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How we know things are dire — Smile pretty for Saudi Arabia: |
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© Giphy Via Axios’ Hans Nichols, President Biden is considering a visit to Saudi Arabia to help relations between the two countries and to obtain more oil amid the crisis with Russia and Ukraine. https://bit.ly/3Kkei9i This would be huge: “A hat-in-hand trip would illustrate the gravity of the global energy crisis driven by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Biden has chastised Saudi Arabia, and the CIA believes its de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was involved in the dismemberment of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.” What we know: https://bit.ly/3Kkei9i |
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| OH, AND HELLO, VENEZUELA…: |
| Via The New York Times’s Anatoly Kurmanaev, Natalie Kitroeff and Kenneth P. Vogel, U.S. officials traveled to Venezuela over the weekend in an effort for Russian allies to separate from Russian President Vladimir Putin. https://nyti.ms/3MtMvF8 Keep in mind: “The United States broke off diplomatic relations with [President Nicolás Maduro] and closed its embassy in Caracas in 2019, after accusing the authoritarian leader of electoral fraud. The Trump administration then tried to topple Mr. Maduro’s government by sanctioning Venezuelan oil exports and the country’s senior officials, and by recognizing the opposition leader, Juan Guaidó, as Venezuela’s lawful president.” |
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| ANALYSIS: |
| The Washington Post’s Adam Taylor writes, “Putin’s extreme isolation leaves few world leaders to convince him of a peace deal.” The full analysis: https://wapo.st/3hMXpb6 |
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| A LIGHTER TIDBIT FROM THE WHITE HOUSE: |
| The White House released new photos of Commander Biden. He is growing like a weed! Photos tweeted by NBC News’ Kelly O’Donnell: https://bit.ly/373IJSJ |
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| It’s Monday — welcome back. I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@thehill.com — and follow along on Twitter @CateMartel and Facebook. Did someone forward this to you? Want your own copy? Sign up here to receive The Hill's 12:30 Report in your inbox daily: http://bit.ly/2UoupvN |
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Russia is letting Ukrainian civilians leave, but with a huge catch: |
| Via Reuters’s Pavel Polityuk and Carlos Barria, after two days of failed cease-fires, Moscow is allowing Ukrainian civilians to escape. https://reut.rs/3tFWvmp The catch: The routes are set up to Russia and Belarus. Ukraine’s reaction: “A spokesperson for Ukrainian President [Volodymyr Zelensky] called the move ‘completely immoral’ saying Russia was trying to ‘use people's suffering to create a television picture’ … ‘They are citizens of Ukraine, they should have the right to evacuate to the territory of Ukraine,’ the spokesperson told Reuters.” https://reut.rs/3tFWvmp |
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Zelensky begged lawmakers on Zoom: |
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© Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP Via Politico’s Andrew Desiderio, “Ukrainian President Volodymyr
[Zelensky] implored U.S. lawmakers on Saturday to do more to force Russian leader Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table and end the war on his country — including the establishment of a no-fly zone, additional direct aid and a ban on oil imports from Moscow.” https://politi.co/3CkWOqs How many lawmakers were on the call? 300+: “An emotional [Zelensky] told participants on the call, who numbered more than 300, that it might be the last time they see him alive.” More from the call: https://politi.co/3CkWOqs |
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| PHOTO OF THE LAWMAKERS ON THE CALL: |
| PBS Newshour’s Nick Schifrin tweeted a photo released by Zelensky: https://bit.ly/3sPfMTa |
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| SIGHTS AND SOUNDS: |
| What a powerfully sad image: Here’s the front page of today’s New York Times. Screenshot: https://bit.ly/3HSFdHw Clarissa Ward stops her live reporting to help evacuees: “CNN’s [Clarissa Ward] stops her live report to help elderly civilians trying to flee Kyiv evacuate as Russian forces close in on the capital city.” Watch: https://bit.ly/35ZwS7T This gives me a pit: Political scientist Ian Bremmer tweeted a photo, “what the Russians did to Grozny, Chechnya … we all fear this is coming to Kyiv.” Photo: https://bit.ly/3hJ3BAP |
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To say this feels like Groundhog Day somehow still feels like an understatement: |
| Via The Hill’s Jordain Carney, “Lawmakers are racing to finalize and pass a massive government funding bill that would also greenlight billions in new aid tied to Ukraine.” https://bit.ly/3vFKSOS When does government funding expire?: This! Friday! ^ Yes, but: “Lawmakers haven’t yet unveiled the government funding bill. The House is scheduled to leave town for the week after Wednesday, giving them just a matter of days to pass the yet-to-be-introduced legislation.” It’s possible lawmakers will buy themselves even more time: “Lawmakers and aides have also questioned if they could need a short-term continuing resolution (CR), which would fund the government at current levels, to buy themselves more time as they wrap up the sweeping bill.” Also tied into the government funding bill: Aid to Ukraine. |
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| WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING ON CAPITOL HILL: |
| Russian oil ban: “Momentum is growing on Capitol Hill for legislation to ban the import of Russian oil in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The administration has been cool to the idea, though White House press secretary Jen Psaki said late last week that they were exploring ways to reduce Russian oil imports.” 
