(WASHINGTON) — Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday announced the Justice Department is taking action to combat hate crimes through the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, mentioning how last weekend’s mass shooting in Buffalo is being investigated as such a crime.
DOJ is investigating whether the shooter who gunned down 10 Black people last Saturday at a Buffalo supermarket targeted the victims because of their race.
Garland told an audience that included Black and Asian community leaders that “an entire community was terrorized.”
“Last weekend’s attack was a painful reminder of the singular impact that hate crimes have not only on individuals but on entire communities,” he said. “They bring immediate devastation. They inflict lasting fear,” he continued.
“We are employing every resource we have to ensure accountability for this terrible attack, to ensure justice for grieving families and provide support for the community,” he said.
Garland pledged to use “every available tool” to investigate hate crimes overall, saying they are “evolving” and that federal prosecutors must evolve strategies to combat them.
DOJ is required to do so by congressional mandate in the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act.
“No one in America should fear violence because of who they are,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said. “This department will not tolerate any form of terrorism, hate based violence or unlawful discrimination.”
DOJ says they are partnering with the Department of Health and Human Services to lay out steps “law enforcement, government officials, community based organizations and others can take to raise awareness of increased hate crimes and incidents, and to use this increased awareness as a tool for prevention and response,” according to a Justice Department official who briefed reporters on Thursday.
One example, the DOJ official said, was addressing the need for language and cultural competency when engaging with communities affected by hate crimes
Garland also announced grant solicitations “including to programs established under the new Hire No Hate Act to support states to create state run hate crime reporting hotline and to support increased law enforcement reporting to the National Incident based Reporting System.”
On the same day as Garland’s announcement, leaders from the NAACP were set to meet with him, and they released a two-page plan to stop another mass shooting.
“We’re focused on preventing the next attack. We need to act. Democracy and white supremacy cannot coexist and will never coexist,” NAACP President Derrick Johnson said in a statement. “It’s one or the other. We’re fighting for democracy.”
An NAACP source told ABC News the “spread of white supremacy across social media platforms” would be a main topic of discussion.
ABC News’ Beatrice Peterson contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — New York’s political scene — upended this week by a newly drawn congressional map — got even more interesting Friday with an announcement from former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.
“Today I’m declaring my candidacy for Congress in the 10th Congressional District of New York,” de Blasio said during an appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe.
The new district will span from lower Manhattan to Brooklyn, including de Blasio’s neighborhood of Park Slope, if the map is approved as expected by a state judge on Friday.
“The poll shows people are hurting,” de Blasio told Morning Joe co-host Joe Scarborough. “They need help, they need help fast, and they need leaders who could actually get them help now and know how to do it.”
De Blasio’s run for a House seat comes after two terms as mayor and a failed presidential bid in 2020. He also considered a run for governor earlier this year but ultimately decided not to challenge sitting Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul. Instead, he said at the time would devote “every fiber” of himself to fight inequality in New York.
He tweeted Friday morning that “the way to save democracy is be part of it.”
At least one other Democrat will be competing against de Blasio for the nomination. State Sen. Brad Hoylman told THE CITY this week he’ll be campaigning in the new 10th District barring any more changes from the court.
But more are reportedly considering jumping into the race. Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou’s team said this week she’s been approached by community leaders to run in the new district, and that she’s “seriously considering” it.
New York’s current 10th Congressional District is represented by House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler. But thanks to the new map, Nadler is running in a new district against House Oversight Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney.
The new map also pits Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, the head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, against first-term progressive Rep. Mondaire Jones.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called the situation “chaos” on Thursday, while Rep. Hakeem Jeffries said the map would “make Jim Crow blush” since it splintered several historically Black neighborhoods.
The new districts were unveiled earlier this week by a court-appointed expert after the New York Court of Appeals in April charged the legislature of improperly gerrymandering the map they originally proposed.
New Yorkers also now have to wait until August to vote in the primary elections for Congress, rather than picking their party’s nominees in June, because of the redistricting process.
