The Hill’s Morning Report – Biden touts record US military budget, swipes anew at Putin

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President Biden turned Monday to the green-eyeshade details of a new 10-year budget proposal to breathe new life into a domestic agenda largely stalled in Congress, shrugged off by some Democratic candidates and dimly understood by many voters during a high-stakes election year (The Hill).

 

“Budgets are statements of values, and the budget I am releasing today sends a clear message that we value fiscal responsibility, safety and security at home and around the world, and the investments needed to continue our equitable growth and build a better America,” Biden said in a written statement.

 

The Hill’s Morgan Chalfant and Aris Folley boil it down: The president wants to raise taxes on the wealthy to hike revenues as he spends more at the Pentagon and on some favored domestic programs while showing on paper that a $5.8 trillion blueprint for fiscal 2023 can shrink red ink over a decade.

 

The budget process ahead of a fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 is already so hobbled by partisan divisions and delays that Biden’s ideas are chalked up as political triage. A tax hike on billionaires may be generally popular with voters, according to polls, but Republican lawmakers balk at raising taxes — and conservatives hope to capture the congressional majority next year.

 

The Hill: Tax experts Monday zeroed in on the budget’s proposed changes to the estate and gift tax that would go after inherited caches of wealth that have long stood beyond the reach of tax collectors.

 

The New York Times: Biden’s budget, or “bipartisan unity agenda,” bows to political reality.

 

Reuters: Biden calls for record peacetime military spending.

 

The Associated Press: Biden’s budget plan seeks higher taxes on the rich, lower deficits.

 

Some highlights (The Hill): Biden proposes to boost domestic investments by 7 percent over current spending. Top of his list: $773 billion for the military, or a 10 percent boost for the Pentagon. Other priorities: $17 billion to combat gun trafficking and close to $70 billion for FBI crime-fighting. He also wants to address climate change with $45 billion in federal spending spread out across the government, for an increase of about 37 percent over this fiscal year. The president also uses his budget to get ahead of what Republicans rhetorically espouse but both parties have not practiced in years, especially during crises and pandemics: cutting the federal deficit (The New York Times).

 

The Hill: The president proposes nearly $82 billion over five years to prepare for future pandemics.

 

The New York Times: The administration’s budget focuses on fighting inflation, but that project is primarily up to the Federal Reserve.

 

The Hill: The president’s proposal to impose a 20 percent minimum tax on billionaires faces an uphill path to becoming law but it gives Democrats openings to publicly capitalize on the unpopularity of wealthy, famous business titans.  

 

The Hill: Biden’s budget accelerates a shift on immigration away from Trump-era policies.

 

The Hill: Biden proposes spending more for antitrust enforcement at the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department.

  

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LEADING THE DAY

 

UKRAINE CRISIS: Biden on Monday stood by his remark that Russian President Vladimir Putin should be removed but noted that the comment was not a change in American foreign policy and was, instead, a personal expression of his “moral outrage.”

 

“The fact of the matter is I was expressing the moral outrage I felt toward the way Putin is dealing and the actions of this man,” Biden continued, noting he had just met with Ukrainian refugees before giving his speech in Poland. “I wasn’t then, nor am I now, articulating a policy change.”

 

“I was expressing moral outrage that I feel, and I make no apologies for it,” he added (The Hill).

 

Biden’s remarks come ahead of the first set of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in two weeks toward a potential cease-fire to end more than a month of fighting. The two sides are set to meet today and Wednesday in Turkey. 

 

The renewed discussions will take place shortly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky laid out the terms under which Ukraine could declare neutrality and accept a compromise regarding areas in eastern Ukraine. The terms would also have to include security guarantees to Russia to secure peace “without delay”.

 

According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Zelensky and Putin could eventually meet once the key elements of a potential deal are hammered out (The Associated Press). 

 

Reuters: Ukraine sets cease-fire goal for Russia talks as United States says Putin not ready to end war.

 

The Wall Street Journal: Ukraine and Russia prepare for talks in Istanbul as Russian missiles hit cities. 

 

ABC News: Germany says Group of Seven rejects Russia’s demand to pay for gas in rubles.

 

Reuters: Mayor says Ukrainian forces have retaken the city of Irpin from Russians.

