Politics

(WASHINGTON) — The House of Representatives voted Tuesday to recognize House staff members’ right to unionize after announcing an increase to their minimum pay. The vote was straight down party lines, with 217 Democrats voting for the measure and 202 Republicans voting against it.

“Congressional staffers deserve the same fundamental rights and protections as workers all across the country, including the right to bargain collectively,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement on Friday.

Pelosi also announced on Friday she is increasing the minimum annual pay for House staff members to $45,000 effective Sept. 1. Staff wages come from each congressional office’s budget.

“This is also an issue of fairness, as many of the youngest staffers working the longest hours often earn the lowest salaries,” Pelosi said in the statement.

The Congressional Workers Union launched in February it says after a survey distributed by the Congressional Progressive Staff Association found that 91% of the 516 staff surveyed want more protections to give them a voice at work.

It has since been pushing for the House to take up the resolution introduced by Rep. Andy Levin, D-Mich. with 165 House co-sponsors, all of whom are Democrats. An earlier April 29 deadline to do so was not met.

“Many of us write and work tirelessly to advance the very laws that protect and promote every worker’s right to organize. We deserve those same rights–Congress should not be above the laws it creates,” The Congressional Workers Union wrote in a letter to Pelosi and other leaders.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the DCCC Staff Union announced they are voluntarily recognizing its staff union Tuesday as well. The union is organized as part of Teamsters Local 238.

“Today’s voluntary recognition is a testament to our shared commitment to live the values we fight for – both at the ballot box and within our places of work,” DCCC executive director Tim Persico wrote in a statement.

The union is now the largest collective bargaining unit in the Democratic Party.

“We are eager to meet at the bargaining table, roll up our sleeves, and secure a contract to guarantee the DCCC is the best place to work in Democratic politics for all current and future staff,” said Jacob Haythorn, a representative for the DCCC Staff Union, in a statement.

The $45,000 minimum pay for congressional staff, however, would still not amount to a living wage in Washington, D.C., according to a Massachusetts Institute of Technology living wage calculator.

A report by Issue One, a political reform group that calls itself “crosspartisan,” found one in eight congressional staff members are not paid a liveable wage for Washington, D.C. A 2021 House Compensation and Diversity Study found the median annual earnings for all house staff members is $59,000 and for member offices, staff members earned a median of $50,000 a year.

Traditionally, entry-level staff on capitol hill work long hours and frequently make less money than their peers who work in similar roles in the private sector. Many often leave government work after several years of public service for more compensation outside of government.

A survey distributed by the Congressional Progressive Staff Association found 90% of nonmanagement staff members who participated in the study reported working weeknights after 6:30 p.m. and/or on weekends.

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(WASHINGTON) — Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing for a “prolonged conflict” in Ukraine, and could resort to drastic measures if the fighting doesn’t go his way, according to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines.

During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday, Haines said Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has sent a shock through the geopolitical order, “with implications for the future that we are only beginning to understand, but are sure to be consequential.”

Though Putin has focused his forces on Donbas after failing in the north, THE U.S. does not believe he will be content with the eastern part of the country, Haines said.

“The next month or two of fighting will be significant as the Russians attempt to reinvigorate their efforts. But even if they are successful, we are not confident that the fight in the Donbas will effectively end the war,” she said. “We assess President Putin is preparing for prolonged conflict in Ukraine during which he still intends to achieve goals beyond the Donbas.”

But for now Putin’s goal is to take control of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts in Donbas and encircle Ukrainian forces from the north and south “in order to crush the most capable and well-equipped Ukrainian forces who are fighting to hold the line in the East,” Haines said.

Putin would also like to “consolidate control of the land bridge Russia has established from Crimea to the Donbas, occupy Kherson, and control the water source for Crimea,” she said.

The U.S. also sees signs his military wants to extend that land bridge to Transnistria, in Moldova, according to Haines.

Haines said Russia might be capable of achieving “most” of those goals in the coming months, but would need to mobilize more troops to achieve the last:

“We believe that they will not be able to extend control over a land bridge that stretches to Transnistria and includes Odessa without launching some form of mobilization. And it is increasingly unlikely that they will be able to establish control over both oblasts and the buffer zone they desire in the coming weeks,” Haines said.

But Putin is “probably counting on U.S. and EU resolve to weaken as food shortages, inflation, energy prices get worse,” she added.

