from him for the first time since Russia invaded his country. An emotional Zelenskyy — who warned lawmakers it might be the last time they see him alive — pleaded with the West for the establishment of a no-fly zone, additional military aid including planes, and a ban on Russian oil imports, Andrew reports . While Congress is gearing up to send $10 billion in additional aid this week and support is growing for an oil ban, there's absolutely no appetite among Western nations for a no-fly zone, which would put the U.S. and Russia directly at war. "This will become Europe's problem" if the U.S. and NATO countries don't do more, Zelenskyy told the lawmakers, according to two participants on the call. He cited the 15 nuclear plants in Ukraine and said that a continuation of the war could cause a nuclear disaster with ramifications for the entire continent. Later, Zelenskyy said U.S. sanctions should hit ordinary Russians, too, since Ukrainian citizens are suffering as well. He specifically pushed for an end to Visa and Mastercard services in Russia; both companies announced a suspension later in the day. A HISTORIC SHIFT — Germany's seismic about-face on Russia and Ukraine was fueled in part by a full-court press from U.S. lawmakers, Andrew reports in a team effort with our colleagues in Europe . In particular, a Feb. 7 dinner in D.C. with Chancellor Olaf Scholz and a bipartisan group of senators crystallized the U.S.'s belief that Germany was serious about ending its decades-long rapprochement toward Moscow. "Everywhere they turned, they found somebody reminding them they weren't stepping up," one senator who attended the dinner said. The dinner instilled a striking level of confidence in lawmakers that Germany would follow through on its commitments to exact tough punishments on Russia if it invaded Ukraine. "He absolutely delivered," added Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who also attended. Don't miss the deep dive from Matthew Karnitschnig, Hans von der Burchard, Florian Eder, and Andrew in POLITICO Europe. A CALL FOR TRANSPARENCY — Key public documents related to ethics, lawmakers' legal defense funds and documents lawmakers are *supposed* to file when in negotiations for jobs after Congress have all been available only by personal escort by a member of Congress' office. (And during the pandemic, access was restricted even further.) A bipartisan coalition of 36 organizations led by Demand Progress is calling on the Committee on House Administration to direct the House Clerk to examine making these public documents available online. Read the letter. |
Traffic report… Convoy clog ahead. House Sergeant-at-Arms William J. Walker and Chief Administrative Officer Catherine L. Szpindor warned House employees over the weekend about how the trucker convoy intent on blocking the beltway could impact the Capitol. They warned members and staff against driving and instead told them to consider telework and public transit -- trains, not buses -- this week. "Members and staff that choose to drive should account for lengthy delays and consider several alternate driving routes to the Capitol campus," they wrote in a Sunday memo.
Extraordinary circumstances… The Committee on House Administration has determined that the convoy constitutes "extraordinary circumstances" that could allow official funds to be used for short-term lodging expenses for members and staff if their presence on the Hill is essential and no public transit option exists. But don't rack up a bill just yet: "Employees should consult with their House Office before incurring these expenses to ensure they meet the requirements." But the scene over the weekend seemed less than dire, many reports said the convoy got itself stuck… in regular old beltway traffic. Exhausted intern, daughter, grandaughter… Those were the guesses people on the internet had about who Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) was when she appeared on the Zoom call with Zelenskyy alongside Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. (They were both in Alabama for a civil rights pilgrimage.) "It's 2022. If you see a young woman at an event with only Members of Congress, best to assume she's also a Member of Congress," she tweeted back. QUICK LINKS K Street was fine taking Russian cash — until it couldn't, from Hailey Fuchs Republican 'unforced errors' threaten path to Senate control, from The AP The bride wore fatigues. The wedding party carried rifles and RPGs., from The Washington Post in Kyiv. GOP's Victoria Spartz, Born in Ukraine, Aims to Step Up U.S. Response to Russia, from Eliza Collins and Natalie Andrews at The Wall Street Journal Why Did Mark Meadows Register to Vote at an Address Where He Did Not Reside? by Charles Bethea at The New Yorker |
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