February 21, 2023

Tuesday. February 21, 2023. Annette’s News Roundup.

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Joe is always busy.

The President made a surprise visit to Ukraine yesterday. He flew overseas, took a 10 hour train trip, and walked through Kyiv while air raid sirens went off.

On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. On February 20, 2023, President Joe Biden promised we are with Ukraine “as long as it takes.”

“One year ago, the world was literally at the time bracing for the fall of Kyiv... perhaps even the end of Ukraine... one year later, Kyiv stands. And Ukraine stands. Democracy stands. America stands with you, and the world stands with you."

Touch the tweet 👇 to watch our brave and moral President in Kyiv with President Zelenskyy.

U.S. President Joe Biden and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visit Saint Michael’s cathedral in Kyiv, February 20, 2023.

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The Biden White House can keep a secret.

Biden in Ukraine: How the president's surprise visit was kept a secret - BBC News.

It was an audacious trip almost unheard of for a US president.

Appearing in a war zone under regular attack, White House officials describe Joe Biden's unexpected visit to Ukraine's capital Kyiv as "unprecedented in modern times".

They say previous presidential trips to wartime Iraq and Afghanistan had the back up of a heavy US military presence.

And despite widespread speculation among the press corps that Mr Biden might be planning a trip to Ukraine while he was in Poland, the visit still took everyone completely by surprise.

The sight of him appearing beside President Volodymyr Zelensky in the heart of Kyiv and under the sound of air raid sirens, makes a louder statement than anything he can say in a speech in Poland.

"It was risky and should leave no doubt in anyone's mind that Joe Biden is a leader who takes commitment seriously," said White House communications director Kate Bedingfield.

No phones

Mr Biden had been scheduled to fly out from the US to Warsaw on Monday evening, for a two-day trip.

The advance schedule had two suspiciously lengthy gaps in his itinerary, and many wondered if that might be when he would slip into Ukraine.

Reporters at the daily White House press briefings have been repeatedly asking about a visit. We were told that there was no meeting scheduled with Mr Zelensky and no stops planned outside Warsaw "right now".

The final decision to make the trip to Kyiv was only taken on Friday, even though it had been planned for months with a handful of the presidents' top aides.

On Sunday, the official White House schedule still showed the president taking off for Warsaw at 19:00 EST (00:00 GMT) on Monday evening. In fact, Air Force One took off at 04:15 EST on Sunday morning.

On board was a deliberately small team of his closest aides, a medical team and security officers.

Only two journalists were allowed to travel with the president. They were sworn to secrecy and had their mobile phones taken away from them. They were not allowed to report the visit until after Mr Biden had arrived in Kyiv.

Russia was notified of the trip a few hours before Mr Biden's departure, according to the US national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

He said the US "did so for deconfliction purposes… I won't get into how they responded or what the precise nature of our message was, but I can confirm we provided that notice".

Vivid message home

President Biden then spent 10 hours on a train to get to Kyiv. He could have visited other locations inside Ukraine that would have been easier to get to, but he wanted to make the symbolic trip to Kyiv itself.

While the president's trip is a signal to Moscow of the Biden administration's commitment to helping Ukraine, it is also a demonstration to US voters back home.

His press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, was asked last week about polls that show American support Ukraine softening.

She answered that whenever the president speaks, he is talking to the American people as well as people around the world. Monday's message is designed to vividly counter the minority of Republican voices who question for how long the US can continue supporting Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the surprise visit has left reporters like me, who thought they were travelling with Mr Biden later on Monday, making the trip to Poland on an aircraft that will not be called Air Force One.

The world-famous call sign is only used when the president is on board. (Sarah Smith, Reuters - BBC).

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The Navajo Nation moves forward.

Meet the first woman to be elected speaker of the Navajo Nation's legislative branch.

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Elections in the Navajo Nation were held recently, and Crystalyne Curley won the race for council speaker. She is the first woman to lead the legislative branch of the Navajo Nation, and she joins an unprecedented number of Navajo women who now hold leadership positions in the nation's government. Speaker Curley joins us now from Window Rock, Ariz.

Speaker Curley, thanks so much for being with us. To continue, click here. (NPR).

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Election Day today. Virginia. Wisconsin.

Do what you can to help.

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Biden’s Pentagon issues abortion protections for the military. Republican Tuberville promises a logger-jam.

Tuberville and 9 other Senators ask Pentagon to justify claim that Court’s abortion decision will hurt military readiness. Other signers include Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, as well as Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi), Deb Fischer (R-Nebraska), Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), Mike Rounds (R-South Dakota), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota), Rick Scott (R-Florida), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee), and Josh Hawley (R-Missouri).

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What's happening: Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville plans to delay the approval of civilian Pentagon nominees and top military promotions after the Defense Department moved ahead with a new policy aimed at shoring up troops' access to abortion services.

The Alabama Republican announced Friday that he will hold up the speedy confirmations and promotions over the policies rolled out on Thursday.

“The Secretary of Defense is following through with his radical plan to facilitate thousands of abortions a year with taxpayer dollars," Tuberville said in a statement. "So, I will follow through with my plan to hold all Department of Defense (DoD) civilian, flag, and general officer nominations that come before the U.S. Senate."

Context: The Pentagon issued three policies aimed at easing access to abortion and other reproductive care for troops and family members.

The Defense Department will cover costs for troops who must travel to obtain abortions and will permit up to 21 days of administrative absence for troops to obtain an abortion or other reproductive care or accompany a spouse or dependent. DoD will also allow service members to wait up to 20 weeks of pregnancy before notifying commanders.

