GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Tuesday, Feb. 21, where Washington can expect a wild week of recess weather. 80 degrees on Thursday?! THAT OTHER BIG WEEKEND TRIP — President Joe Biden’s secret trip to Ukraine has stirred backlash from the GOP’s right wing. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) tweeted on Monday: “We don’t pay taxes to fund foreign country’s wars who aren’t even NATO ally’s [sic]” — after again calling for a “national divorce.” (Greene’s calls for a “national divorce” — suggesting secession — triggered some GOP backlash of their own. ) She was not alone in her critique of the clandestine trip: Reps. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Greg Murphy (R-N.C.) all ripped Biden’s visit. And most made clear they would object to more U.S. aid to Ukraine — the opposite approach of two top Republicans, House Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner and Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul, who made the Sunday show rounds this weekend praising the trip. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), for his part, urged Biden to officially designate Russia as a sponsor of terrorism — while stepping up training for Ukrainians. “We need to start training Ukrainian pilots on the F-16 now,” Graham said on ABC’s “This Week.” Conservatives like Biggs, though, reiterated on Monday “no more blank checks.” Biggs and Gaetz cited other issues at home, like the fallout from a toxic train derailment in Ohio. And Gaetz used the trip to re-up his list of nearly a dozen GOP supporters of his so-called “Ukraine Fatigue Resolution.” McCarthy’s headache: That persistent GOP opposition — with 11 Republicans signing onto Gaetz’s resolution — would be enough to kill a partisan measure in the House. But it almost certainly wouldn’t keep Congress from passing Ukraine aid altogether, since Democrats would help carry it over the finish line despite the tight margins. OFF-YEAR RECESS MEANS ... EVEN MORE TRIPS! — “Congress delegation visits Taiwan in tense US-China moment” by the AP’s Huizhong Wu — McConnell-Led Republican Delegation to Meet With UAE President by Bloomberg’s Jennifer Jacobs and Akayla Gardner — “Schumer in India stresses economic ties as ‘crucial counterweight’ to China” by The Hill’s Julia Mueller — “United front in Congress on Ukraine, at least in Munich” by WaPo’s Paul Kane. FOX GETS THE FOOTAGE — Democrats are livid that Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has reportedly handed over 41,000 hours of Capitol security camera footage to Fox News host — and noted Jan. 6 insurrection skeptic — Tucker Carlson. Axios first reported Monday that Carlson’s team was granted access to the footage — which “includes multiple camera angles from all over Capitol grounds” — and plans to air its own excerpts in the coming weeks. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), who chaired last Congress’s Jan. 6 select committee, put it this way: “It’s hard to overstate the potential security risks if this material were to be used irresponsibly.” ‘Astounding ethical collapse’ — An enraged Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the top Democrat on House Oversight, suggested the tapes could become “a roadmap for 2024 insurrection” and called it an “astounding ethical collapse” by McCarthy. HISTORIC SPECIAL ELECTION IN VIRGINIA — Voters in the Virginia will elect a new member to fill the seat of the late Rep. Donald McEachin (D-Va.). State Sen. Jennifer L. McClellan (D-Richmond) is expected to win in this deep blue, Richmond-area seat – it’s a Biden +36 district – and would become the first Black woman ever elected by Virginia to Congress. She’s up against Republican pastor Leon Benjamin, who is also Black. More from WaPo’s Meagan Flynn.
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