| | | | |  | | By Katherine Tully-McManus | | | TAKE IT DOWN A NOTCH — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) floated assassination as a solution to the Ukraine crisis last night and got quick pushback from GOP colleagues. Seeking: assassin Graham wants Russian President Vladimir Putin out of the picture, calling last night both on Fox News and on Twitter for a "Brutus" or "Colonel Stauffenberg" in the Russian military to "take this guy out." He called on the Russian people to "step up to the plate" or face "darkness for the rest of your life" and "abject poverty." Cruz counters: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) called Graham's proposal "an exceptionally bad idea." He called for the U.S. to "BOYCOTT Russian oil & gas" on top of sanctions and ramped up military aid and gave his colleague a little professional advice: "We should not be calling for the assassination of heads of state." Script flipped: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) rarely classifies as a "cooler head" in Congress, but Thursday night even she was calling for Graham to chill with the assassination rhetoric. "This is irresponsible, dangerous & unhinged," she tweeted. (Criticism she herself has faced.) "We need leaders with calm minds & steady wisdom. Not blood thirsty warmongering politicians trying to tweet tough by demanding assassinations," she said. On an island: It is hard to see how an assassination wouldn't dial things up. Earlier in the day, Graham joined with Democrats to push for an end to Russian oil imports and took selfies with Sen. Kirstin Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) at the White House to celebrate major bipartisan legislation ending forced arbitration for sexual assault. But on this, he's alone.
| | | | BECOME A GLOBAL INSIDER: The world is more connected than ever. It has never been more essential to identify, unpack and analyze important news, trends and decisions shaping our future — and we've got you covered! Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Global Insider author Ryan Heath navigates the global news maze and connects you to power players and events changing our world. Don't miss out on this influential global community. Subscribe now. | | | | | TGIF! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Friday, March 4. WELCOME BACK, BEN RAY — Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) received a standing ovation Thursday (not a common occurrence at the Senate Commerce Committee.) He returned after suffering a stroke in early February. Anthony has more on the celebratory moment and there's photo evidence of Luján looking good from CQ Roll Call's Bill Clark. WEEKEND PILGRIMAGE — House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) and Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) are heading to Alabama this weekend for a Civil Rights Pilgrimage to Birmingham's 16th Street Baptist Church, the National Memorial For Peace and Justice in Montgomery and the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma. Hoyer has attended 16 previous pilgrimages, put on by the Faith and Politics Institute, but this will be the first one since the passing of Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) and there will be special programming honoring the late civil rights icon. ONE WEEK — The invasion of Ukraine has changed the calculation for lawmakers on Capitol Hill trying to piece together a spending deal in the coming week. They were already juggling the complexity of tying the twelve annual spending bills together into one massive omnibus. But now they are negotiating additional covid aid and assistance for Ukraine that is expected to move in tandem with the huge spending package. They've got less than a week to get it done. What does the White House want? The Biden administration has asked Congress for $4.8 billion for the Pentagon, of which…
- $1.75 billion would allow the Defense Department to replace stocks of equipment and weapons that were shipped to Ukraine.
- $1.3 billion would go toward cyber operations
- $1.8 billion for the cost of deploying thousands of U.S. troops to Europe to reassure NATO countries around Russia
The request also includes $5 billion for the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development for security, humanitarian and economic assistance and smaller amounts for Treasury, Justice, Commerce and Energy.
Covid costs: There's also a request for $18.25 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services to buy vaccines, tests and therapeutics (including those highly anticipated shots for kids under 5 once they are approved.) Time is ticking: Appropriators hope to release the bill in the coming days. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer has said he wants to vote Tuesday and send it to the Senate. Both Democrats and Republicans in the Senate are holding retreats on March 9, cutting down the legislative days open for action. | | A message from Blackstone: Blackstone is dedicated to supporting our country's veterans and their families. Veterans develop a range of skills during their service, including a mission-focused approach to work, creative problem-solving, and the ability to collaborate across diverse teams. These are the same qualities that build stronger businesses, and we're committed to supporting the employment and professional development of veterans and their families within our firm, across our portfolio and through our nonprofit partnerships. See how. | | |
(NOT) PRIMING THE PUMP?— There's bipartisan support building for the U.S. to block imports of Russian oil, but the White House is wary of rises pricing at the pump for Americans. The bill is led by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who chairs the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who said Thursday that they'd take the blame for a spike in gas prices that would be likely if supply from Russia was restricted. It's more than just moderates. "Nancy Pelosi is with us, which made me wonder, 'what am I doing?'" said Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) Thursday, joking about how rare it is for them to agree. Josh Seigel has more on the proposal.