(NEW YORK) — Democrats began the year hopeful that congressional redistricting in New York would favor the party – and insulate their slim House majority from a tumultuous midterm election cycle.
But a new map expected to be approved Friday has left the state’s Democrats scrambling, reshaping the political landscape in the diverse districts in the New York City area, prompting accusations of racism and disenfranchisement and straining relationships in the influential delegation.
“Chaos,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said Thursday when asked about the state of affairs.
Two powerful committee leaders are set to face off in a new Manhattan seat. The chairman of the party’s campaign committee tasked with defending the majority said he would run in a neighboring district, angering members across the ideological spectrum and prompting accusations of racism.
And a potential successor to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was drawn out of his Brooklyn district in the new map, which also splintered several historically Black neighborhoods.
“It would make Jim Crow blush,” Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters Thursday.
In April, the New York Court of Appeals voided proposed state Senate and congressional maps, charging that Democrats in Albany improperly gerrymandered their proposals after an independent commission failed to strike a deal on new maps.
That led to the appointment of a special master by a court in upstate New York, who unveiled the revised maps earlier this week that threw the delegation into disarray.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., who lives on Manhattan’s liberal Upper West Side, will compete in a new district against House Oversight Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., who has represented the borough’s East Side.
For decades, the two lawmakers have worked together on major issues facing the city – including health benefits for Sep. 11 first responders.
“What he did was atrocious,” Nadler said of the new map proposed by Jonathan Cervas, the court-appointed official. “We’ll see what happens.”
“A majority of the communities in the newly redrawn NY-12 are ones I have represented for years and to which I have deep ties,” Maloney said in a statement.
Jeffries, the No. 4 member of House Democratic leadership, was thrown into a new district with Rep. Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., another veteran member of the Congressional Black Caucus.
On Wednesday he released a digital ad bashing the proposal that invoked Rep. Shirley Chisholm, who represented the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood in Congress for nearly a dozen years.
The new map would force four of the state’s seven Black House members into two districts, House Democrats’ campaign committee pointed out in a letter submitted to the court and a group of impacted New York voters.
“Black members of New York’s congressional delegation have built diverse coalitions of support; they represent communities of Black, Brown, and White voters. The Proposed Map threatens to undo this significant progress,” they wrote.
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-N.Y., who leads the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and represents the state’s 18th congressional district, told reporters in Philadelphia in March that the party “came out of redistricting with a better map than the one through which we currently hold the majority.”
After the latest map was released, he announced plans to run in the 17th district, which includes his home in Putnam County but is mostly comprised of communities represented by freshman Rep. Mondaire Jones, D-N.Y.
“I’m the only sitting member who lives in the district, which is now numbered NY-17, which remains a competitive district that we will have to win in the fall,” Maloney said, defending his decision. “From my point of view, I’m just running where I landed.”
New York state law only requires members of Congress to live in the state, not their home districts.
Jones, who has not announced his reelection plans, told Politico Maloney had not consulted him on his decision, and his chief of staff tweeted a similar message after Maloney’s announcement.
Maloney’s supporters have argued that incumbent-on-incumbent primaries are inevitable every 10 years when redistricting takes place — and that Jones, who is Black, would be better suited to represent New York’s 16th district, which includes southern Westchester County and is currently represented by progressive Rep. Jamaal Bowman.
Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., another Black freshman lawmaker, criticized that message as “thinly veiled racism.”
Maloney has also argued that he would better align ideologically with the more competitive 17th district as a moderate who has won races in a GOP-leaning district in the past won by former President Donald Trump.
Ocasio-Cortez on Thursday told reporters that Maloney’s decision not to run in the 18th district was “particularly shameful” and “hypocritical,” and could leave an opening for Republicans to flip a seat.
Maloney “cannot seem to take his redistricting on the chin, and be able to run in a district that is still 70% his,” she said Thursday, adding that he should step down from leading the DCCC if he runs against Jones.