 

The Associated Press: After Russian forces pull back, a shattered town breathes.

 

➤ Billionaire Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich and two Ukrainian peace negotiators reportedly suffered from symptoms of being poisoned earlier this month after a series of meetings surrounding a possible end to the war in Ukraine, including one in Kyiv. 

 

The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that Abramovich, best known for his ownership of Chelsea Football Club in London, and the two Ukrainian officials suffered a number of symptoms, including red eyes, constant and painful tearing, and peeling skin on their faces and hands. Abramovich was also blinded for a few hours and had trouble eating.

 

The billionaire has taken part in talks in Moscow, Belarus and other locales since the war started nearly five weeks ago. The suspected culprits are hard-line Russians who sought to derail the discussions to allow the fighting to continue.

 

Abramovich was pictured at the latest round of talks between the two sides in Istanbul today.

 

Bloomberg News: NATO allies are split on whether they should talk to Putin. 

 

The Washington Post: “No one is thinking about … using a nuclear weapon,” Putin spokesman says. 

 

The Associated Press: Ukrainian refugees near 4 million.

 

Reuters: Mayor of Chernobyl workers’ town says Russian forces have left.

 

The Associated Press: Poll: Nuclear fears in US amid Russia-Ukraine war.

  

IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKES

 

POLITICS & MORE CONGRESS: A federal judge said Monday in a civil ruling that former President Trump likely committed crimes tied to the 2020 election.

 

Judge David Carter of the Central District of California pointed to Trump’s efforts to persuade former Vice President Mike Pence to upend the certification of the Electoral College results. 

 

“The illegality of the plan was obvious,” Carter wrote. “Our nation was founded on the peaceful transition of power, epitomized by George Washington laying down his sword to make way for democratic elections. Ignoring this history, President Trump vigorously campaigned for the vice president to single-handedly determine the results of the 2020 election.”

 

The judge’s ruling is considered a breakthrough for the House select panel investigating the Jan. 6 attacks. The committee is weighing whether to file a criminal referral to the Justice Department as it details violations of law it believes Trump may have committed (The New York Times). 

 

“The Court found that (Trump) more likely than not committed multiple federal crimes in his attempt to overturn the election. The Court’s opinion also includes a warning: that a failure to pursue accountability could set the stage for a repeat of January 6th,” Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), the committee’s chairman and vice chairwoman, respectively, said in a statement.

 

Carter’s remarks came as part of an order for John Eastman, a lawyer who aided Trump’s push to overturn the election results, to turn over more than 100 emails to the panel. 

 

Adding to the issues for Trump, the committee also voted to advance contempt of Congress proceedings against Dan Scavino, a longtime Trump aide and his top social media staffer, and Peter Navarro, teeing up possible prosecution by the Department of Justice. The contempt report against the two ex-White House staffers will now move to the full House, which must take up for consideration the third and fourth censure of former Trump officials who have defied the committee, as The Hill’s Rebecca Beitsch notes.

  

Meanwhile, Republicans are coming to the side of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas days after it was revealed that his wife, Ginni Thomas, pushed top Trump officials to overturn the election results following his 2020 electoral loss to Biden. 

 

As The Hill’s Jordain Carney notes, Democrats are calling on Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from any future cases related to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and question why he didn’t do so in high-profile cases over the past year. However, top Republicans are coming to his aid, underscoring the limited reach Congress has despite high-profile pushback against the senior-most justice.  

 

As CNN notes, the Jan. 6 panel is preparing to reach out “soon” for an interview with Ginni Thomas.

 

Bloomberg News: The Senate on Monday passed a China competition bill to start talks with the House. 

 

The Associated Press: “Don’t Say Gay” bill signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).

 

OPINION

 

Congress tries to shut off China’s corporate money spigot, by Jianli Yang, opinion contributor, The Hill. https://bit.ly/3INWdPy

 

We study virus evolution. Here’s where we think the coronavirus is going, by Sarah Cobey, Jesse Bloom, Tyler Starr and Nathaniel Lash, opinion contributors, The New York Times. https://nyti.ms/3tM86l3 

 

WHERE AND WHEN

 

The House meets at 3 p.m. The House Budget Committee will hear testimony from Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young at 10 a.m. about the president’s fiscal 2023 budget submission. The late Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), the dean of the House, will lie in state in Statuary Hall. 

