| | | | |  | | By Eugene Daniels and Eli Okun | |  President Joe Biden said Ukraine aid and Covid aid both need to pass Congress. | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images | NEWS THE WHITE HOUSE WON'T LIKE — U.S. GDP declined by 0.4% in the first quarter — an annualized growth rate of -1.4%, according to new Commerce Department data released this morning.
- That's the worst quarter for GDP since the early days of the pandemic, and a big drop from Q4 of 2021, when the economy grew by an annualized rate of 6.9%.
- Among the contributing factors: a growing trade deficit, pandemic stimulus drying up, rising interest rates and slowing business inventory investments.
But, but, but: Under the hood, most experts say the economic recovery remains strong.
- Consumer spending grew by 0.7% in the first quarter "despite the Omicron wave of the coronavirus, which restrained spending on restaurants, travel and similar services in January," writes NYT's Ben Casselman.
In a statement, President JOE BIDEN responded to the news by pinning the first-quarter number on "technical factors," and took the opportunity to offer a preview of midterms messaging: criticizing Sen. RICK SCOTT's (R-Fla.) tax proposal, which Biden said would raise "taxes on middle class families, including half of small business owners." UKRAINE AID LATEST — Biden this morning unveiled his administration's request to Congress for a new round of aid to Ukraine: a stunningly large $33 billion. (For context: that's more than half the annual budget he requested for the State Department and USAID. It's also about half the size of Russia's defense budget.) The package comprises $20 billion in military/security aid and additional pots for economic and humanitarian assistance. "Investing in Ukraine's freedom and security is a small price to pay to punish Russian aggression to lessen the risk of future conflict," Biden said. "Throughout our history, we've learned that when dictators do not pay the price for their aggression, they cause more chaos and engage in more aggression. They keep moving. And the cost, the threats to America and the world keep rising." How it will be seen in Europe: Such an overwhelming amount of money "sends a signal to Russia that the United States intends to back Ukraine in the fight for the long run," Paul McLeary, Connor O'Brien and Nahal Toosi report. "It will also likely boost Ukrainians who say they want to defeat Russia, not merely settle for a long-term stalemate." Congress already passed almost $14 billion for Ukraine just last month. But there are still hurdles to face in Washington. While there's broad bipartisan support in Congress for aid to Ukraine, this new request is heading straight into the congressional negotiating muck, Andrew Desiderio reports . Democrats are planning to link it with the Covid aid bill, which Republicans have held up over a separate immigration policy dispute. "In the near term, many Democrats appear willing to dare Republicans to vote down a bill that includes the much-needed Ukraine military assistance." Biden said both bills need to pass, but he sounded agnostic about Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER's specific push to link them together. "Let's get both of these critical tasks done," Biden said. "No delays, no excuses. Just action. Now." (Worth noting: This position contradicted the official line in his letter to Congress, which asked lawmakers to fold the Covid aid in.) The package Biden is sending to Congress will also include new steps to seize Russian oligarchs' assets and send the resulting money to Ukraine. Good Thursday afternoon. CONGRESS PAIN AT THE PUMP — Appearing together at a presser this morning, Speaker NANCY PELOSI and Schumer were laser-focused on passing legislation to tackle price-gouging and market manipulation by fossil fuel companies, which they insisted would be one of the most effective ways to lower gas prices. "We're picking up the hood and shining a spotlight on how these corporations price and function," and then empowering regulators to tackle it, Schumer said. Pelosi said the Senate legislation is just about finished, and the House will seek to wrap up its bills on the matter within the next week or so. Pelosi sounded cooler to the idea of suspending the gas tax, which some Democrats have been advocating. Dismissing it as "good PR," she said it would have to be funded, and she wouldn't necessarily expect big oil companies to pass the resulting profits on to the consumer. THE WHITE HOUSE STUDENT LOAN DEBT LATEST — Despite Schumer's optimism this week, Biden said today that canceling $50,000 in student loan debt per borrower is not on the table. "I am considering dealing with some debt reduction," he told reporters. (The NAACP quickly fired back, "$50,000 was just the bottom line.") OUT TO LUNCH — The lunches Biden and VP KAMALA HARRIS shared regularly last year have dwindled in recent months, RealClearPolitics' Philip Wegmann reports: Public schedules show they've dined together just twice this year, down from a dozen lunches by this point in 2021. "White House aides insist that the executive lunches, while important to both Biden and Harris, are not the ultimate barometer of cooperation between the two."
