Tipsheet: DeSantis gets rock star treatment at CPAC

View in your browser     DeSantis gets rock star treatment at CPAC BY MAX GREENWOOD   ORLANDO, Fla. – Former President Donald Trump may be the main event at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), but the gathering also put in stark relief Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s growing star power within the GOP. Conference attendees repeatedly pointed to Trump as their top choice for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. But many also expressed a deepening interest in DeSantis, whom they see as an eventual successor to Trump and future presidential candidate, especially if Trump decides against another White House campaign. Read the full story here     US employs unusual intel strategy to counter Putin BY LAURA KELLY AND MORGAN CHALFANT   The White House has aggressively worked to rebut false narratives emanating from Russia about the crisis in Ukraine by proactively releasing intelligence information, a highly unusual strategy that experts and former officials say has knocked Russian President Vladimir Putin off his game. Read the full story here     White House to sanction Putin for invasion of Ukraine BY BRETT SAMUELS   The Biden administration will sanction Russian President Vladimir Putin and other top officials in Moscow in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed Friday. Read the full story here     White House seeks $6.4B from Congress in Ukraine-related aid BY MORGAN CHALFANT   The White House is asking Congress to approve $6.4 billion in additional funding to help respond to the ongoing Russian invasion in Ukraine, two sources confirmed to The Hill. Read the full story here       Pentagon mulling ways to get more lethal aid to Ukraine BY ELLEN MITCHELL   The U.S. military will provide additional lethal aid for Ukraine but is working through the logistics of delivery given the contested airspace over Ukraine, the Pentagon’s top spokesman said Friday. Read the full story here     62 percent of voters say Putin wouldn't have invaded Ukraine if Trump were president: poll BY CAROLINE VAKIL   A majority of American voters say that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not have invaded Ukraine had former President Trump still been in office, according to a new survey released on Friday. Read the full story here     NATO activates response force for first time in history BY ELLEN MITCHELL   NATO, for the first time in its history, is activating its NATO Response Force (NRF) in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Read the full story here     Biden names Ketanji Brown Jackson, DC appeals court judge, to Supreme Court BY JOHN KRUZEL AND MORGAN CHALFANT   President Biden will nominate Ketanji Brown Jackson, a federal appeals judge in Washington, D.C., to the Supreme Court, setting up the likely seating of the nation’s first female Black justice. Read the full story here     Biden says Jackson will bring 'uncompromising integrity' to Supreme Court BY MORGAN CHALFANT   President Biden introduced Kentanji Brown Jackson as his nominee to serve on the Supreme Court on Friday, describing her as a person of tremendous intellect and character who would bring an “independent mind” and “uncompromising integrity” to the high court. Read the full story here     CDC eases mask guidance for 70 percent of US, including schools BY PETER SULLIVAN   The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday significantly eased its mask recommendations, including for schools, as part of long-awaited updated guidance for dealing with COVID-19. Read the full story here     Release trapped Russia funds now to aid Ukraine BY DANIEL F. RUNDE   OPINION l For 15 years, across four administrations, there has been a logjam over $150 million in left-over monies from an investment fund for Russia, caught between Congress and the executive branch. Both should release the money to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine right now and to support Russian civil society. Read the full story here     Fighting anti-Semitism where it starts BY DIANE B. KUNZ   OPINION l FBI Director Christopher Wray recently acknowledged “that the Jewish community in particular has suffered violence and faces very real threats from really across the hate spectrum.” Read the full story here     The Associated Press: Russian troops press on Kyiv; Ukraine president to fight on BY YURAS KARMANAU, JIM HEINTZ, VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV and JAMES LaPORTA   KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian troops pressed toward Ukraine’s capital Saturday, after a night of explosions and street fighting that sent Kyiv residents seeking shelter underground. The country’s president refused an American offer to evacuate, insisting that he would stay. “The fight is here,” he said. Read the full story here     Reuters: Cutting Russia off from SWIFT a 'matter of days' BY JAN STRUPCZEWSKI   A decision to cut Russia off from the global SWIFT payment system will be taken in a matter of days, the governor of a central bank within the euro zone told Reuters on Saturday. Read the full story here     The Wall Street Journal: As CPAC awaits Trump, conservatives focus on schools, voting rules BY JOHN McCORMICK   ORLANDO, Fla.—A gathering this week of staunch conservatives highlights the disconnect between Donald Trump’s supporters and Republicans who fear possible party gains in a potentially favorable election year could be diminished if the GOP remains too closely tied to a former president heavily focused on relitigating the 2020 election. Read the full story here     Bloomberg: India pledges to support emergency oil releases to calm prices BY DEBJIT CHAKRABORTY India, the world’s third-biggest oil importer, will support initiatives to release emergency reserves to calm prices that surged on concern Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will disrupt global supplies. Read the full story here     The Washington Post: Backstage drama at Jan. 6 rally for Trump draws interest of House committee BY JACQUELINE ALEMANY, JOSH DAWSEY and BETH REINHARD   At roughly 8:15 a.m. on Jan. 6, 2021, a few hours before President Donald Trump and his allies whipped up thousands of supporters with false claims of election fraud, law enforcement was summoned to the rally grounds to deal with a “possible disorderly.” Read the full story here         Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for The Hill Tipsheet       Forward this Tipsheet   You Might Like       Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©1998 - 2022 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved.

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