The House had a rare unanimous vote, two Senate panels held hearings and lawmakers got briefings from the Biden administration. Safe to say: The suspected Chinese surveillance balloon was the talk of the Capitol on Thursday. The House resolution, approved in a bipartisan 419-0 vote, condemns the Chinese Communist Party over the balloon that passed across the country last week before it was shot down by the U.S. military. The resolution calls the situation "a brazen violation of United States sovereignty." The Chinese balloon, which U.S. officials say was part of the country's larger surveillance program, had antennas to collect communications and solar panels to power its sensors, according to multiple reports. Crews are working to recover debris from the Atlantic Ocean to be studied. After a classified briefing on the matter, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) defended President Biden's handling of the balloon threat.
"My questions were satisfactorily answered and I believe the administration, the president, our military and our intelligence agencies acted skillfully and with care. At the same time, their capabilities are extraordinarily impressive," Romney told reporters.
House members received a similar classified briefing on Wednesday. |
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Welcome to Evening Report! I'm Elizabeth Crisp, catching you up from the afternoon and what's coming tomorrow. Not on the list? Subscribe here. |
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- Top lawmakers on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee called out Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg during a hearing on the Southwest Airlines meltdown.
Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) was assaulted Thursday morning in the elevator of her D.C. apartment building, according to her office.
The Treasury Department and the United Kingdom have adopted joint sanctions against seven individuals tied to a Russia-based cybercrime gang known as Trickbot.
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🐊 Biden touts Medicare, Social Security in Florida
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President Biden visited potential 2024 battleground Florida on Thursday as part of a "blitz" promoting his agenda. The stop put him on the home turf of Republican foes Sen. Rick Scott and Gov. Ron DeSantis, both loud critics of the Biden administration.
"If anyone tries to cut Social Security, we're going to stop them. If anyone tries to cut Medicare, we're going to stop them," Biden said to cheers in Tampa, Fla., in a nod to his State of the Union address this week.
Biden has taken several swipes at Scott over potential threats to both programs. Pushing back, Scott placed ads in the Tampa area for Biden's visit saying "Biden should resign," while accusing the president of cheating on his taxes, without evidence. He's also challenged Biden to a debate on the issue.
Biden has taken direct aim at Scott, the former head of the Senate GOP campaign arm, over his detailed proposal to sunset all federal programs, including Social Security and Medicare, after five years.
"Instead of making the wealthy pay their fair share, some Republicans, some Republicans want Medicare and Social Security to sunset — I'm not saying it's the majority," Biden said during his nationally televised, prime-time State of the Union speech, without naming Scott.
His administration has been more direct in the days since, calling the first-term senator the "national poster-child" for Republican attacks on Social Security and Medicare.
"Rick Scott is in overdrive to make himself the national poster-child for Republicans' longstanding attacks on Medicare and Social Security benefits," White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement.
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✂️ House Republicans unveil proposed spending cuts
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Republicans on the House Budget Committee have unveiled areas of federal spending where they think cuts could be made as the battle over the nation's debt limit heats up on Capitol Hill. Most of the proposals target progressive and Democratic-backed programs. On the Republican lawmakers' radar: caps to ObamaCare subsidies, cuts to funding for the Environmental Protection Agency that was included in the Inflation Reduction Act, "fraud" in the Child Tax Credit and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and funding GOP lawmakers have deemed "woke-waste," including assistance for LGBT groups and a trail named after former first lady Michelle Obama in Georgia. |
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🐘 Trump closes gap, tied with DeSantis in new poll
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Former President Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) are tied among Republican voters as their top pick to become the GOP's 2024 presidential nominee, according to a new poll.
The Monmouth University poll found a third of the voters surveyed think Trump, who kicked off his campaign in November, is the best candidate for president, while another third said that DeSantis, who has yet to formally announce he's running, is a better choice.
A similar poll in December had DeSantis ahead by 13 points, with 39 percent support compared to Trump's 26 percent.
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✈️ Republicans push back on new rules after Southwest meltdown
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Some Senate Republicans don't support proposals for stricter airline rules after a Southwest Airlines fiasco over the holidays that impacted more than 2 million travelers. |
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🏥 Fetterman hospitalized but expected to be released soon
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Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) was hospitalized this week after becoming lightheaded during a Senate Democratic retreat. Fetterman, who suffered a near-fatal stroke during last year's campaign, was admitted to the George Washington Hospital and did "not show evidence of a new stroke," according to his office, but had to stay overnight. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) said during a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing Thursday that Fetterman would likely be released later in the day. |
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📺 Fox airing Super Bowl commercial promoting Gutfeld's show
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Fox will air a short ad promoting comedian Greg Gutfeld's late-night Fox News Channel show during its coverage of the Super Bowl this weekend. The placement of the 20-second spot for "Gutfeld!" is notable given how pricey air time is during the big game, which will be broadcast nationally on Sunday night and draw millions of viewers. |
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"How does Trump vs. DeSantis end?" — Myra Adams, politics and religion writer. (Read here) "New arrests show why the coming MAGA House attacks on the FBI endanger law and order" — Dennis Aftergut, former federal prosecutor currently of Lawyers Defending American Democracy. (Read here) |
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28 days until President Biden unveils his proposal for the next fiscal year. 233 days until the federal budget deadline. 635 days until the 2024 presidential election. |
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11:15 a.m.: President Biden and Vice President Harris will welcome governors to the White House during the National Governors Association winter meeting. Later in the day Biden will hold a bilateral meeting with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil at the White House. |
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