“If he is going to enter the primary and challenge another Democratic member, then he should step aside from his responsibilities,” she said.
For her part, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has defended Maloney, a member of her leadership team.
“We’re very proud of Sean Patrick Maloney,” she said Thursday.
“He is our chair of the caucus. He has delivered financially. Why would I not support him on a hiccup?” Congressional Black Caucus Chair Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, said. “Could he have handled it differently in an announcement? He would say absolutely to that.”
Jeffries on Thursday tried downplaying the tensions that have roiled the delegation this week.
“We’ve managed to avoid member on member primaries for decades. And it’s my hope that we’ll be able to find a way to avoid another member-on-member primary in 2022,” he said.
A state judge is expected to approve the new map drawn by Cervas on Friday after New Yorkers were invited to submit comments. But Democrats have not ruled out potential future legal challenges ahead of the primaries scheduled for August.
New York was set to lose one of its 27 House seats after the 2020 Census, Democrats, who currently hold 19 of the state’s districts, hoped to push through a map that could net the party as many as 3 or 4 new seats.
While the most recent version still favors the party, Democrats could potentially lose several seats if Republican voters turn out in overwhelming numbers in November.
(KYIV, Ukraine) — Dozens of artillery systems supplied by the United States to Ukraine were not fitted with advanced computer systems, which improve the efficiency and accuracy of the weapons, ABC News has learned.
The M777 155mm howitzers are now being used by the Ukrainian military in its war with Russia.
The Pentagon did not deny that the artillery pieces were supplied without the computers but said it had received “positive feedback” from the Ukrainians about the “precise and highly effective” weapons.
That positive sentiment was echoed by a Ukrainian politician, who spoke to ABC News on condition of anonymity. However, the politician also expressed frustration that the artillery pieces had not been the fitted with the digital computer systems.
Artillery is currently playing a crucial role in the fighting raging in eastern Ukraine as Russia continues its offensive in that part of the country.
U.S. officials recently confirmed that all but one of the 90 howitzers promised to Ukraine had now been delivered, along with tactical vehicles used to tow them.
If fitted to a howitzer, the digital computer system enables the crew operating the weapon to quickly and accurately pinpoint a target.
Howitzers without a computer system can still be fired accurately, using traditional methods to calculate the angle needed to hit a target. Modern computer systems, however, rule-out the possibility of human error.
Why the artillery pieces supplied to Ukraine did not have the digital targeting technology installed is unclear. The Pentagon said it would not discuss individual components “for operational security reasons.”
The revelation about the lack of computer systems on the howitzers comes amid broader frustration in Ukrainian political circles that the U.S. has not yet supplied certain types of advanced weaponry.
To date, the U.S. and its allies have provided Ukraine with an impressive quantity and array of weapons including thousands of anti-tank missiles, thousands of anti-aircraft missiles, hundreds of armored vehicles and armored personnel carriers and hundreds of attack drones.
However, the Ukrainian government is currently lobbying the United States for multiple rocket launcher systems and western-made fighter jets, such as F16s.
Ukrainian politicians interviewed by ABC News said it was urgent that Ukraine received these types of weapons now, because they believe that Russia is vulnerable following a string of failures on the battlefield.
“Russia is very weak now. Their army is very demoralized,” said a Ukrainian politician.
“What we are saying is that we need all the multi-rocket-launcher systems now. This is the best time for us to get the Russians out of our country.”
“To do that, we need really good U.S. weapons,” the politician said.
ABC News’ Luis Martinez contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol has requested information from a sixth House Republican, Rep. Barry Loudermilk of Georgia, suggesting in a letter Thursday that he may be linked to a tour through parts of the Capitol on the day before the attack.
“We believe you have information regarding a tour you led through parts of the Capitol complex on January 5, 2021,” Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and Vice Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., wrote in a letter to Loudermilk Thursday.
The letter comes in response to a Democratic House member’s request for Capitol security to investigate allegations that GOP lawmakers led reconnaissance tours around the Capitol complex ahead of the attack.
