The Hill’s Morning Report — Biden aims to ease China tensions directly with Xi

by Alexis Simendinger and Kristina Karisch - 02/17/23 6:25 AM ET

President Joe Biden speaks about the Chinese surveillance balloon and other unidentified objects shot down by the U.S. military, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

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President Biden on Thursday put China on public notice that surveillance balloons and any other high-altitude encroachments into U.S. airspace by China will be destroyed, adding he plans to speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping about the recent incursion, which has strained relations between the two superpowers.

“I make no apologies for taking down that balloon,” Biden said during White House remarks, his first extensive discussion of his orders early this month to use a missile to bring down a Chinese spy balloon as well as three other unidentified aerial objects spotted on consecutive days beginning a week ago.

“We’ll also continue to engage with China, as we have throughout the past two weeks,” Biden said. “We’re not looking for a new Cold War.”

The president said the trio of smaller devices destroyed over Alaska, Canada and Lake Huron were “most likely” research or other equipment without “nefarious” aims, although the government does not know “exactly what these three objects were.”

U.S. officials privately expect Secretary of State Antony Blinken to use a potential meeting with China’s top diplomat this weekend in Germany to de-escalate tensions over the balloon breach, although a meeting has not been announced between the secretary and Chinese diplomat Wang Yi, who delivers a speech in Munich today (Axios and Voice of America). Wang will end his European tour in Russia (Global Times).

Blinken had been scheduled to meet with Xi in Beijing earlier this month, but canceled when China’s balloon, known to the U.S. military in flight, suddenly became public knowledge as it drifted over Montana on its way to the Atlantic Ocean where it was shot down.

Biden on Thursday said three times that he wants to speak with Xi directly and “get to the bottom of this” (Bloomberg News).

Vice President Harris, who is participating at the Munich Security Conference along with Blinken, said this week that the U.S. shootdown of China’s surveillance balloon should not rupture diplomatic relations with Beijing. “We seek competition but not conflict or confrontation,” she told Politico.

The president is scheduled to be in Europe next week. On Tuesday, he will deliver an address in Warsaw, Poland, to mark a year of war since Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.

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LEADING THE DAY

➤ POLITICS

A Fulton County, Ga., special grand jury investigating efforts by former President Trump and his allies to overturn Trump’s 2020 election loss in Georgia concluded that some witnesses may have lied under oath and recommended that charges be filed. Those witnesses were not identified in the five-page excerpt of the grand jury report made public Thursday, but the known targets in Georgia include former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and 16 Republicans who held a meeting to carry out the fake elector plot by voting to certify the election for Trump.

“A majority of the grand jury believes that perjury may have been committed by one or more witnesses testifying before it,” the report reads. “The grand jury recommends that the district attorney seek appropriate indictments for such crimes where the evidence is compelling.”

The investigation in Atlanta has been seen as one of the most significant legal threats to the former president, given his personal role in pressuring Georgia election officials to “find” enough votes to overturn his loss in the state. The Fulton County district attorney, Fani Willis, said recently that a decision about possible charges was “imminent” and the grand jury concluded unanimously that there was no evidence of voter fraud in the state (The Hill, The New York Times and The Washington Post).

▪ The New York Times: Who is the Georgia prosecutor bringing the case?

▪ The Hill: New poll shows 7 in 10 think Trump intentionally held on to classified documents.

▪ The Atlantic: How to beat Trump in a debate.

Former Vice President Mike Pence hints at a 2024 run: Nikki Haley “may have more company soon” (Politico).

▪ Roll Call: Amid 2024 speculation, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) speaks of racial and partisan splits.

▪ ABC News: Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), outspoken about his own party, weighs reelection run.

➤ CONGRESS

Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.), the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, is feeling pressure from Republicans on the panel to slow down the pace of judicial confirmations after Democrats confirmed Biden’s 100th court pick this week. As The Hill’s Alexander Bolton writes, Graham supported 107 of Biden’s nominations in the last Congress, but with less than two years left in Biden’s first term — and Republicans eyeing a chance to win back the White House — conservatives want Graham to slam the brakes.

Vox: How Biden could surpass Trump’s record on judges.

