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Presented by PhRMA: POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the afternoon in Washington. | | | | |  | | By Garrett Ross | | | BULLETIN — White House press secretary JEN PSAKI said at today’s briefing that President JOE BIDEN will travel to Brussels for a March 24 NATO summit on the war in Ukraine. More from AP FUNDING FEUD — The blame game between the White House and Congress over stalled pandemic aid is heating up. — Our colleagues Alice Miranda Ollstein and Adam Cancryn have the breakdown on the finger-pointing: “Even as the administration warns it may need to cancel new orders of Covid-19 drugs as soon as next week and wind down access to testing soon after that, there appears to be no clear strategy from either the White House or Capitol Hill to secure the funds.” Here’s the view from a senior Biden admin official, who spoke with reporters this morning: “We will leave to Congress the details of how they get this over the finish line. There’s bipartisan recognition that we need this money and that the money they provided over a year ago has been well spent, but we defer to Congress on the specific legislative approach.” Meanwhile, Sen. RICHARD SHELBY (R-Ala.), vice chair of the Appropriations Committee, said the White House hasn’t convinced him yet: “There’s a doubt that they need this money with a lot of us. I’ve said this for weeks, a real accounting of the money [already spent on Covid] that the American people deserve and then go from there. If there’s no money left, and it’s not hidden somewhere, and if they show a need, then you got, maybe, a persuasive case.” Even Sen. ROY BLUNT (R-Mo.), who is supportive of the effort, is pushing the onus back on the administration: “I’m for replenishing these accounts. But it’s their job to help make the case as to how much they need and how long it will last. I’d like to have some of those facts, so I could advocate for that amount of money in that amount of time.” But the White House says it’s doing all it can: “Senior White House and administration officials said in a memo given to reporters on Tuesday that, since January, they’ve held more than three dozen calls and meetings with members of Congress in both parties, briefed congressional committees at least 10 times and sent at least a dozen letters to the Hill ‘to warn that funds for COVID response were running out’ and ‘provide tables on the status of COVID funds’ that Congress had already pumped out over the last two years.” The letter, addressed to Speaker NANCY PELOSI Where things stand this week: “While [Pelosi] promised a vote on the $15 billion this week, the White House hasn’t outlined a plan for pushing it through the Senate, where they need at least 10 Republicans to support the new money.” POLL POSITION — Here’s an interesting finding from a new WSJ poll out today : “52% of Americans don’t think [President JOE] BIDEN will run for re-election in two years, while 29% do expect him to pursue a second term. Nineteen percent are undecided about his future.” — The numbers aren’t much better within Biden’s own party: “Among Democrats, 41% said they think Mr. Biden will run again, while 32% said they didn’t think he would. The poll found 26% of those Democrats unsure.” Despite the White House’s insistence that Biden will run again , “interviews conducted in recent weeks with dozens of voters, activists and local officials in the nation’s top battleground states, along with poll respondents, found a degree of ambivalence and uncertainty over whether Mr. Biden, who is 79 years old, should seek another term. The interviews also showed a lack of consensus on who should succeed him as the party’s standard-bearer should he retire from politics.” Good Tuesday afternoon.
| | | | A message from PhRMA: ICYMI: A majority of Americans reject so-called government “negotiation” once they learn it could restrict access and choice and chill the innovation of new treatments and cures. The survey also shows a majority find health care coverage costs unreasonable and a top priority health care issue for policymakers to address today. | | | WAR IN UKRAINE — “Fox cameraman PIERRE ZAKRZEWSKI was killed in the same attack that wounded correspondent BENJAMIN HALL,” writes Fox News’ John Roberts . “I worked with Pierre many times around the world. He was an absolute treasure. Sending our most heartfelt prayers to Pierre's wife and family.” A moving tribute from anchor Bill Hemmer … More from NYT — “Leaders from Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia traveled to Kyiv on Tuesday to express solidarity toward Ukraine and present ‘a broad package of support’ from the European Union, in a visit that was kept secret until the last minute as fighting rages around the Ukrainian capital,” NYT’s Monika Pronczuk reports. “The European leaders are set to meet with President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY and Prime Minister DENIS SHMYHAL, the office of the Polish prime minister said in a statement, on a day when talks between Kyiv and Moscow are also set to continue.” — “A suspected Russian missile attack on an apartment building in the Ukrainian capital early Tuesday killed at least four people and sparked a frenzied effort to rescue residents, prompting Kyiv Mayor VITALI KLITSCHKO to announce a curfew in what he called a ‘difficult and dangerous moment,’” per WaPo’s Sudarsan Raghavan and Jennifer Hassan. — Zelenskyy said this morning that Ukraine’s hopes of joining NATO may be over. “Speaking Tuesday to representatives of the U.K.