“In response to those allegations, Republicans on the Committee on House Administration — of which you are a Member — claimed to have reviewed security footage from the days preceding January 6th and determined that ‘[t]here were no tours, no large groups, no one with MAGA hats on.’ However, the Select Committee’s review of evidence directly contradicts that denial,” the letter to Loudermilk says.
The panel, which is looking to hold public hearings in June, suggested meeting with Loudermilk on the week of May 23.
In a statement, Loudermilk and Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Ill., the ranking member of the House Administration Committee, accused the committee of promoting a “verifiably false narrative.”
Loudermilk said that on Jan. 5, he met with a constituent’s family in a House office building, but never entered the Capitol Building. No member of the family was on Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, or was investigated or charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack, Loudermilk said in the statement.
The request for Loudermilk’s cooperation comes a week after committee issued subpoenas to five House Republicans — Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., and Ronny Jackson, R-Texas — after they refused to cooperate voluntarily with the panel.
(WASHINGTON) — The House’s Democratic majority overcame some internal opposition to pass legislation on Thursday addressing high gas prices by cracking down on possible price gouging from oil companies.
The bill was approved along party lines in a vote of 217-207. Four Democrats — Texas’ Lizzie Fletcher, Jared Golden of Maine, Stephanie Murphy of Florida and Kathleen Rice of New York — joined all Republicans in the chamber in voting against the legislation.
The Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act, introduced by Reps. Kim Schrier, D-Wash., and Katie Porter, D-Calif., would give the president the authority to issue an energy emergency proclamation that would make it unlawful for companies to increase fuel prices to “unconscionably excessive” levels.
It would also expand the powers of the Federal Trade Commission to investigate alleged price gouging in the industry and would direct any penalties toward funding weatherization and low-income energy assistance.
“The problem is Big Oil is keeping supply artificially low so prices and profits stay high. Now I think that when the market is broken, that’s when Congress has to step in to protect American consumers,” Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said in a hearing on Monday. “And that’s what this bill does: It empowers the FTC to go after the gougers and empowers the agency to effectively monitor and report on market manipulation.”
Oil executives previously testified before Congress to address concerns about their prices but insisted it was the result of larger forces, including supply and demand.
The price gouging legislation faced stiff opposition from Republicans, who blame the Biden administration’s policies, including spending and pandemic-relief stimulus, for inflation. Republicans also renewed calls for more domestic energy production.
“If anybody is going to be sued for gouging, it should be the Gouger-in-Chief Joe Biden who has created this problem,” House GOP Whip Steve Scalise said on the House floor on Thursday. “Stop relying on foreign countries for our energy when we can make it here cleaner, better than anyone in the world and lower gas prices and address this problem. This bill doesn’t do it. We got to bring up the bills that actually fix the problem.”
Rep. Murphy broke with her party to join conservatives in voting against the measure, expressing concerns it didn’t address the root of the price increases.
“I think vilifying one sector doesn’t actually address the inflation issues that my constituents are facing,” Murphy told ABC News. “The possible net effect of this bill will be to actually strangle production at a time when we are desperate for additional production.”
The internal revolt came as Democrats are hoping to alleviate pain at the pump for consumers ahead of a consequential midterm election season.
“If you don’t support legislation to stop price gouging, you are for price gouging,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi told members during a whip meeting on Wednesday.
Though the legislation passed in the House, it faces a tough climb in the Senate. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., promised to bring the bill to the floor — though it has no pathway to passage without GOP support.
Lawmakers had discussed introducing other legislation to lower gas prices such as measures codifying a federal gas tax holiday. That proposal didn’t gain traction among Democratic leaders, like Pelosi, who argued consumers wouldn’t benefit.
“I think we need to start with something like this bill and see what we can do,” Rep. Porter told ABC News. “I think it is better to invest in those [gas tax holidays] through something like the infrastructure bill, which I supported.”