House Republicans, meanwhile, are turning the U.S.-Mexico border into something of an extension campus, holding multiple hearings and events there to raise alarm about security enforcement, drug trafficking, and immigration policies, The Hill’s Emily Brooks reports. The House Energy and Commerce investigations and health subcommittees held a joint field hearing in McAllen, Texas on Wednesday. Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) led a group of freshman House Republicans on a border trip to Cochise County, Ariz., on Thursday.

The House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing in Yuma, Ariz., next week, and House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.) wants to hire full-time staff members to be based near the U.S.-Mexico border.

▪ NPR: McCarthy leads first border trip in his new role. Critics call it a photo op.

▪ The Hill: White House hits GOP for “partisan publicity stunts” ahead of border visits.

A new budget report pushing the insolvency date for Social Security to within a decade is prompting fresh unease among senators and an increasing urgency to act, writes The Hill’s Aris Folley. In its latest budget outlook report, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance trust fund, which pays out retirement and survivors’ benefits, would be exhausted in 2032, a year sooner than the agency previously expected.

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) on Thursday expressed concern about the development, telling The Hill it raises the stakes for Congress to act sooner on shoring up solvency for the program. But lawmakers have long been wary about touching Social Security and there has been little visible unity on Capitol Hill on the issue, other than promises from both parties to not touch the popular program, and with public attention higher in recent weeks, a partisan feud has begun to heat up over entitlements on Capitol Hill as both sides clash over how to address the nation’s debt limit.

The bottom line: Both sides of the aisle know that Medicare and Social Security need reforms, but those changes aren’t happening anytime soon.

NPR: How seniors could lose in the Medicare political wars.

After 2011’s near-default, Democrats are rejecting tying budget negotiations to debt ceiling talks while Republicans say that is the only way. The two parties have drawn opposing lessons from the past debt limit standoff (The Wall Street Journal).

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) on Wednesday night “checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to receive treatment for clinical depression,” his chief of staff, Adam Jentleson, said in a statement. “While John has experienced depression off and on throughout his life, it only became severe in recent weeks.”

Fetterman, who suffered a stroke last year before winning the Pennsylvania Senate race in a highly competitive contest, was hospitalized earlier this month after feeling lightheaded but his office said tests ruled out another stroke. Senate Democrats on Thursday instantly rallied around Fetterman (NBC News and The Hill).

“Happy to hear @SenFettermanPA is getting the help he needs and deserves. Millions of Americans, like John, struggle with depression each day,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) wrote on Twitter. “I am looking forward to seeing him return to the Senate soon.”

Senate Banking Committee member Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) says he wants Biden to name a Hispanic nominee to the Federal Reserve to succeed Vice Chair Lael Brainard in order to add diversity to the board (Punchbowl News). Brainard is leaving the central bank to lead Biden’s National Economic Council, and economic candidates for the Fed vacancy include Austan Goolsbee, president since January of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Goolsbee first appeared in national news headlines as an economic policy adviser during the presidential campaign of then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). He is a former chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers (The Wall Street Journal).

Meanwhile, embattled Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), who faces legal questions about the accuracy of his campaign financial disclosure reports and flagrant résumé padding, insisted this week that he will not leave Congress. He suggests he may seek a second term, an idea that gives GOP leaders the shivers. The Federal Election Commission this week told the congressman to identify a new treasurer for his campaign and several affiliated political committees, warning that his failure to do so will bar the groups from raising or spending any money (The Hill).

Here are federal, state and even international entities examining Santos’s actions (The Hill): Nassau and Queens counties in New York, the New York attorney general’s office, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, and the Brazilian government. House GOP colleagues who consider him a liability and embarrassment say Santos could be pushed out if he’s found guilty of violating the law.

IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKES

➤ INTERNATIONAL

China on Thursday retaliated against Lockheed and Raytheon for weapons sales to Taiwan, a day after Beijing vowed to take “countermeasures” in response to Washington’s handling of a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that entered U.S. airspace in January. The companies will be added to China’s sanctions list, and will be banned from importing, exporting and investing in China. Both companies are also subject to fines “twice the amount” of their arms sales to Taiwan dating back to September 2020, and their senior executives will be prohibited from entering and working in China (CNN).

