| | | | |  | | By Katherine Tully-McManus and Nancy Vu | Presented by Sallie Mae® | LET'S DO THE TIMEWARP AGAIN — Maybe it feels like yesterday, or like a decade ago. A recent (or distant?) chapter of American politics — when the American president secretly withheld military assistance for Ukraine before asking President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to announce an investigation of his political opponents — has a direct tie-in to today's war, according to lawmakers and witnesses central to that first impeachment probe. Read Kyle and Andrew's dive into the unanswered questions and ties between the impeachment probe and current conflict: As Ukraine war intensifies, questions from first Trump impeachment linger. Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch told POLITICO in a recent interview that she believed Trump's treatment of Ukraine "emboldened" Russian President Vladimir Putin. She was, you might remember, ousted by Trump just before Zelenskyy's inauguration. Flashback: Ukraine received shipments of anti-tank missiles under the Trump administration, but the then-president asked Zelenskyy to roll out corruption probes targeting Joe Biden, while withholding military aid. There was no probe and the U.S. aid was eventually sent to Ukraine anyways. Open queries: High-ranking aides at the Office of Management and Budget, State Department and White House officials have still never revealed key accounts at the heart of the controversy. That resulted in black holes about why and how the aid for Ukraine was held up, which a federal watchdog determined was illegal. "The Obama administration had refused to provide lethal aid to Ukraine, such as Stinger missiles, because President Obama did not want to piss off Vladimir Putin," Mark Paoletta, who served as general counsel at the Office of Management and Budget under Trump, told POLITICO. "That's where we started. The Trump administration changed that and began supplying Stinger missiles." Testimony, rejected? Paoletta also said Russell Vought, who served as Trump's budget director, was willing to testify before the impeachment investigators if an administration lawyer was present to protect claims of executive privilege — an offer Democrats rejected. Blame game: Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Mark Warner (D-Va.) sees a direct line between the decision to withhold aid for Ukraine and the country's preparedness to fight the Russians. "Remember, this was the guy who tried to extort political favors from President Zelenskyy for his own personal political gain," Warner said. "But the fact is we need to continue to get all the aid we can, as quickly as possible." IN THE HERE AND NOW — Congressional committees were notified Tuesday afternoon that President Joe Biden is authorizing the transfer of around $750 million in additional weapons to Ukraine amid the ongoing Russian invasion. The amount of weapons Biden is authorized to transfer was doubled in size as part of the massive $14 billion Ukraine aid package negotiated last month by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). Alexander Ward and Andrew have the full story on the new aid for Ukraine.
| | | | DON'T MISS ANYTHING FROM THE 2022 MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE: POLITICO is excited to partner with the Milken Institute to produce a special edition "Global Insider" newsletter featuring exclusive coverage and insights from the 25th annual Global Conference. This year's event, May 1-4, brings together more than 3,000 of the world's most influential leaders, including 700+ speakers representing more than 80 countries. "Celebrating the Power of Connection" is this year's theme, setting the stage to connect influencers with the resources to change the world with leading experts and thinkers whose insight and creativity can implement that change. Whether you're attending in person or following along from somewhere else in the world, keep up with this year's conference with POLITICO's special edition "Global Insider" so you don't miss a beat. Subscribe today. | | | | | GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Wednesday, April 13, where we're wondering who, if given McConnell's choices, we would take to the moon (see below). TRUMP LAWYERS TALK TO JAN. 6 PANEL ― Pat Cipollone and Patrick Philbin ― two of Donald Trump's top White House lawyers ― are slated to speak with the Jan. 6 select committee today, joining a growing list of notable figures cooperating with the panel, including Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump within the last weeks. As reported by our Betsy Woodruff Swan, Kyle, and Nicholas Wu , the lawyers worked on some of the most sensitive issues of the former administration, including defending Trump against impeachment charges related to his decision to withhold military aid from Ukraine. In the days leading up to the Jan. 6 attack, both Cipollone and Philbin were a part of a White House meeting where they made clear to the former president that officials would resign if Trump installed Jeffery Clark as attorney general to replace Jeffrey Rosen. "One thing we know is you, Rosen, aren't going to do anything to overturn the election," Trump said, according to Rosen's testimony to investigators. The two are expected to speak to the panel informally today, setting the scene for possibly formal, transcribed testimony later. TELL ME MORE — Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) submitted a recent "periodic transaction report" about a recent financial move with a lengthy comment providing context for his sale of equity interest in Flipside Crypto, Inc. back to the company. These transaction reports are often (1) filed pretty late by lawmakers (2) rarely provide such a detailed explanation about the transaction. "I sold my interest in Flipside Crypto , Inc., a company that I invested in before my election to Congress, for an amount below fair market volume as defined by the company's most recent valuation. As a Member of Congress, I had no information related to this transaction that is unavailable to members of the public. The terms of this sale and the timing would be available to any other investor upon request," Auchincloss wrote in the April 10 filing. He's on the Financial Services Committee and in the Congressional Blockchain Caucus and has written letters and given speeches on the future of cryptocurrency regulation and Securities and Exchange Commission's ongoing investigation into cryptocurrency and blockchain companies.
