Ukraine asks Congress for arms to fight Russia

Biden levies more sanctions: "Putin chose this war"

Congress looks at sending more military aid to Ukraine. Biden levies new sanctions against Russia. And a senior Republican Senator will resign later this year. This is “Regular Order” for February 25, 2022.

UKRAINE. With Russian forces moving toward the capital city of Kyiv, Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexey Reznikov pleaded on Thursday for emergency military aid from the U.S. “We need more Stingers and anti-tank equipment as possible to protect our peaceful cities," Reznikov said in a videotaped message. “Today we are protecting Europe from invasion.”

• ARMS. Early skirmishes showed Ukraine was successfully stopping some Russian armor with Javelin anti-tank missiles provided by the U.S. "We must now send FIM-92 stinger missiles to Ukraine," said Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL). "The Javelins are doing a number on Russian tanks."

• MONEY. Members of both parties also expressed support for the idea of some kind of emergency aid package in Congress. "We must give more financial support and military equipment to Ukraine to defend itself," said Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN).

• VIDEO. Take 90 seconds to listen to the plea of the Ukraine Defense Minister to the Congress. He concludes by saying, “Glory to Ukraine. God Bless America.”

INTEL. One GOP lawmaker has been providing a fairly accurate public play-by-play of what's been happening in Ukraine. Seemingly relying on briefings, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) - the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee - has been regularly posting assessments on Twitter of Russian attacks, and what might be next.

• OVERVIEW. "Russia's invasion has already taken longer and been costlier than Putin expected," Rubio tweeted, rattling off a list of Russian attacks on cities near the border with Romania, Poland, and Slovakia.

• KYIV. On Thursday night, Rubio indicated U.S. officials believe the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv will be the focus for the Russian military - "then the entire world would come face to face with a depravity not seen in 80 years," Rubio said.

• WORLD WAR II. That same assessment was made last night by Ukraine's Foreign Minister. "Last time our capital experienced anything like this was in 1941 when it was attacked by Nazi Germany."

SANCTIONS. A day after Russian forces pushed into Ukraine, President Biden sanctioned four more Russian banks and instituted export controls to cut off Russian high-tech imports. "Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now, he and his country will bear the consequences," Mr. Biden told reporters.

• CONGRESS. The sanctions drew strong support in both parties. “NATO and our allies must sanction Putin until he bleeds,” said Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN). “Don't hold anything back,” said Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell.

• BELARUS. The new sanctions also target Belarus, which allowed Russian forces to enter Ukraine from the north. 24 individuals and entities - including state-owned banks - will face sanctions. Full details at this link.

• NATO. At 9 am, President Biden will be in the White House Situation Room to hold a virtual summit with NATO allies. Mr. Biden made clear again on Thursday that he would not send U.S. troops into Ukraine to fight Russia.

BIDEN. While Republicans backed the extra sanctions, some directly blamed the President for the Ukraine invasion. "Biden allowed Putin to cross his red line without severe consequences," said Rep. Dan Meuser (R-PA). "Biden did the impossible and brought war to Europe," said Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ).

• ACTION. Lawmakers also want quicker results. "We need an aggressive op center,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), “to effect rapid, real-time seizure of assets belonging to Putin, his oligarch cronies, and the big Russian corporations they corrupted.”

ROMNEY. In a statement, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) needled both Democrats and Donald Trump about their approach to Putin, as Romney brought up an infamous 2012 debate attack from Barack Obama. "The '80s called' and we didn't answer," Romney said.

• DEBATE. Back in 2012, Obama ridiculed Romney for referring to Russia as 'our number one geopolitical foe,' saying "the 1980's are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back." Obama said that Al Qaeda was the biggest threat.

• TRUMP. Romney also chided supporters of Trump by knocking the idea of 'the shortsightedness of America First' - a throwback to the isolationism of the Republican Party in the 1920's.

• BACK TO THE USSR. What has Vladimir Putin shown us? He wants to bring back the Soviet Union. That could mean trouble for more than just Ukraine. That's my column this week for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

ENERGY. Republicans in the Congress say the best way to get back at Putin is to send more American energy resources around the world to compete with Russian sources. "Increasing our natural gas exports is one of the best way we can combat Russian aggression," said Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC).

• DOMESTIC PRODUCTION. With gas prices going up, Republicans have argued for months that President Biden was going the wrong way on energy. "Iowa’s biofuel producers are ready to stabilize prices & meet demand," said Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA).

• OIL. In November of 2021, the U.S. imported 17.8 million barrels of crude oil and petroleum from Russia. Republicans say that should end. "We need to lean into North American energy independence now more than ever," said Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH).

SENATE. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) is reportedly ready to announce that he will resign from the Senate. The 87-year old Oklahoma Republican was elected to another term in 2020, but will evidently leave the Senate later this year. His announcement will trigger a special election in the coming months.

• BOOMER SOONER. I covered the Oklahoma delegation for 25 years on Capitol Hill. This would be a big shakeup because of the GOP battle it will certainly trigger for Inhofe’s seat - which he has held since 1994. Whoever is on the ballot, Republicans would be favored.

• GOP SHIFT. Inhofe’s departure could also create musical chairs for Senate Republicans. He is the top GOP lawmaker on the Senate Armed Services Committee, which is a prized slot.

• PRESS GALLERY CURMUDGEON NOTE. Sen. Inhofe is not 'retiring.' When you retire, you don't run for re-election. He is leaving early, so he will be 'resigning' from the U.S. Senate. That is all.

SUPREME COURT. An announcement of a new Supreme Court Justice could theoretically come as early as today at the White House. President Biden said he would make that choice by the end of the month - which is on Monday.

• PSAKI. "We are still on track to make an announcement before the end of the month," said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, who again shed no light on any meetings involving the President.

• TEA LEAVES. There was some speculation that federal appeals court Judge Kentanji Brown Jackson would be the pick - because a decision that she was part of was released on Thursday, a day earlier than normal. The same thing happened with Justice Brett Kavanaugh, when he was tapped from the same federal court. Stay tuned.

ECONOMY. Understandably overshadowed by the attack on Ukraine, there were more good economic numbers released Thursday by the Commerce Department - it showed economic growth increased at an annual rate of 7.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021. That was up a tick from the original estimate released last month.

REGULAR ORDER. The events of the past week are a reminder that you can give a gift subscription to a friend and support independent journalism on Capitol Hill at the same time!

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MUSE OF HISTORY.  February 25, 1893.  This day was yet another example of 'Infrastructure Week' in the halls of Congress.  The House Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce reported out a series of plans dealing with bridges - across the Missouri River, the Mississippi River, the Illinois River, a new bridge over the Mississippi in St. Louis, one over the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh.  The House had just passed a bill to build a bridge over the Calumet River in Illinois.  Over in the Senate, Senators moved to okay a bridge between Superior, Wisconsin and Duluth, Minnesota over the St. Louis River, and a bridge over the Alabama River near Montgomery.

LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:

The House next has votes on Monday.

The Senate next has votes on Monday.

President Biden’s daily schedule link.

Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree. Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com

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