DEMS LAMENT — "'We're Zelenskyy Democrats. And they're Putin Republicans' would be my bumper sticker," Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), told Christopher Cadelago and Laura Laura Barrón-López this week. He's one of many Democrats who would like to see Biden hammering Republicans on Russia. | | |
This is a test… House-side folks, did your chief pass along the CRITICAL info sent out to the chief's list yesterday? Just in case they're withholding the good stuff: sushi, doughnuts and BBQ.
- A professional sushi chef is coming to Rayburn starting next Tuesday for made-to-order sushi that will be available each day during session.
- On Wednesdays the House is in session, keep an eye out for Mission BBQ's pop-up location in Rayburn Café.
- Next Thursday, March 10 District Doughnut and Coffee will host a pop-up in the Longworth Café beginning at 8:00 a.m.
"Stay tuned for more new campus food and drinks on the horizon," says Lisa Sherman, the House Deputy Chief Administrative Officer. Housing help… The Modernization Staff Association has compiled a list of affordable housing options in the DMV as a resource for junior staff. "Expensive housing can be a barrier to working on the Hill," they said. Check out the list . Next Monday the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute DC alumni group is hosting an informational panel event on fair and affordable housing. Fresh fodder … The comms vs. leg staff divide is a tale as old as time. No matter what either side thinks, they couldn't do each other's jobs. As proven here. | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO NATIONAL SECURITY DAILY : Keep up with the latest critical developments from Ukraine and across Europe in our daily newsletter, National Security Daily. The Russian invasion of Ukraine could disrupt the established world order and result in a refugee crisis, increased cyberattacks, rising energy costs and additional disruption to global supply chains. Go inside the top national security and foreign-policymaking shops for insight on the global threats faced by the U.S. and its allies and what actions world leaders are taking to address them. Subscribe today. | | | | |
QUICK LINKS
Republicans telegraph their attacks on Ketanji Brown Jackson, from Seung Min Kim at The Washington Post Long read:What Rashida Tlaib Represents, from Rozina Ali at New York Times Magazine If Trump Runs In 2024, Can The Republican Party Stay Neutral? Early State Leaders Say They'll Try, from Kadia Goba at BuzzFeed News Teenage son takes stand at Jan. 6 trial of father, from Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney In Greene and Boebert, Democrats See a Helpful Political Target, from Jonathan Weisman at The New York Times TRANSITIONS Tria Stallings is now state scheduler/executive assistant for Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.). She was most recently a confidential assistant in the Office of Communications and Outreach at the Department of Education. TODAY IN CONGRESS The House and Senate are out. AROUND THE HILL Looking like a quiet one. | | | | A message from Blackstone:   | | |
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THURSDAY'S WINNER: Bobby McMillin correctly answered that Wyoming had the first woman governor: Nellie Taylor Ross who took office in 1925. She was sworn in just 15 days before the first female governor from Texas, Miriam A. Ferguson.
TODAY'S QUESTION from Bobby: This former senator claimed to be the rightful governor of his home state after the governor-elect (who also happened to be his father) died after winning the election but before he could take the oath of office? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your answers to ktm@politico.com. GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone each morning. Follow Katherine on Twitter @ktullymcmanus | | A message from Blackstone: Blackstone has a longstanding commitment to supporting the professional development of our nation's veterans. For over a decade, we've led by example -- supporting employment opportunities for the veteran community by providing training and resources to help them shape meaningful, long-term careers.
Through these efforts, our portfolio companies have been able to hire exceptional veteran talent like DJ Faldowski, who joined their ranks after serving two tours each in Iraq in Afghanistan. For DJ, it was a difficult decision to leave active duty — and at times a difficult transition back to civilian life. But servicemen and servicewomen are used to adapting, and working alongside exceptional, driven colleagues to solve complex problems at Blackstone's portfolio companies has helped provide DJ with a renewed sense of service.
Today, DJ is one of more than 100,000 members of the veteran community whose dedication and leadership have added value to our portfolio companies. Learn more about our Veterans Hiring Initiative. | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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