| | | | JOIN US ON 4/29 FOR A WOMEN RULE DISCUSSION ON WOMEN IN TECH : Women, particularly women of color and women from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, have historically been locked out of the tech world. But this new tech revolution could be an opportunity for women to get in on the ground floor of a new chapter. Join POLITICO for an in-depth panel discussion on the future of women in tech and how to make sure women are both participating in this fast-moving era and have access to all it offers. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | WAR IN UKRAINE KNOWING VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY — On the cover of Time, Simon Shuster has a big new story about the Ukrainian president from two weeks spent reporting inside the presidential compound in Kyiv this month. It depicts a group of leaders thrust suddenly into war, tormented by the conflict and trying desperately to secure the rest of the world's support. Zelenskyy's "sense of humor is still intact," Shuster writes, "But two months of war have made him harder, quicker to anger, and a lot more comfortable with risk. Russian troops came within minutes of finding him and his family in the first hours of the war, their gunfire once audible inside his office walls. Images of dead civilians haunt him. So do the daily appeals from his troops." LATEST DEVELOPMENTS … — Ukraine said today it would move some troops to its border with Moldova, where explosions were recently reported in the breakaway region of Transnistria, per the NYT. — Russia has gradually seized towns south of Izyum, but the "progress is slow and yet to achieve a decisive breakthrough," WSJ's James Marson reports. ALL POLITICS TRUMP ON MCCARTHY — Per Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns' new book, "This Will Not Pass," DONALD TRUMP had this assessment of why House Minority Leader KEVIN MCCARTHY claimed to talk tougher to Trump than he actually did: "Inferiority complex." (via Maggie Haberman) TRUMP ON MCINTOSH — Despite Trump's recent sparring with the Club for Growth in the Ohio GOP Senate primary, the former president tells the NYT that his relationship with the group's leader DAVID MCINTOSH is "great," and "[w]e have an unblemished record of success." 2022 WATCH — The Democratic Party's worsening brand among working-class union members is threatening its prospects in Ohio, where longtime Democratic Rep. MARCY KAPTUR now finds herself at risk post-redistricting, NYT's Jonathan Weisman reports from Toledo. Kaptur has long counted on union support, but the Trump-era GOP's populism, trade policies and cultural grievances are drawing many members away from Dems. And in Kaptur's district, "some of her oldest, firmest allies in the union world are having their doubts." GEORGIA ON MY MIND — The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Dylan Jackson dives intoHERSCHEL WALKER's business history and finds that he "has spent years promoting and developing health-conscious products with dubious benefits and a skepticism from the medical community." Walker's efforts have often lost him money, but Jackson links them to his skepticism of public health guidelines on the campaign trail. — The long-shot primary challenger to Rep. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-Ga.) is trying to marshal support from the establishment business community, WSJ's Siobhan Hughes reports from Dalton. JENNIFER STRAHAN "is aiming to score an upset by wooing conservatives who are disaffected with Mrs. Greene, Hispanics who sat out 2020 and new voters brought in through redistricting." But Greene has far outraised her and leads in the limited polling. ENDORSEMENT WATCH — In the Wisconsin Senate Democratic primary, TOM NELSON is getting a boost from the local branch of the BERNIE SANDERS-aligned Our Revolution, Holly Otterbein scooped. Along with support from the state's Sunrise chapter, it's a progressive shot in the arm for Nelson, who's lagged behind Lt. Gov. MANDELA BARNES thus far. IT'S ALWAYS THE COLLEGE OP-EDS — Jewish Insider's Matt Kassel digs up an essay Arizona Senate candidate BLAKE MASTERS wrote in college "in which he referenced a 'poignant quotation' from Nazi leader HERMANN GOERING, while citing a noted conspiracy theorist who has suggested that an infamous antisemitic tract 'accurately' describes 'much of what is happening in our world.'" POLICY CORNER UP IN SMOKE — The FDA is expected today to propose a ban on menthol cigarettes and cigars, a major change that could ax a third of American cigarettes from the market in a couple of years, WSJ's Jennifer Maloney reports. Decades in the making, a ban could have significant public health impacts and potentially save hundreds of thousands of lives, but the disproportionate use of menthol cigarettes by Black people has led some Black political groups to be divided over the policy. HELENA'S LATEST REVELATION — "Whistleblower warned FDA about formula plant months before baby deaths," the latest in Helena Bottemiller Evich's investigations AFTERNOON READ — In POLITICO Magazine, Nancy Scola has an interesting profile of ALONDRA NELSON, the sociologist who's now the new head of the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy. "The administration is making a bet that her academic and professional background isn't a weakness but an asset," Nancy writes. And as the first Black woman in the role, "Nelson and supporters are hoping that right now is a moment to center questions of who innovates, and who benefits from it."
