Year two for Ukraine

A play-by-play preview of the day’s congressional news

Feb 24, 2023 View in browser   By Olivia Beavers With help from Anthony Adragna and Marianne Levine. ANOTHER ASSIST?: Today marks the one-year anniversary of Russian tanks crashing into Ukraine. And the looming and soon-to-be consuming question as the second year of war begins to unfold is whether House Republicans will pass additional aid for Ukraine with a slim majority. Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has repeatedly said he wants to review how the previously passed funds were used, but it is unclear what those statements translate to when the time comes to pass more funding. And many of the Republicans who oppose additional Ukraine aid are also among the 20 GOP members who opposed the California Republican earlier this year for the gavel. Some are passionately pushing the isolationist messaging: That the U.S. shouldn’t be involved in an overseas war and the federal government isn’t doing enough about national security, particularly when it comes to the U.S.-Mexico border. E.G. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who has introduced a resolution that aims to express “fatigue” in the House over its military and financial aid to Ukraine, and “urges all combatants to reach a peace agreement.” While it won’t pass because it lacks the speaker’s support, it is a message from one corner of the party. But, but, but… Other Republicans are warning that failing to protect Ukraine now would create a graver threat. And as a counter-message of support within the conference, a group of House Republicans led by Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv this week while making the case for ongoing support. Here are some quick fast facts about the the war, per Harvard Belfer Center’s one-year-in report card: Days: 365 Deaths: “The death toll in the first year of this war numbers over 100,000–making it far deadlier than other post-Cold War conflicts but still much less lethal than the World Wars.” Expense of war: While Congress has approved $113 billion so far, Belfer says “Ukraine’s expenditure is about equivalent to the US war effort during World War II, essentially mobilizing all of society, and with unprecedented levels of foreign assistance.” If you scour POLITICO’s homepage this morning you will see it is largely dedicated to the toll and impact of this war. Please check them out: How American energy helped Europe best Putin by Ben Lefebvre | Why Volodymyr Zelenskyy Is a More Complex Leader Than Most People Know by Jessica Pisano for POLITICO Mag | ‘Oh my God, it’s really happening’ by by Suzanne Lynch, Lili Bayer, and Jacopo Barigazzi | Ukraine: The day the war broke out by Jamie Dettmer Related: Separated by war, a Ukrainian family balances safety, duty and love by the Washington Post | Landmarks lit, vigils held to mark first anniversary of Ukraine war by Reuters   JOIN POLITICO ON 3/1 TO DISCUSS AMERICAN PRIVACY LAWS: Americans have fewer privacy rights than Europeans, and companies continue to face a minefield of competing state and foreign legislation. There is strong bipartisan support for a federal privacy bill, but it has yet to materialize. Join POLITICO on 3/1 to discuss what it will take to get a federal privacy law on the books, potential designs for how this type of legislation could protect consumers and innovators, and more. REGISTER HERE.     TGIF! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Friday, February 24, where your fill-in Huddle host hopes everyone enjoyed the rare perfect weather yesterday. THIS WEEKEND: Congressional efforts to raise awareness about the threat some lawmakers see posed by the Chinese Communist Party is happening this weekend. The folks sharing the podium are not commonly spotted together. Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), Chairman of the House Select China Committee, will be joined by his GOP colleague Rep. Neal Dunn (R-Fla.) as well as progressive Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) as they seek to rally and speak out against an unauthorized Chinese Communist Party “police station” that was recently raided by the FBI, which was first reported on by The New York Times. Gallagher has expressed a strong intent on making his panel bipartisan. The event, slated to happen in New York on Saturday, is designed to highlight these “police stations” that are designed “to harass, stalk, surveil, and blackmail people who go against the [CCP],” per the media notice. FIRST IN HUDDLE: The Governing Majority Education Fund, a 501c(4) that supports "center-right policy solutions and responsible governance through research and education," is looking to grow its operations and have a more prominent voice in supporting the policy goals and “elevating the voice of center-right members in the House.” Drew Kent, a longtime Hill veteran who was hired as the group’s Executive director last year, tells your Huddle host the fund, which is tied to the Republican Governance Group, is looking to be a counterweight in the new GOP majority as its membership continues to grow. “We look forward to having a strong impact through education, research, information and action to support responsible governance in the House and push back on the extremism that unfortunately seems to draw much of the attention," Kent said. The group also recently announced that former Reps. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) and John Katko (R-N.Y.), who led RG2 for five years, are joining a board that includes centrist former House Republicans. AN ERNST CONVO ABOUT FOREIGN POLICY: Former ambassador to the United Nations and 2024 presidential candidate Nikki Haley will be back in Iowa next month for a foreign policy forum with Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) hosted by The Bastion Institute. The event will take place March 10 and comes just after Haley wrapped a recent trip to the Hawkeye State. In a statement, Ernst said she looked forward to "a timely discussion with Ambassador Haley on important national security and foreign policy issues and their impact on hardworking Iowans." The Iowa Senate Republican previously hosted former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, another potential 2024 candidate, for The Bastion Institute. More here from the Des Moines Register's Brianne Pfannenstiel. Related: The GOP field descends on Iowa, readying to eat some humble pie by our own Natalie Allison. TOP OF THE TICKET, EH?: McCarthy and NRCC Chair Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) privately made the case to donors and lobbyists over the weekend that bad candidates at the top of the ticket in last year’s midterms running for governor or Senate impacted the GOP’s ability to win more House seats down-ballot, per Axios’ Hans Nichols and Josh Kraushaar. ENES(IDE) THE CAPITOL HALLS? Former NBA star Enes Kanter Freedom said Thursday he would like to run for Congress “when the time is right and shout out to whoever’s out there listening.” Speaking on Fox Business’ “Mornings With Maria,” the outspoken critic of the Chinese and Turkish governments said he’s not currently raising money but “I started having conversations with some of my friends and members of Congress.” The former star athlete attended Senate Republican and House Republican Study Committee lunches last year. TRAVEL BUG: As CNN’s Annie Grayer points out, the House GOP is pushing for quite a bit more funds for field hearings than Democrats did… like nearly 33 times more: “House Judiciary GOP has requested $262,400 for travel in 2023. House Judiciary Dems spent $7,986 on travel in 2022.” DRAMA CLASS IS OUT, DRAMA IS NOT: More sparring between Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) over their different views on immigration policy. ANOTHER SANTOS SAGA: Josh Lafazan, one of the Democrats who has filed to run in GOP Rep. George Santos’ New York district next year, had a VERY different version of events about his visit to Santos’ office than Santos did. Hmmm.   DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO MOBILE APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS– DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID.     QUICK LINKS  Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) blasts Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas) over comments questioning her loyalty to the U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) offered rare praise of Biden's new asylum policy. Former Rep. Jason Chaffetz isn’t ruling out challenging Mitt Romney for Senate, by the Washington Examiner’s Cami Mondeaux. Cha-Ching: Sen. Kyrsten Sinema pays a security expert who happens to be Tulsi Gabbard’s sister $300,000, by The Daily Beast’s Sam Brodey. What can Congress accomplish in a divided government? Bloomberg’s Steven Dennis, Laura Litvan and Erik Wasson break down what they could get done. TRANSITIONS Aria Austin is now a legislative aide for Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.). She previously was a staff assistant for Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.). Jake Corsi is now a legislative assistant for Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.). He previously was a legislative correspondent for Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-Tenn.). TODAY IN CONGRESS The House and Senate are both back next week. Party. Trivia THURSDAY’S WINNER: Dan Cohen was the first person to correctly guess that South Carolina Sens. Strom Thurmond and Fritz Hollings were the longest serving Senate duo (i.e. two senators from the same state, who served together). TODAY’S QUESTION: From Dan: Who was the first elected member of the Senate, what was the vote and how long was his term of service? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your answers ktullymcmanus@politico.com GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone each morning. Follow Olivia on Twitter at @Olivia_Beavers.   Follow us

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