(NEW YORK) — America’s main nuclear deterrent glides undetected under the oceans as it carries a cargo of ballistic missiles that will hopefully never be used.
Off the coast of Hawaii, ABC News visited the USS Maine, one of 14 Ohio Class U.S. Navy submarines capable of launching nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles.
Measuring two football fields in length and weighing 18,000 tons, the massive submarine carries 20 Trident 2 D5 missiles capable of striking targets up to 4,000 miles away.
Each missile is capable of holding up to 12 nuclear warheads — one reason why these submarines are able to carry about 70% of the nation’s active nuclear arsenal allowed by the New START Treaty.
“I’d say it’s the most powerful force in the world right now,” Vice Adm. Bill Houston, the commander of the U.S. Navy’s Submarine Forces, told ABC News.
But in keeping with U.S. policy, Houston could neither confirm nor deny whether there were missiles with nuclear warheads aboard the submarine.
You can see more of Martha’s rare access inside the sub and exclusive reporting on America’s nuclear defense this Sunday on a special edition of “This Week.”
Developed at the height of the Cold War with the Soviet Union, the submarines have continued with their classified missions, serving as a key part of America’s nuclear triad that includes strategic bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) housed in the western plains states.
Recent comments by Russian leaders about their strategic nuclear capabilities following the invasion of Ukraine have shined a spotlight on America’s nuclear deterrence mission.
Houston characterized comments by Russian leaders about Russia’s nuclear weapons capability as “very dangerous,” “irresponsible” and “unprofessional.”
“It gives more meaning to this mission,” said Houston. “But we view our mission as a peace mission, purely defensive is what we do.”
He added, “And so when they saber rattle, this deterrent here is meant to prevent that from occurring.”
A main part of why Ohio Class submarines are a powerful nuclear deterrent is because they are undetectable in vast stretches of ocean, making an adversary susceptible to a retaliatory strike should it carry out a strategic attack against the United States.
To stay hidden, the submarine will surface very rarely — if at all — during what could be a months-long patrol underwater.
“This submarine, once it’s underwater, it will not be detected,” said Houston. “It is the one portion of our deterrent that will always be available if needed.”
And maintaining that deterrent means that not even senior military leaders will know where the submarine is at any given time. That’s a privilege available only to the submarine’s senior leaders.
The crew will regularly train for the unthinkable, like the launch of nuclear-armed missiles in a retaliatory strike against a country that has carried out a strategic attack against the United States.
ABC News was allowed to witness a simulated launch exercise where redundancies are an integral security measure intended to ensure the validity of a presidential order to launch missiles.
“United States policy is not to aim our missiles at any adversary or any country,” said Cmdr. Darren Gerhardt. “If we said they’re targeted, they would be pointing to the spot in the ocean. They don’t go anywhere.”
Living with the Trident missiles is also a regular part of life for the 150 sailors on the submarine.
The sailors have to maneuver their way through hallways lined by 24 missile tubes that house ICBMs. The missiles are also located near the sleeping berths.
Crew members carry out their assignments in shifts with some gathering for breakfast at 3 a.m.
With the submarine operating hundreds of feet below the surface, the crew has little awareness about what is going on in the world. At times the submarine will come up to periscope depth to receive satellite signals for updates on what’s going on in the world. But that maneuver carries risk.
“But when I do come up to periscope depth that makes me vulnerable,” said Gerhardt. “So I have to minimize the amount of times I do that.”
And when the crew returns to their families, “we’re catching up on several months’ worth of information that we missed,” Gerhardt said.
Both Houston and Gerhardt said they’re used to this life under the sea.
“I would say this is where we’re more comfortable,” said Houston. “A pilot likes to be in the air. We like to be under the sea.”
(WASHINGTON) — When President Joe Biden arrives in Seoul on Friday, on his first trip to the region as president, he’ll be landing in a volatile region at a volatile time.
Biden will seek to shore up ties with regional allies and advance his vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region, but he’ll do so as the threat of another nuclear test from North Korea looms.
