Today’s edition of quick hits:
* A big ask: “President Joe Biden asked Congress on Thursday for an additional $33 billion in military and humanitarian aid for Ukraine as officials anticipate the conflict stretching on for months. The funding request includes $20 billion in military and security assistance, including weapons and ammunition for Ukraine and its allies in the region and money to replenish U.S. weapons stockpiles.”
* On a related note, Team Biden seems excited about this one: “The White House unveiled a proposed legislative package on Thursday that would allow the federal government to sell assets seized from Russian oligarchs over the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine and use the proceeds for military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.”
* Vaccine news: “Moderna asked the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday to expand the use of its Covid-19 vaccine to children ages 6 months to 5 years. The drugmaker’s request will now be considered by the FDA, which is expected to make a final decision in June.”
* Title 42: “A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the Department of Homeland Security to halt its efforts to dissolve a coronavirus-related border restriction initiated in 2020, potentially derailing the Biden administration’s goal of rescinding the Trump-era policy by late May.”
* The GDP data looked bad, but it wasn’t that bad: “The U.S. economy contracted in the first three months of the year, but strong consumer spending and continued business investment suggested that the recovery remained resilient. Gross domestic product, adjusted for inflation, declined 0.4 percent in the first quarter, or 1.4 percent on an annualized basis, the Commerce Department said Thursday.”
* Clarifying: “Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, said on Wednesday that the pandemic was not yet over, after telling the ‘PBS NewsHour’ on Tuesday that the United States was ‘out of the pandemic phase.’ He offered clarification on NPR’s ‘1A’ on Wednesday, saying: ‘I want to clarify one thing. I probably should have said the acute component of the pandemic phase. And I understand how that can lead to some misinterpretation.’”
* Jan. 6 committee: “Interviews with committee members and a review of the panel’s information requests reveals a focus on emergency powers that were being considered by Trump and his allies in several categories: invoking the Insurrection Act, declaring martial law, using presidential powers to justify seizing assets of voting-machine companies, and using the military to require a rerun of the election.” * In related news: “Multiple current and former Republican National Committee staffers have spoken with the Jan. 6 select committee amid questions about the party’s messaging and fundraising in the weeks after the 2020 election, according to two people familiar with the probe. The committee has shown particular interest in staff from the RNC’s digital and finance teams.” * I’m interested in hearing more about how and why this happened: “Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday released a report alleging that top Trump administration officials had awarded a $700 million pandemic relief loan to a struggling trucking company in 2020 over the objections of career officials at the Defense Department.” See you tomorrow.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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