As Russia steps up its offensive in eastern Ukraine, weeks of failed attacks on a Ukrainian stronghold have left two Russian brigades in tatters, raised questions about Moscow’s military tactics and renewed doubts about its ability to maintain sustained, large-scale ground assaults. In recent weeks, the Kremlin has rushed tens of thousands more troops, many of them inexperienced new recruits, to the front lines as President Vladimir Putin’s forces seek to demonstrate progress before the anniversary of his invasion on Feb. 24. But Western officials estimate that a large part of Russia’s army is already fighting in Ukraine (The New York Times and The Hill).

▪ International Institute for Strategic Studies: The military balance 2023: analyzing Russia and Ukraine’s military forces and China’s military modernization.

▪ CBS News: Russia’s Wagner chief says no more prison recruits as group’s role in Ukraine war shrinks.

▪ The Washington Post: In wake of Ukraine war, U.S. and allies are hunting down Russian spies.

▪ CNN: Why Ukraine thinks Russia will launch a new offensive from Belarus.

▪ The Wall Street Journal: Belarus leader stands by Putin and is prepared to aid more Russian attacks on Ukraine.

The tiny city of Ezrin in Turkey’s southern Hatay province is an oasis of safety and normality while life throughout the region has been overturned by last week’s earthquake. Residents and officials say Erzin suffered no deaths and saw no buildings collapse, and they credit a long-standing determination not to allow construction that violated the country’s codes. Emre Tibikoglu, 39, who has been working for the municipality for six years, said he believed 20,000 people had flocked to Erzin since the earthquake, about a 50 percent increase in the town’s population.

“We know we are in an earthquake area,” he said, citing the insistence of the current mayor and previous ones not to allow buildings that failed to meet construction codes to be put up. He said that whenever officials realized there were buildings that had been illegally built, they would get them taken down (NBC News).

▪ NPR: The earthquake in Turkey and Syria offers lessons and reminders for disaster response.

▪ Reuters: Syria’s quake response needs outstrip resources, President Bashar al-Assad says.

OPINION

■ Who’s afraid of Black history? by Henry Louis Gates Jr., guest essayist, The New York Times. https://nyti.ms/3xvcvtG

■ Beauty, lies & ChatGPT: Welcome to the post-truth world, by Subbarao Kambhampati, opinion contributor, The Hill. https://bit.ly/3k16mSX

WHERE AND WHEN

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The House will convene for a pro forma session at 10 a.m.

The Senate meets at 10 a.m. for a pro forma session.

The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief in the Oval Office at 10:15 a.m.

Vice President Harris is in Germany participating in the Munich Security Conference, where she will join the leaders of France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Finland and Sweden. The vice president will meet this evening with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, President Emmanuel Macron of France and host a reception at the Commerzbank with members of the U.S. Congress who traveled to Munich for the conference. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) are among the members of the large U.S. delegation. Harris will deliver a speech to the conferees on Saturday.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Germany. He will be in Turkey beginning on Sunday and in Greece next week. The secretary today meets in Munich with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock at 4:45 p.m. local time. He will meet at 7:10 p.m. local time with Moldovan President Maia Sandu.

First lady Jill Biden will travel to Valparaiso, Ind., to discuss career-connected learning during a visit to Ivy Tech Community College at 1 p.m. She will be accompanied by Labor Secretary Marty Walsh and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

Second gentleman Doug Emhoff is in Houston this morning where he and Isabella Guzman, the administrator of the Small Business Administration, will meet with the owners of Bismillah Restaurant and Café, followed by the owners of Pronto Printing. They will be joined by members of Congress representing Houstin and Mayor Sylvester Turner (D). Later in Houston, Emhoff and Guzman will join members of Congress and local Jewish community members for a gathering with the owners of Kenny and Ziggy’s New York Delicatessen.

The White House daily press briefing is scheduled at 1:30 p.m.

ELSEWHERE

➤ STATE WATCH

Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) urged Gov. Mike DeWine (R) to declare an emergency in East Palestine, Ohio, following the controlled release this month of toxic chemicals from derailed train cars (WKBN27). EPA Administrator Michael Regan, Brown and Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) visited the community on Thursday to confer with local officials and members of the community.

Residents who peppered officials with questions at a town hall meeting on Wednesday say they worry about harmful contaminants despite assurances that water is safe to drink and that surfaces and the air are not poisoned.