At the same time, U.S. allies South Korea and Japan continue to squabble over historical grievances, blocking a breakthrough in bilateral relations.
Northern neighbor
Increasingly bellicose North Korea continues to paint itself as heavily-armed nation that its foes, including superpowers, should think twice about tangling with.
Images last month released by the official Korean Central News Agency showed the country’s leader Kim Jong Un overseeing a spectacular night parade in Pyongyang with soldiers marching in perfect formation and ICBMs.
“If any forces attempt military confrontation with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, they will be perished,” Kim reportedly vowed in a fiery speech.
Since 2021, North Korea has been steadily improving its missile technology, drastically increasing testing, including purported hypersonic missiles in January and a submarine-launched ballistic missile, or SLBM in May, and what is believed to have been a successful intercontinental ballistic missile test launch.
It was the first of its kind in years and Kim might very well have more ICBMs fired off during Biden’s visit.
In what has become the new normal, each test launch typically garners perfunctory rebukes from the U.S. and its allies, with Japan predictably condemning the act, lodging complaints with the U.N., and then vowing to share information.
Unsettling signs
Signs indicate the North is restoring tunnels at its Punggye-ri testing site, where all six North Korean underground nuclear tests to date have been conducted. In 2018, Punggye-ri was famously dismantled “in a transparent manner” in front of the world’s media. Now in 2022, a U.S. official tells ABC News that “the facility at Punggye-ri is capable of testing a nuclear device in short order.”
U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Wednesday that U.S. “intelligence does reflect the genuine possibility that there will be either a further missile test, including long-range missile test, or a nuclear test, or frankly, both, in the days leading into, on, or after the president’s trip to the region.”
Sullivan said the U.S. was “preparing for all contingencies, including the possibility that such a provocation would occur while we are in Korea or in Japan.”
The Biden administration says the North “could be ready to conduct a test there as early as this month.”
Circling the wagons
Biden will visit both Japan and South Korea, two key regional allies with a history of icy relations. South Korea’s newly minted conservative president Yoon Seok-youl has called for a thaw.
Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said, “There has never been a time when strategic cooperation between the two nations, and between them and the United States, has been more necessary,” and says there is no time to waste in improving bilateral ties.
Despite the friendly overtures from the leaders of the two nations, experts say neither side is willing to make the first move to resolve the rows.
Jeff Kingston, director of Asian Studies at Temple University Japan, told ABC News the calls for unity are music to Washington’s ears.
“The U.S. wants its allies to cooperate in coping with contemporary threats but they have remained divided over their shared past. Improving relations will be a difficult process because history is very politicized in both nations,” he said.
Kingston said the recent failures of the two countries to see eye-to-eye is a wake-up call for those who have hopes that they could overcome the colonial past. “They also battle over territory — the Dokdo/Takeshima islets — and whatever else is handy.”
Jaechun Kim, professor of international relations at South Korea’s Sogang University, also has doubts fences can easily be mended.
Despite President Yoon’s signaling the desire for closer relations with Japan, he walks a tightrope, Kim said.
“There is limit to which he can be proactive here because if you’re seen as compromising on ‘history’ issues toward Japan, that is politically suicidal in the Republic of Korea,” he told ABC News.
Kim said Japan and Korea will have to have to find common ground somewhere.
“We should not expect or push for a breakthrough on history issues. That’s not realistic,” he said. “Rather, the two countries will have to deepen cooperation on issues where their interests converge, issues such as economic engagement and maritime cooperation in Indo-Pacific, and trilateral security cooperation between ROK, Japan, and the U.S. in Northeast Asia to augment deterrence and defense against North Korea’s nukes and missiles.”
ABC News’ Luis Martinez and Ben Gittleson contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — The Senate voted on Thursday to pass an additional $40 billion in new aid for Ukraine, after President Joe Biden called on Congress last month to deliver the additional funding, to help counter Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion over the long term.