The policies follow a memo issued by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in October. The framework is aimed at easing the burden on troops seeking abortions or other reproductive care, but are stationed in states where the procedure is no longer legal after the Supreme Court overturned the federal protections of the Roe v. Wade precedent last year.

Hill GOP criticism: But the move drew swift pushback from leaders on the House and Senate Armed Services committees, as Republicans on those panels will likely look to curtail the new policy.

Tuberville — who followed through on a threat he made in December to jam up Pentagon nominees if the policy was implemented — argued the move is political rather than related to readiness.

"As I've stated, if Secretary Austin wants to change law, he should go through Congress. This is an illegal expansion of DoD authority and a gross misuse of taxpayer dollars — and I will hold him accountable. The American people want a military focused on national defense, not facilitating a progressive political agenda.”

What's next: Under Senate procedures, Tuberville alone can't prevent nominees from being confirmed. But placing a hold on personnel picks means Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will need to convene additional procedural votes, which makes confirming largely uncontroversial nominees much more time-consuming.

The holds on general and flag officers are especially inconvenient and could delay dozens, or even hundreds, of top promotions.

The Senate usually clears military promotions in large batches with little opposition or fanfare, which Tuberville's objection would upend. It could also present concerns for quickly filling top four-star military posts as they open up through retirements.

Keep in mind: It's just the latest hurdle for civilian nominees who have been waiting months to get on the job.

Confirmations largely came to a standstill last year as Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) objected to quickly approving nominees in protest over President Joe Biden's rapid pullout from Afghanistan. But senators managed to confirm a handful of picks before the end of the session.

— Connor O'Brien (Politico).

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As racist as the GOP’s new star, Marjorie Taylor Greene, often is, this video is still shocking. Touch to watch. 👇

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The new GOP Senator from Ohio, JD Vance. A disgrace. Touch. 👇

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Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell at Munich said the GOP was with Ukraine. Others say otherwise.

Rep.Matt Gaetz (R-FL) introduces resolution to halt U.S. aid to Ukraine.
Congressman Gaetz was joined by the following original co-sponsors on the “Ukraine Fatigue” Resolution: Reps. Andy Biggs (AZ-05), Lauren Boebert (CO-03), Paul Gosar (AZ-09), Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA-14), Anna Paulina Luna (FL-13), Thomas Massie (KY-04), Mary Miller (IL-15), Barry Moore (AL-02), Ralph Norman (SC-05), and Matt Rosendale (MT-02). (Wear News ABC).

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King Charles helps the fight against Climate Change.

The King with co-writer Tony Jupiter (right) and Emily Shuckburgh, climate scientist.

The King co-writes children's climate change book.

‘Climate Change' - a Ladybird Book, will be published next month.

Speaking at the reception, the book's co-author Chair of Natural England Tony Juniper said the King wanted to empower young people.

"I think he's been struck by the level of energy and passion shown by young people on these subjects, and was keen to put something into their hands which was about those basic facts and figures, basic ideas, but also with his personal message in there," Mr Juniper said.

In 2017 the King and Mr Juniper wrote a book for adults about climate change. The new publication aims to make the topic accessible for 7-11 year-olds and is "trying to bring the facts to the fingertips of the people who've got most to gain by finding solutions in time," Mr Juniper explained. (BBC).

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If we all could wave a magic wand, President Biden would be younger, but here is where the Democratic Candidates for President stand now.

The top 10 Democratic presidential candidates for 2024, ranked.
The article above 👆 lists who the Washington Post thinks are 1-10. Click on the title above 👆to see the full list.

The GOP presidential race has begun in earnest thanks to Nikki Haley; the Democratic one will apparently have to wait awhile longer — if it ever truly becomes a race.
President Biden has signaled he intends to run and that a presidential announcement could be imminent. His State of the Union speech earlier this month appeared to set the stage, and news of an apparently clean bill of health on his physical exam last week would seem to clear the way for the 80-year-old to take the plunge.


At this point, it seems safe to assume he’ll get in. The questions at that point become: Will anybody else? And will Biden lock it down over the next year?

President Biden and Vice President Harris appear during the National Governors Association Winter Meeting on Feb. 10.

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Here 👇 are numbers 3-1.

3. Kamala Harris. It’s generally not a good sign when the chatter turns from your own presidential prospects to whether the president will even keep you on the ticket if he runs. But Harris has now repeatedly been asked about that (thanks in part to a few tough recent profiles, and perhapsthe awkward answer on the subject from Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren). It’s difficult to see how Biden would ever change his running mate, so this really does feel like what Harris dismisses as “chatter.” But there’s no question the sitting vice president isn’t looking as strong as Democrats would prefer if Biden doesn’t run again. (Previous ranking: 3)


2. Pete Buttigieg. 
The transportation secretary keeps the second spot, but his day job has turned into a slog thanks to a series of crises — the most recent among them being the train derailment in East Palestine. What we do know is that Buttigieg apparently won’t be running for Senate; he rejected that possibility after Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) announced her retirement in his adoptive home state. (Previous ranking: 2)


1. President Biden
. Despite his continued weakness on the question of whether Democrats want him to run again — which is very unusual — Biden has to feel a little better about where things stand, given the results of the 2022 midterms. The 2022 election was good for Democrats, inflation is easing, and it’s looking like Republicans will spend the next year engaged in an ugly nominating contest (Trump is already lodging very ugly allegations about DeSantis, for instance). Another factor to keep in mind here: Democrats are attempting to move South Carolina, Georgia and Michigan ahead in the primary process, and all three are good states for Biden. That’s no coincidence, and it also has to color — at least somewhat — the calculus of anyone who might decide to run against him. (Previous ranking: 1)
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