| | | | DON'T MISS ANYTHING FROM THE 2022 MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE: POLITICO is excited to partner with the Milken Institute to produce a special edition "Global Insider" newsletter featuring exclusive coverage and insights from the 25th annual Global Conference. This year's event, May 1-4, brings together more than 3,000 of the world's most influential leaders, including 700+ speakers representing more than 80 countries. "Celebrating the Power of Connection" is this year's theme, setting the stage to connect influencers with the resources to change the world with leading experts and thinkers whose insight and creativity can implement that change. Whether you're attending in person or following along from somewhere else in the world, keep up with this year's conference with POLITICO's special edition "Global Insider" so you don't miss a beat. Subscribe today. | | | | | THE PANDEMIC VACCINES FOR KIDS — Moderna today officially asked the FDA to sign off on its Covid vaccine for kids under 6, which would be the first one to become available for young children. There's no timeline for when regulators would respond, and officials have suggested — to some controversy — they may wait to review the data alongside Pfizer's. More from Reuters BEYOND THE BELTWAY ABORTION FILES — Oklahoma legislators today passed a near-total abortion ban, modeled on Texas' new law, that would outlaw the procedure after about six weeks and allow private citizens to sue over abortions. Gov. KEVIN STITT is expected to sign. It's particularly impactful because in the wake of Texas' law, many Texans have gone to neighboring states like Oklahoma to obtain abortions. More from The Oklahoman MEDIAWATCH ANOTHER ACQUISITION — G/O Media has bought Quartz for an undisclosed sum, NYT's Benjamin Mullin and Katie Robertson report. Quartz leader ZACH SEWARD will remain as the site's editor-in-chief and general manager, and no layoffs are expected. PLAYBOOKERS OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at a party for former U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius' new book, "Nothing is Impossible: America's Reconciliation with Vietnam" ($29.95), at Nelson Cunningham's Georgetown home on Wednesday night: John Negroponte (who introduced Osius), Carla Hills, Eric Rubin,Jim Kolbe and Thomas Hubbard. — SPOTTED at a DCCC fundraiser that brought in over $200,000, hosted by Kate Winkler Keating, Kevin Casey and Joe Crowley at the Sazerac House on Wednesday night: Dem Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), DCCC Chair Sean Patrick Maloney (N.Y.), Reps. Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.), Dan Kildee (D-Mich.), Kathy Manning (D-N.C.), Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.) and Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), Amanda Slater, Matthew Cutts, Elizabeth Wise, Drew Preston, Joanne Cunningham, Sam DePoy, Mike Brown, Brandon Webb, Blair Bartlett, Priya Dayananda and Stephen Jewett. — SPOTTED at the National Museum of African American History & Culture for the premiere of the Smithsonian Channel and Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions' new documentary, "The Color of Care," on Wednesday night: Ala Stanford, director Yance Ford, Hetty Cunningham, Tara Narula, Keith Gambrell, Elizabeth Gay, Aletha Maybank, Alfiee Breland-Noble, Garnesha Ezediaro, David M. Carlisle, Kevin Young, Terry Wood, Catherine Cyr, Tim Evans, Jason White, Brianna Cayo-Cotter, Karen Finney, Kamau Marshall, Joy-Ann Reid, Nicole Carroll, Wesley Lowery, Amanda Finney, Lark-Marie Anton, Krista Mahr, Mabinty Quarshie, Akilah Johnson, Taryn Galbreath and Hamil Harris. OMB ARRIVAL LOUNGE — Wintta Woldemariam is now director of legislative affairs at OMB. She most recently was deputy assistant A.G. in DOJ's Office of Legislative Affairs, and is a Jim Clyburn and Obama White House alum. MEDIA MOVES — Ruby Cramer will be a national political enterprise reporter at WaPo. She currently is a senior staff writer at POLITICO Magazine. Announcement … Efrain Hernandez Jr. will be a deputy national security editor at WaPo. He previously has spent nearly three decades at the L.A. Times. Announcement — The NYT is shuffling around some big names as it preps for the election. Maggie Haberman is coming back from book leave to be a senior political correspondent. Jonathan Martin (aka the man having the most fun on any book tour ever) is transitioning into "into an enterprise beat with big ambitions," according to the Times, which outlined its full midterms team. TRANSITION — Taylor Holgate is now government relations director for Match Group. She most recently was senior director for federal government affairs at the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, and is a Richard Burr alum. ENGAGED — Jill Dickerson, Republican press secretary for the Senate Commerce Committee, and Jeffrey Necaise, a sales representative for Pfizer, got engaged April 15. He proposed on the Spanish Steps. They met as seventh grade classmates in Memphis, where he was her first boyfriend. After breaking up in early high school, they became best friends and stayed platonic until their senior year of college. Instapics WEDDINGS — Colin Reed, founding partner of South & Hill Strategies and a Scott Brown and Mitt Romney alum, and Andrea Woods, manager for media relations at the American Petroleum Institute, got married Saturday night at the Dockmaster Building at the Wharf. Their Capitol Hill neighbor chef Lejon Williams officiated, and their dog Tillie joined them at the altar. Pic … Another pic — Appu Suresh, founder of clean social media platform Pixstory, and Priyanka Kotamraju, author of "The Murderer, the Monarch and the Fakir," got married in a two-day ceremony Wednesday and today in New Delhi. They met working as journalists at the Hindustan Times. Pic … SPOTTED: Winston Bao Lord and Stephanie Lord, Karan Adani, Gautam Adani, Rajiv Krishna, Ramesh Ganesan, LA Laker Dwight Howard, Santanu Agarwal, Jeffrey Stoddard and Lindsay Singleton. WELCOME TO THE WORLD — Ryan Coyne, co-founder and CEO of political and digital marketing firm Olympic Media, We The People Wine and the Working Warrior Foundation, and Alba Reyes, a TV host and former Miss Universe runner-up, welcomed Noah Ryan Alexander Coyne on April 7. 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