In his floor remarks before the 86 -11 vote, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer noted the significance of the package.
“By passing this aid package the Senate can now say to the Ukrainian people help is on the way: real help, significant help, help that could ensure the Ukrainian people are victorious,” he said.
With the House having passed the aid package earlier this month, it will now head next to Biden’s desk.
The aid package got broad bipartisan support with some Republican holdouts. It had been stalled for several days after Republican Sen. Rand Paul’s refusal to expedite to process.
In floor remarks before Thursday’s vote, Republican Leader Mitch McConnell promised a “big bipartisan landslide” and seemed to thumb his nose at concerns from Paul and other deficit hawks about the cost of the Ukraine bill.
“Anyone concerned about the cost of supporting a Ukrainian victory should consider the much larger cost should Ukraine lose,” McConnell said as he encouraged all members to join the “big bipartisan supermajority” voting to advance the aid package.
But Schumer went further, calling out the group of Republicans who he expects will vote against the aid package.
“It appears more and more MAGA republicans are on the same soft on Putin playbook that we saw used by former President Trump,” Schumer said.
“The MAGA influence on the Republican party is becoming all too large and all too dominant. We Americans all of us Democrats and Republicans cannot afford to stick our heads in the sand while Vladimir Putin continues his vicious belligerence against the Ukrainian people while he fires at civilian hospitals and targets and kills children and innocent people,” he said.
“But when Republicans — in significant number — oppose this package that is precisely the signal, we are sending to enemies abroad,” Schumer said.
(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden welcomed Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson and Finnish President Sauli Niinistö to the White House on Thursday to discuss their historic bids to join NATO.
All three leaders called for swift acceptance of the applications amid resistance from Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who announced Thursday that his country will oppose Finland and Sweden joining the alliance.
“The bottom line is simple, quite straightforward,” Biden said in remarks in the Rose Garden. “Finland and Sweden make NATO stronger.”
The two nation’s formally submitted their applications on Wednesday as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is about to enter its fourth month. Finland and Sweden said they made the decision to join the alliance after seeing strong support from the public and the backing from their respective governments.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters he welcomed the move, calling the countries the alliance’s “closest partners.”
“All allies agree on the importance of NATO enlargement,” Stoltenberg said at a news conference. “We all agree that we must stand together. And we all agree that this is an historic moment, which we must seize.”
Their request must be approved by all of NATO’s 30 member countries, making Erdogan’s objection a potential headache.
“We have told our relevant friends we would say ‘no’ to Finland and Sweden’s entry into NATO, and we will continue on our path like this,” Erdogan said in a video statement on Thursday.
Erdogan has been critical of both countries, stating he perceives them as being supportive of groups Turkey views as extremist — including the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.
Both Sweden’s prime minister and Finland’s president addressed Turkey’s disapproval during their visit to the White House.
“Finland has always had proud and good bilateral relations to Turkey,” Niinistö said. “As NATO allies, we will commit to Turkey’s security, just as Turkey will commit to our security. We take terrorism seriously, we condemn terrorism in all its forms and we are actively engaged in combating it. We are open to discussing all the concerns Turkey may have concerning our membership in an open and constructive manner.”
Andersson said Sweden is having dialogues with all NATO members, Turkey included, to sort out any issues at hand.
Despite Turkey’s opposition, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told ABC White House Correspondent MaryAlice Parks on Wednesday the administration is “confident at the end of the day” that Finland and Sweden “will have an effective and efficient accession process” and that “Turkey’s concerns can be addressed.”
Sullivan also warned that the U.S. “will not tolerate any aggression against Finland or Sweden” as their applications are being considered.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu met in New York on Wednesday to “reaffirm their strong cooperation as partners and NATO allies,” according to a joint statement.
“They discussed ways and assessed concrete steps to enhance their cooperation on defense issues, counterterrorism, energy and food security, combatting climate change and boosting trade ties, while agreeing to intensify consultations on a range of regional issues,” the statement read.