 

The Senate convenes at 10 a.m. and will resume consideration of the nomination of C.S. Eliot Kang to be an assistant secretary of State.

 

The president receives the President’s Daily Brief at 8:45 a.m. Biden will meet in the Oval Office at 10:45 a.m. with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. They will make a joint press statement in the East Room at 12:45 p.m. Biden will pay his respects to the late congressman Young in the Capitol. The president at 4 p.m. will sign into law the Emmett Till Antilynching Act and deliver remarks.

 

Vice President Harris will hold a bilateral meeting with the prime minister of Singapore at 1:35 p.m. She will join the president at 4 p.m. to speak during the signing of the Till legislation. 

 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is traveling in Morocco. He met this morning in Rabat with Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and participated in a joint press event with Bourita. Blinken will speak with a group of young Moroccan women who work in STEM fields. He will meet Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch, and later confer with United Arab Emirates Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed.

 

The White House daily press briefing is scheduled at 3 p.m. with communications director Kate Bedingfield.

 

Hill.TV’s “Rising” program features news and interviews at http://digital-stage.thehill.com/hilltv, on YouTube and on Facebook at 10:30 a.m. ET. Also, check out the “Rising” podcast here.

 

ELSEWHERE 

  

➤ CORONAVIRUS: Total U.S. coronavirus deaths each morning this week: Monday, 976,704; Tuesday, 977,688. … Reuters reports that the highly transmissible BA.2 cousin of the omicron variant of COVID-19 is now dominant in worldwide testing as it spreads rapidly through Europe, Asia and is now in the United States. … Headlines are filled with VIP names of those who announced on Monday they tested positive for COVID-19, including Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (he had just concluded a series of meetings with Blinken before the news) (The Associated Press) and innovator and businessman Elon Musk (The Hill).

 

➤ SUPREME COURT: Justice Thomas, 73, participated remotely in oral arguments on Monday, three days after the court said he was released from the hospital following treatment for an infection. Chief Justice John Roberts made the announcement prior to the start of arguments. A court spokesperson did not respond to a request for more information (The Hill).

 

➤ TRADE: The U.S. will need to substantially increase its reliance on imports of foreign metals to meet the Biden administration’s goal for electric vehicles. Such a shift could see nations such as Indonesia, Congo, Chile, Australia, Argentina and the Philippines rise to OPEC-like controlling positions over the global energy market (The Hill and The Associated Press).

 

➤ HEALTH: Walmart on Monday announced that it will no longer sell cigarettes in some of its stores, including in California, Florida, Arkansas and New Mexico. The retail chain follows other competitors in moving away from cigarette sales, including CVS, which did so in 2014, and Target in 1996 (The Wall Street Journal). 

 

THE CLOSER

 

And finally … The arc of history bends toward justice, even if it takes Congress some time.

 

Today, the president will sign the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, which makes lynching a hate crime punishable by up to 30 years in prison. More than 4,000 people, mostly African Americans, were reported lynched in the U.S. from 1882 to 1968. Ninety-nine percent of perpetrators escaped state or local punishment. The measure, introduced in the House by Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), passed on a 410-to-3 in February. In the Senate, the legislation sponsored by Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) was approved unanimously (The Washington Post).

 

In late August 1955, Emmett Till, the son of a single mother who lived in Chicago, was visiting relatives in Money, Miss., when witnesses accused the 14-year-old Till of whistling at a white woman in a store where he bought some bubble gum. The woman’s husband and brother-in-law, both white, kidnapped and beat the Black teenager on Aug. 28, shot him in the head, tied his body with barbed wire to a large metal fan and disposed of his remains in the Tallahatchie River, where the body was recovered three days later. An all-white, male jury acquitted the pair in 67 minutes. Till’s experience and the Mississippi murder trial helped fuel the civil rights movement (History.com).  

 

Morning Report is created by journalists Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver. We want to hear from you! Email: asimendinger@digital-stage.thehill.com and aweaver@digital-stage.thehill.com. We invite you to share The Hill’s reporting and newsletters, and encourage others to SUBSCRIBE!