WH ups Ukraine pressure campaign on Johnson, House GOP
As Ukraine finds itself at a tipping point, White House officials blame the speaker and his conference for blocking urgent aid for the war-torn country.
👋🏾 Hi, hey, hello! Welcome to Once Upon a Hill, your twice-weekly guide to the obvious and obscure ways congressional politics shape how you work and live. I’m Michael Jones and I hope you had a pleasant President’s Day weekend.
I spent mine at Google DC and Howard University, attending the inaugural National Association of Black Journalist’s Political Journalism Institute. Shout out to my friend Tia Mitchell, Washington Correspondent for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and chair of the NABJ Political Task Force, for producing such a wonderful, knowledge-filled event.
ICYMI: For my latest COURIER column, I wrote about how the “Trumpification” of the House Republican Conference is driving GOP institutionalists out the door—and what that means for our backsliding democracy.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) announced a bipartisan task on artificial intelligence as congressional regulation fails to keep pace with how quickly the technology advances. The task force, led by Chair Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) and Co-Chair Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), will bring together members with expertise in AI and from relevant committees to produce a comprehensive report with guiding principles and policy proposals.
The announcement comes after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) launched a major effort last April with Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico and Republican Sens. Mike Rounds of South Dakota and Todd Young of Indiana to get ahead of AI.
As I wrote for COURIER last month, the bipartisan AI gang convened three all-senator briefings throughout the spring and summer on the current state of AI, where the technology is headed in the future and AI’s impact on national security. Before the briefings, Schumer said he met with nearly 100 CEOs, academics and other stakeholders. Schumer also introduced a comprehensive framework at the Center of Strategic and International Studies last June on how Congress can and should act on AI. And following the briefings, Schumer held a series of forums with leaders in business, civil rights, defense, research, labor and the arts to discuss AI regulation.
I wouldn’t hold my breath on Congress passing meaningful measures to establish sensible guardrails for AI. We’re in an election year with a compressed legislative calendar dedicated to clearing several must-pass bills lawmakers punted last year. These have been a heavy lift. It’s hard to see how they squeeze AI into the agenda.
The Biden campaign announced it raised over $42 million in January, bringing its total war chest to a historic $130 million. The amount marks the highest total cash on hand for any Democratic candidate at this point in the election cycle.
The massive haul was fueled by strong grassroots support: 97 percent of all donations were under $200 and the campaign has 158,000 sustaining donors from all 50 states and various occupations. The campaign did not disclose how much money the campaign spent last month.
Incumbents usually enjoy a cash advantage over their challenger ahead of the general election—as Trump did in 2020 before Biden closed the gap—but this significant money advantage will ensure the president’s campaign has the resources to take its case for reelection to the American people whenever and however it sees fit.
The RNC or Trump campaign has yet to release fundraising totals for January. They started the year with over $8 million cash on hand and $33 million, respectively.
The Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to admissions rules at a Virginia college. The case would have tested the limits of the court’s decision to strike down affirmative action last summer. Read Justice Alito’s dissent • ICYMI: “The Supreme Court strikes down affirmative action”
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), the chair of the Senate Banking Committee, said his panel would monitor the developments following Capitol One’s acquisition of Discover Financial Services to ensure the merger doesn’t enrich shareholders and executives at the expense of consumers and small businesses.
“With a merger this size, the regulators need to ensure our financial system remains strong and competitive so that consumers continue to have access to safe, affordable products and services,” Brown said in a statement. “A rubber-stamped merger that makes powerful financial companies even bigger and more powerful will do nothing for families.”
The merger will combine two of the largest credit card companies. Capitol One currently issues Visa and Mastercard credit cards; the Discover acquisition will give the $52 billion company access to an additional 100 million customers.
Related: “Capitol One-Discover merger may face stiff antitrust review in Washington” (WaPo)
Reproductive Freedom for All endorsed Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) for reelection in what will be one of the most closely watched contests as Democrats look to hold the Senate and White House. The group, which described Rosen as a steadfast champion for reproductive freedom who will work to restore the federal right to abortion, has also endorsed other swing-state incumbents, including Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Sherrod Brown.
The Democratic National Committee and Arizona Democratic Party announced it would pursue legal action to protect provisions in Arizona’s Elections Procedure Manual against attacks from third-party groups. The DNC and ADP claim the attacks are aimed at limiting options for voters and causing chaos at polling locations.
Arizona is considered a vital battleground in 2024 as it was in 2020. Biden carried the state almost four years ago by 10,457 votes—a 0.3 percent margin—marking the first time a Democratic presidential nominee won the state since Bill Clinton in 1996.
The 2020 Trump campaign filed seven lawsuits contesting the election processes of Arizona, all of which were either dismissed or dropped.
The White House upped its pressure campaign against Speaker Johnson and House Republicans on Tuesday as the Biden administration lobbies the speaker to bring a Senate-passed bill to the floor that would provide billions in additional funding to Ukraine.
As the two-year anniversary of the Russian invasion approaches, Ukraine finds itself at a tipping point: It surrendered the city of Avdiivka to Russian forces to avoid encirclement as Ukrainian troops ration the little ammo it has left in the absence of congressional action.
What makes matters worse, in the eyes of the White House, Ukraine is suffering these losses while the House is in recess.