-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), Zelenskyy said that ‘we heard for years about the allegedly open doors’ of NATO, but ‘we have already heard that we won’t be able to join,’” per the AP. “He added that ‘it’s the truth we must recognize, and I’m glad that our people are starting to realize that and count on themselves and our partners who are helping us.’” — The Biden administration today “announced additional sanctions targeting the president of Belarus, his wife and a number of Russian officials, the latest in a package of penalties intended to punish the Kremlin and its allies for Moscow’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine,” Samuel Benson writes. — A bipartisan group of senators today is introducing legislation “calling for the Treasury Department to offer cash rewards for information that leads to the seizure of assets held by sanctioned Russian oligarchs, the latest attempt to escalate financial pressure against the Kremlin over the invasion of Ukraine,” WaPo’s Jeff Stein reports. The senators behind the effort: SHELDON WHITEHOUSE (D-R.I.), RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-Conn.), LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-S.C.) and ROGER WICKER (R-Miss.). — Syrians are watching Russia’s actions unfold in Ukraine with a certain sense of familiarity and expectation for what will follow. “The legacy of Syria’s war, and Russia’s role in it, looms large over Ukraine, offering potential lessons to Mr. Putin, analysts said: that ‘red lines’ laid down by the West can be crossed without long-term consequences; that diplomacy purportedly aimed at stopping violence can be used to distract from it; and that autocrats can do terrible things and face international sanctions — and still stay in power,” writes NYT’s Ben Hubbard in Beirut, Lebanon. — “In embattled Mariupol, glimpses of devastation and misery emerge,” by WaPo’s Greg Jaffe ALL POLITICS NRCC PLAYS THE TRUMP CARD — Former President DONALD TRUMP is set to join NRCC Chair TOM EMMER, House Minority Leader KEVIN MCCARTHY, House Minority Whip STEVE SCALISE and GOP Conference Chair ELISE STEFANIK for a fundraiser in Dallas on May 9, per NBC’s Stephen Sanchez.
| | | | WIN A VIP TICKET TO THE GREATEST POLITICAL SHOW ON EARTH! POLITICO and SHOWTIME are teaming up for an evening of cocktails and conversation featuring the POLITICO Playbook team and Mark McKinnon and Jennifer Palmieri from "The Circus" on Showtime in Washington, D.C. Enter for a chance to win a ticket to join fellow Playbookers and newsmakers at this exclusive, VIP event by Friday, March 18th. Winners will be notified on that date (travel and accommodations not provided, this is a widely attended event pursuant to House & Senate ethics rules). ENTER HERE. | | | | | CONGRESS CRYPTO CONUNDRUM — Sen. ELIZABETH WARREN’s (D-Mass.) warnings that the crypto industry “exposes consumers to danger, is ripe for financial crimes and is an environmental threat because of its electricity usage” are not landing with a receptive audience in Congress, Zach Warmbrodt reports . “A new generation of progressives — and a number of other senior Democrats — are embracing the startup industry. They’re arguing against regulations that could stifle what proponents say is a new avenue for financial inclusion and a breakthrough alternative to traditional banks. … The simmering conflict is set to intensify in the coming months.” THE PANDEMIC HEADS UP — Pfizer and BioNTech are planning to “seek emergency authorization for a second booster shot of their coronavirus vaccine for people 65 and older, an effort to bolster waning immunity that occurs several months after the first booster,” WaPo’s Laurie McGinley, Tyler Pager and Carolyn Johnson scoop . “The submission to the Food and Drug Administration, anticipated as soon as Tuesday, is expected to include ‘real world data’ collected in Israel, one of the few countries that has authorized a second booster for older people, said the individuals, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the issue.” BEYOND THE BELTWAY FOREST SERVICE FACES LABOR SHORTAGE — As the Biden administration attempts to bulk up the response to wildfires in the West, the U.S. Forest Service is facing the struggles of a shortage of staffing that has swept the nation, Ximena Bustillo reports. AMERICA AND THE WORLD FRUSTRATION WITH FOGGY BOTTOM — The State Department’s new payroll system is causing headaches for its diplomats abroad. “Diplomats say they have had to spend time tracking down payments instead of doing their