| | A message from Sallie Mae®: What does it mean when we say Sallie Mae makes sense? It means we recommend students maximize scholarships, grants, and federal financial aid before considering a private student loan. It means we assess a customer's ability to afford a loan before approving them. And it means 9 in 10 of our loans in repayment are being paid back on time. See all the reasons why Sallie Mae makes sense. | | | MCCONNELL ON THE MOON ― In a rather lengthy interview with the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, McConnell expounded on a number of topics that ranged from his relationship with President Joe Biden, next steps for Ukraine, climate change, and … who he'd rather take to the moon. What makes this interview interesting, reports our Anthony Adragna , is that the minority leader is quite selective with the questions he chooses to answer to the Capitol Hill press corps ― so it was unusual to see the lawmaker speeding through topics so directly. When asked who he would rather go to the moon with if given the choice between Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) or some random person picked from the San Francisco phone book, McConnell ― in regular snippy fashion ― chose the random person. NEW SPENDING DEAL, SAME SINEMA ― Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) is vowing to hold her previous stances from last year if negotiations of a resuscitated Democratic spending deal were to arise, according to Tara Kavaler of the Arizona Republic. "What I can't tell you is if negotiations will start again or what they'll look like," Sinema said at an Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry luncheon in Phoenix. "But what I can promise you is that I'll be the same person in negotiations if they start again that I was in negotiations last year." Sinema doubled down on her opposition to raising the corporate minimum tax, while reiterating her disagreement with raising taxes generally on high-income earners ― a point of tension that arose during Build Back Better negotiations that sent lawmakers scrambling to find a compromise last year. Still, the lawmaker eventually cooperated with an agreement cinched by lawmakers on raising taxes on individual high-income earners, before Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) blew the possibility of a spending deal to smithereens. Now, it seems that Sinema will be reverting back to her former posture if a new deal were to take place. OHIO AWAITS — "A plot of land in central Ohio's Licking County could become home to as many as eight Intel computer chip factories, or as few as two, depending on whether Congress can get its act together," writes Taylor Popielarz from Spectrum News 1 in Ohio . The Buckeye State has three lawmakers on the sprawling conference committee for the manufacturing and supply chain competition bills that would invest $52 billion into building essential computer chips in America: Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio). BATTER UP — Save the date: The Congressional Women's Softball Game is set for Sept. 14. It pits women from the Washington press corps against a bipartisan team of legislators from both parties and chambers of Congress. What's a cause good enough to bring everyone together? The Young Survival Coalition (YSC), a non-profit that supports people aged 40 and under who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. CONGRESS HAS QUESTIONS FOR THE COMMANDERS — The Washington Commanders, not folks at the Pentagon (they have different questions for them, we're sure). In a 20-page letter from House Committee on Oversight and Reform to the Federal Trade Commission, lawmakers outlined that owner Daniel Snyder and other team leaders may have been engaged in a "troubling, long-running, and potentially unlawful pattern of financial conduct that may have victimized thousands of team fans and the National Football League." Chris Cioffi from CQ Roll Call has more: Washington Commanders may have cheated fans, other team owners
| | | | INTRODUCING DIGITAL FUTURE DAILY - OUR TECHNOLOGY NEWSLETTER, RE-IMAGINED: Technology is always evolving, and our new tech-obsessed newsletter is too! Digital Future Daily unlocks the most important stories determining the future of technology, from Washington to Silicon Valley and innovation power centers around the world. Readers get an in-depth look at how the next wave of tech will reshape civic and political life, including activism, fundraising, lobbying and legislating. Go inside the minds of the biggest tech players, policymakers and regulators to learn how their decisions affect our lives. Don't miss out, subscribe today. | | | | | HUDDLE HOTDISH PUT IT IN THE BANK — The House Chief Administrative Officer launched the "U.S. House of Representatives Resume Bank" on Tuesday, to provide "job seekers with a simple way to submit their resumes for jobs in House offices in Washington, D.C. and across the nation's congressional districts." In addition to resumes, users can upload cover letters and writing samples to a profile that allows offices to see who is interested in job openings. Check out the resume bank here and some FAQs here. QUICK LINKS McConnell: 'Actually possible' for GOP to screw up midterms with 'unacceptable' candidates, from Jordain Carney at The Hill As inflation soars, how is AriZona iced tea still 99 cents?, from Sam Dean at The Los Angeles Times The FBI wants to stay in D.C., but Congress has already said goodbye, from Steve Thompson and Meagan Flynn at The Washington Post TRANSITIONS Scott Nulty has joined Shield AI, a defense-technology company focused on autonomous unmanned aircraft, on their government relations team. Nulty was most recently a military legislative assistant for Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.). Emma Rindels will be leaving House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's (R-Calif.) office to work as a federal policy manager at Lyft. Rindels previously was a legislative assistant for the congressman. Senior policy adviser to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) Alix Lowe-Server will be heading to Lyft as well as a federal policy adviser. TODAY IN CONGRESS The House and Senate are out. AROUND THE HILL Looks like another quiet one.
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TUESDAY'S WINNER: Matt Furlow correctly answered that the Greater Washington Soap Box Derby, which since 1991 has been held on Capitol Hill, has the annual backing of Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), who usually sponsors the bill to allow the event access to the Capitol campus.
TODAY'S QUESTION: Which president designed the University of Virginia's iconic rotunda, which was named a national landmark in 1966? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your answers to nvu@politico.com GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone each morning. Follow Nancy and Katherine on Twitter @NancyVu99 and @ktullymcmanus
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