© AP/J. Scott Applewhite Supreme Court nomination: “[President Biden’s] Supreme Court nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson, will keep meeting with key senators this week ahead of her appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee later this month.” Postal reform: “The Senate is expected to continue working on legislation to overhaul the United States Postal Service this week, after advancing the legislation after an initial hurdle last week.” Context and details for each: https://bit.ly/3vFKSOS |
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| SENATE REPUBLICANS ARE GETTING A LITTLE HUNGRIER IN BLUE STATES: |
| Which states? Colorado, Washington and Vermont Context and details from The Hill’s Max Greenwood: https://bit.ly/3HJX8A5 |
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| LATEST WITH THE CORONAVIRUS | |
Americans are collectively exhaling: |
| Fewer Americans are now worried about contracting COVID-19, according to a new Gallup poll. https://bit.ly/3sQQwvP The numbers: “For example, just 34 percent of people said they are worried about contracting COVID-19, compared to 50 percent in January. How people are feeling now: “63 percent of U.S. adults said the situation is getting better, 46 percent said it is getting worse and 25 percent said things are about the same.” Compared to how people felt in January: “In January, 58 percent of people said the pandemic was getting worse while 20 percent said it was getting better and 22 percent said it was the same.” More takeaways: https://bit.ly/3sQQwvP Here’s the full poll from Gallup: https://bit.ly/3CnUteh |
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| CASE NUMBERS: |
| Coronavirus cases in the U.S.: 79,271,466 U.S. death toll: 958,621 Breakdown of the numbers: https://cnn.it/2UAgW3y |
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| VACCINATION NUMBERS: |
| Total number of vaccinations administered in the U.S.: 555 million shots have been given. Seven-day average of doses administered: An average of 153,615 doses For context: The U.S. population is roughly 331 million. Breakdown of the numbers: https://bloom.bg/3iVTPLH |
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| Ah, hahahahha: |
| @Dominica_Chavez tweeted, “Last night on my flight from Seattle to DC, the airline offered a $1,500 voucher for customers to take a later flight into Dulles instead of Reagan. The plane collectively sighed and no one took the offer. If that’s not the most DC thing ever, I don’t know what is.” https://bit.ly/3Kn6fZh That is peak DC. |
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This was a pretty cute interruption on TV: |
| NBC’s Ellison Barber tweeted a clip of a live shot she did in Poland. Watch the interruption on live TV: https://bit.ly/3sN2oia |
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If you’ve been wondering what happened with the trucker protests near DC: |
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© AP/Jon Elswick The University of Maryland, Baltimore County’s Terry Bouton tweeted a series of photos and takeaways from the protests. His big takeaway: “Anyone dismissing this as a failed event by the crazy fringe is missing the big picture.” Photos of the convoy: https://bit.ly/3HNazzl |
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| THE GIST: ‘THE CONVOY SLOWED TRAFFIC OUTSIDE THE CAPITAL FOR HOURS BEFORE FADING IN THE AFTERNOON.’: |
| More from The New York Times’s Madeleine Ngo, Adam Bednar and Esha Ray: https://nyti.ms/361yqhK |
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| The House and Senate are in. President Biden and Vice President Harris are in Washington, D.C. 9:30 a.m. EST: President Biden received the President’s Daily Brief. 10:30 a.m. EST: President Biden held a teleconference with the leaders of France, Germany and the U.K. to discuss Russia and Ukraine. 3 p.m. EST: The Senate meets. 5:30 p.m. EST: The Senate holds a cloture vote on the Postal Service Reform Act. The Senate’s full agenda today: https://bit.ly/3MyqMMC 6:30 p.m. EST: Votes in the House. The House’s full agenda today: https://bit.ly/3sNPm3Z |
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| 11:35 a.m. EST: Vice President Harris delivered remarks on the American Rescue Plan, the bipartisan infrastructure law and clean transit.
Livestream: https://bit.ly/3MsXPl4 2 p.m. EST: White House press secretary Jen Psaki holds a press briefing. Livestream: https://bit.ly/3IPuMGf 3 p.m. EST: “The U.N. Security Council meets to discuss the humanitarian crisis resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.” C-SPAN livestream: https://bit.ly/3CplhLw |
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© AP/Gene J. Puskar Today is National Cereal Day. |
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I am so impressed: |
| Via The Colorado Sun’s Jason Blevins, “America’s chairlift savant finishes 22-year quest to ride every lift in the U.S.: Peter Landsman, a lift supervisor at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, has visited, photographed and documented 2,381 chairlifts in the U.S.” The full story: https://bit.ly/35vaZxq |
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| And because you read this far, here’s a golden retriever who is absolutely unable to share. He needs each of those tennis balls for important things: https://bit.ly/3tzM9UU |
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