jobs, and that a lack of urgency among leadership is hurting morale. U.S. diplomats working in war zones and other high-risk locations are often among those affected, because their paychecks include extra pay for taking on dangerous and difficult roles,” WSJ’s Jessica Donati reports. SLOWING SUPPLY CHAIN — “As Chinese officials scramble to contain the country’s worst outbreak of Covid-19 since early 2020, they are imposing lockdowns and restrictions that are adding chaos to global supply chains. The measures in China, home to about one-third of global manufacturing, are disrupting the production of finished goods like Toyota and Volkswagen cars and Apple’s iPhones, as well as components such as circuit boards and computer cables,” NYT’s Keith Bradsher writes from Beijing. CHINA WATCH — “Rollback of Xi Jinping’s Economic Campaign Exposes Cracks in His Power,” by WSJ’s Lingling Wei
| | | | DON’T MISS POLITICO’S INAUGURAL HEALTH CARE SUMMIT ON 3/31: Join POLITICO for a discussion with health care providers, policymakers, federal regulators, patient representatives, and industry leaders to better understand the latest policy and industry solutions in place as we enter year three of the pandemic. Panelists will discuss the latest proposals to overcome long-standing health care challenges in the U.S., such as expanding access to care, affordability, and prescription drug prices. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | MEDIAWATCH A SIGN OF THE TIMES — In the wake of Project Veritas’ most recent sting operation on the NYT , Times employees were sent a memo by newsroom leaders warning about potential efforts to catch NYT employees in the future. “We strongly favor transparency in our work, and it’s good for the public to hear from you about what you do at The Times. But we’d like to remind you to take extra care if someone unfamiliar to you asks you to talk about The Times. Please be aware that this could be an effort to surreptitiously record you with audio or video,” reads the memo from deputy managing editor CLIFF LEVY and senior VP of culture and comms CYNARA CHARLES-PIERRE. The full memo PLAYBOOK METRO SECTION FOR YOUR RADAR — “A suspect in a series of shootings this month targeting homeless men in New York and Washington was arrested early Tuesday, the authorities in Washington said. At least five men were shot, two of them fatally,” NYT’s Jenny Gross and Daniel Victor report. “The suspect was arrested around 2:30 a.m. in Southeast Washington by agents with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said a spokeswoman … who added that a firearm was not recovered.” PLAYBOOKERS Barack Obama features in Netflix’s trailer for its new docu-series “Our Great National Parks,” which will feature narration from Obama and is set to release on April 13. More from Variety FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Tarak Shah is departing the Department of Energy as chief of staff, he told colleagues in an email today. He is an Obama DOE, DoD and CEQ alum and is the first person of color, first Indian-American and first openly LGBTQ person to serve as DOE COS. (h/t Daniel Lippman) OUT AND ABOUT —Bobbie and Bill Kilberg hosted a fundraiser for Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) on Monday night, where 212 attendees raised $532,000. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) spoke to introduce Cheney. “The emphasis in their remarks was on adherence to the Constitution and respect for the rule of law and the basic fabric of our democracy,” per a tipster. SPOTTED: Dick and Lynne Cheney, Miles Taylor, Olivia Troy, Carly Fiorina, Ted Olson, Sean O’Keefe, Kerry Healey, Marcia Carlucci, Jay Timmons, Greg Washington, Vicki Lipnic, William Hurd, Bruce Fein, Mike and Meryl Chertoff, Kevin and Nancy Fay, Arnold Punaro, Joe McCain, Teresa Carlson and Barbara Comstock. MEDIA MOVES — Jade Cuevas and Chase Sutton are joining POLITICO. Cuevas will be a visuals editor and previously was at the LA Times. Sutton will be a junior photo editor. TRANSITIONS — Bennett Resnik and John Richter are joining Venn Strategies. Resnik will be a senior VP in the firm’s infrastructure practice and previously was counsel and director of government relations at Cardinal Infrastructure. Richter will be an assistant VP in the health practice and previously was an advocacy and engagement specialist with the American Nurses Association. … Lauren Bale is now comms director for Brian Benjamin’s reelection campaign for New York lieutenant governor. She previously was deputy press secretary for NYC Mayor Eric Adams. … … Sonnet Frisbie and Maia Hansen are joining Morning Consult. Frisbie will be a geopolitical risk analyst for EMEA and previously was a financial economist in the State Department’s Economic Bureau’s Office of Monetary Affairs. Hansen will be AVP of engineering and previously was VP of engineering at High Fidelity. … Bernardine Bruggen is now a senior director at Evolve Media. She most recently was an account manager at POLITICO.
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