Several organizations have petitioned the governor to formally declare a state of emergency and to request Federal Emergency Management Agency funds from the White House. But DeWine on Wednesday downplayed such requests. “The president called me and said, ‘anything you need.’ I will not hesitate to call him if we see a problem, but I’m not seeing it,” DeWine said in a press conference (The Hill).

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost advised Norfolk Southern on Wednesday that his office is considering legal action against the rail operator. Here are the toxic chemicals released after the derailment and the known impacts, short- and long-term (The Hill).

▪ Bloomberg News: Norfolk Southern pledges $1 million for East Palestine, Ohio, as fury grows over the chemical disaster and Biden offers help.

▪ The New York Times: Chernobyl 2.0? The Ohio train derailment spurs wild speculation.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has been criticized by Republicans in relation to the Ohio train derailment controversies, prompting renewed scrutiny of his department leadership. On Thursday, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) called for the secretary’s resignation (The Hill).

The Hill: Two dozen Republican-led states sue the EPA over a 2022 regulation that could determine which types of wetlands and streams gain federal protections from pollution.

➤ PANDEMIC & HEALTH

The administration is mulling continuing to help the uninsured with free COVID-19 vaccines, tests and treatments through 2024. The initiative represents a bid to quell fears that the most vulnerable Americans could be left without access to care once the government exhausts its ability to purchase vaccines and treatments and shifts responsibility for distributing them to the private market (Politico).

▪ The New York Times: Narcan is safe to sell over the counter, advisers to the FDA conclude.

▪ ABC News: Moderna says its COVID-19 vaccine will remain free for all consumers, even those uninsured.

▪ Reuters: Bird flu alarm drives world towards once-shunned vaccines.

Information about the availability of COVID-19 vaccine and booster shots can be found at Vaccines.gov.

Inflation and pressing household expenses are forcing some people to postpone health needs, an emerging trend that has health experts worried that conditions may only worsen. Rising out-of-pocket costs are weighing heavily on the scale, pushing aside tests or procedures when troublesome symptoms emerge. And these days, the grocery list feels more pressing to many families (The New York Times).

“We are starting to see some individuals who are putting off some care, especially preventive care, due to the costs,” said Tochi Iroku-Malize, the president of the American Academy of Family Physicians and the chair of family medicine for Northwell Health in New York, told the Times. When between going to the doctor or paying for rent and food, “the health issue is no longer the priority.”

A new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office has called for greater federal oversight of ethics boards that sign off on scientific studies, finding that for-profit companies have taken an outsize role in approving certain research and questioning whether financial motivations could put human subjects at risk. While the majority of these boards are affiliated with universities, a small number have no affiliation with institutions conducting research, but these independent boards now account for the largest share of reviews of studies involving new drugs and biologics (The Washington Post).

Total U.S. coronavirus deaths reported as of this morning, according to Johns Hopkins University (trackers all vary slightly): 1,117,113. Current U.S. COVID-19 deaths are 2,838 for the week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (The CDC shifted its tally of available data from daily to weekly, now reported on Fridays.)

THE CLOSER

And finally … 👏👏👏 Kudos to this week’s Morning Report Quiz winners! Mulling aerial orbs, we posed some trivia questions about balloons in the headlines and in history.

Here’s who rose to the challenge and triumphed: Lou Tisler, Amanda Fisher, William Grieshober, Harry Strulovici, Pam Manges, Patrick Kavanagh, Richard Baznik, Don Swanson, Paul Harris, Jaina Mehta, Terry Pflaumer, Bob Hickerson, Robert Bradley, J.A. Ramos, Mark Roeddiger, Stephen Delano, Randall S. Patrick, J. Jerry LaCamera, Luther Berg, Joe Atchue, Bobby McLellan, Tom Chabot, Eric Truax and Steve James.

They knew that the U.S. government did not detect a red insignia of the Chinese Communist Party on the balloon spotted publicly over Montana this month. The correct answer was “false.”

During World War II, Japan released more than 9,000 balloons carrying incendiary bombs in a failed plan to burn down U.S. cities and forests using wind power.

On Tuesday, a federal grand jury indicted a man and woman for conspiring to use Mylar balloons (and other means) to try to destroy a ring of electrical substations around Baltimore.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is the federal entity that operates 92 weather balloon sites that conduct daily surveillance of changing conditions (69 locations in the mainland U.S. and 13 in Alaska).

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