January 3, 2022
Meryl Kornfield of the Washington Post:"President Biden assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday that the United States 'will respond decisively' if Russia invades the Eastern European nation, according to the White House. Days after a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Biden spoke with Zelensky and reaffirmed previous commitments to aid Ukraine amid Russia's military buildup on Ukraine's border that has prompted fears of an invasion, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement after the two leaders spoke by phone. The leaders 'expressed support' for upcoming diplomatic talks, she said, that will commence in the wake of Putin telling Biden that any economic sanctions imposed in response to military action by the Kremlin could result in 'a complete rupture of relations.'"
Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "The White House on Monday announced it will devote $1 billion to aiding independent meat and poultry producers, aiming to undercut the four powerful meat producers the Biden administration has alleged are responsible for surging consumer prices. Facing immense political pressure over inflation, the White House has responded in recent weeks by criticizing large corporations and arguing that breaking up monopolies will foster competition and drive down prices. In November, President Biden asked the Federal Trade Commission to look into whether oil and gas companies were improperly pushing up energy prices. The stakes are particularly high in the beef industry, where prices in November rose by a staggering 21 percent relative to last year, according to federal data. Food prices have also increased more broadly -- by a significant 6.4 percent -- with the index for meat, poultry, fish and eggs jumping 13 percent." Cheney looks at what's been done to improve the preparedness level -- and what has not. ~~~
~~~ Update: President Biden will meet virtually with small meat producers at 1:30 pm ET today; live here.
Kyle Cheney of Politico: "... the political blight that contributed to the [January 6] attack has only worsened, inside and outside the Capitol. So while leaders feel readier today than they did on Jan. 5, no one is rushing to declare the threat has passed.... Capitol Police officers remain overtaxed and exhausted, logging crushing amounts of overtime as they grapple with a depleted force. Threats against members of Congress are still spiking.... Many of those who fled from or responded to the violence are indelibly scarred.
David Siders of Politico: "Donald Trump has already telegraphed the remarks he plans to give at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday, the anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. If he follows the script laid out in his announcement of the news conference, he will commit a whitewashing of the day, repeating the lie that the 2020 election was rigged and defending his part in fomenting the insurrection -- all while a solemn prayer service is held at the Capitol, in a vivid split-screen moment.... One year after the riot at the Capitol, nearly three-quarters of Republicans still believe Trump's baseless claim that Joe Biden won the presidency due to voter fraud, according to a Monmouth University poll.... And according to a Quinnipiac University survey, nearly 8 in 10 Republicans want Trump to run for president again in 2024." (Also linked yesterday.)
Christina Zhao of NBC News: "The House panel investigating the Jan. 6 riot has testimony that ... Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump asked him to intervene as his supporters ransacked the U.S. Capitol, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., said Sunday. 'The committee has firsthand testimony now that he was sitting in the dining room next to the Oval Office watching the attack on television.... The briefing room at the White House is just a mere few steps from the Oval Office,' Cheney, the vice chair of the committee, said on ABC News' 'This Week.' She said that at any moment, Trump could have walked to the briefing room and appeared on television. 'We know, as he was sitting there in the dining room next to the Oval Office, members of his staff were pleading with him to go on television, to tell people to stop. We know Leader McCarthy was pleading with him to do that,' she said, referring to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. 'We know members of his family, we know his daughter -- we have firsthand testimony that his daughter Ivanka went in at least twice to ask him to please stop this violence,' she said." ~~~
~~~ David Cohen of Politico: “Rep. Liz Cheney said Sunday she fears that if ... Donald Trump were to become president again, it could be a lethal blow to American democracy. 'He crossed lines no American president has ever crossed before,' the Wyoming Republican told host George Stephanopoulos on ABC's 'This Week,' days before the anniversary of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot." (Also linked yesterday.)
Donie O'Sullivan of CNN: "Twitter has permanently suspended Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's Twitter account @mtgreenee, the company confirmed to CNN Sunday morning..., 'for repeated violations of our COVID-19 misinformation policy.'Greene most frequently tweeted from the handle @mtgreenee. She still has access to and can tweet from her official congressional account @RepMTG." MB: Greene released a statement re: the ban, in which she said, "Communist Democrats can't stop the truth." O'Sullivan has her full statement. The New York Times' story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Bob Brigham of the Raw Story: "To shed light on Trump's battle of the National Archives records, The Daily Beast's Jose Pagliery interviewed Don W. Wilson and John W. Carlin, who both served as the U.S. archivist. 'Given how frantic they are... there are things in those records that are going to make real trouble. I'm talking about prison time,' Carlin said. 'It reinforces the fact that they know they're in real trouble if these things are released -- particularly if they're released soon.'... Read the full report [firewalled]."
AP: "The late Sen. Harry Reid, the Nevada Democrat who served as majority leader during a 30-year career in the Senate, will lie in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda next week. The leaders of Congress, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, said in a statement Sunday night that ceremonies honoring Reid at the Capitol will take place on Jan. 12." The Washington Post's report is here.
The Pandemic, Ctd.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here. The Washington Post's live Covid-19 updates for Monday are here.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Sunday are here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Barbara Starr of CNN: "Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has tested positive for Covid-19 and is exhibiting 'mild' symptoms, according to a statement from him released by the Defense Department on Sunday. 'I have informed my leadership team of my positive test result, as well as the President. My staff has begun contact tracing and testing of all those with whom I have come into contact over the last week,' Austin said."
Beyond the Beltway
California. Eduardo Medina of the New York Times: "About eight and a half million gallons of untreated sewage have spilled into a flood-control waterway in Los Angeles County since Thursday afternoon, prompting at least five beaches to close, an official with the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts said.... The spill began after a concrete pipe 48 inches in diameter in Carson, Calif., collapsed. The sewage leaked out of a manhole on 212th Street on Thursday evening and much of Friday.... From there, the waste traveled through storm drain pipes and toward the Dominguez Channel, a flood-control waterway that runs more than 15 miles from Hawthorne, Calif., and discharges into Los Angeles Harbor. Water from the channel eventually flows to the Pacific Ocean. Officials are investigating what caused the pipe, which wa built in the 1960s, to collapse."(Also linked yesterday.)
Way Beyond
Sudan. Max Bearak & Miriam Berger of the Washington Post: "Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok resigned in a televised statement Sunday, ending a short-lived political agreement with the country's military, which had temporarily deposed him in an October coup before allowing him to return to power. Hamdok's resignation follows weeks of wrangling between civilian and military leaders over the formation of a new government, but their differences proved insurmountable. Meanwhile, a massive protest movement has repeatedly filled the streets of Sudan's capital, Khartoum, denouncing both the military and Hamdok, whom they saw as compromised for his cooperation with the forces that sought to sideline him." An AP story is here.