Economic forces are at work in Russia as well, with sanctions from the West having a “pretty significant” impact on Russia, according to Haines.

“Among the indicators that one might look at are, for example, the fact that … we predict approximately 20% inflation in Russia, that we expect that their GDP will fall about 10%, possibly even more, over the course of the year,” she said.

The fighting itself has also worn on Russia’s capabilities.

“Our view is that the ground combat forces have been degraded considerably. It’s going to take them years … to rebuild that,” she said.

But degraded conventual forces could drive Putin to other means of exerting force.

“That may end up meaning that they have greater reliance in effect on asymmetric tools during this period,” Haines said. “So they may rely more on things like cyber, nuclear, precision, etc. And that’s obviously a shift in the way in which they are exercising their efforts for influence.”

The discrepancy between Putin’s high aspirations and his degraded conventional capability could lead to “a more unpredictable and potentially escalatory trajectory,” and “a period of more ad-hoc decision making in Russia” in the next few months, Haines said.

This could also manifest itself domestically.

“The current trend increases the likelihood that President Putin will turn to more drastic means, including imposing martial law, reorienting industrial production, or potentially escalatory military actions to free up the resources needed to achieve his objectives as the conflict drags on, or if he perceives Russia is losing in Ukraine,” she said.

What could happen next?

“The most likely flashpoints for escalation in the coming weeks are around increasing Russian attempts to interdict Western security assistance, retaliation for Western economic sanctions or threats to the regime at home. We believe that Moscow continues to use nuclear rhetoric to deter the United States and the West from increasing lethal aid to Ukraine and to respond to public comments of the U.S. and NATO allies that suggest expanded Western goals in the conflict,” she said.

The next step for Putin could be to launch major nuclear drills to command respect from the U.S.

“If Putin perceives that the United States is ignoring his threats, he may try to signal to Washington the heightened danger of its support to Ukraine by authorizing another large nuclear exercise involving a major dispersal of mobile intercontinental missiles, heavy bombers, strategic submarines,” Haines said.

But so far U.S. officials have said they do not believe Russia is preparing to actually use nuclear weapons in Ukraine or elsewhere.

“We otherwise continue to believe that President Putin would probably only authorize the use of nuclear weapons if he perceived an existential threat to the Russian state or regime,” Haines said.

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(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday continued his sharpened attack on what he’s now calling the GOP’s “ultra-MAGA” agenda as he pitched his plan to tackle inflation.

His remarks came as the national average price of a gallon of gas hit a record high of $4.37 a gallon, AAA said.

“I want every American to know that I am taking inflation very seriously,” Biden said as he delivered remarks in the South Court Auditorium. “It is my top domestic priority.”

Inflation is one of the Democratic Party’s biggest problems heading into the 2022 midterm elections. Republicans have seized on higher costs to criticize Biden’s domestic agenda while the White House is pinning the problem on supply chain issues, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Biden used his speech on Tuesday to tout what he said were recent accomplishments aimed at alleviating the increasing financial burdens on Americans, including a historic release form the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to offset soaring gas prices.

Biden also used the occasion to continue his ramped-up rhetoric against the GOP, accusing Republicans of having no real plan to address inflation.

“My plan is to lower everyday costs for hardworking Americans and lower the deficit by asking large corporations and the wealthiest Americans to not engage in price gouging and to pay their fair share in taxes,” Biden said. “The Republican plan is to increase taxes on middle class families, let billionaires and large companies off the hook as they raise prices and reap profits in record amounts. And it’s really that simple.”

Biden has used one proposal in particular as a target: GOP Sen. Rick Scott’s pitch to have all Americans pay some income tax to “have some skin in the game, even if a small amount.” That would mean a tax increase on Americans whose income is currently too low to owe federal income taxes.

On Tuesday, Biden said Scott’s plan will hurt frontline workers like firefighters and teachers.

Despite Biden’s focus on the plan, Scott’s proposal hasn’t been embraced by Republican leaders. Instead, Sen. Mitch McConnell made a point to distance himself from it shortly after it was announced.

“If we are fortunate enough to have the majority next year, I’ll be the majority leader, I’ll decide in consultation with my members, what to put on the floor,” McConnell said. “Let me tell you what will not be a part of our agenda. We will not have as part of our agenda, a bill that raises taxes on half the American people, sunsets social security and Medicare within 5 years. That will not be a part of the Republican Senate majority agenda.”

Before Biden spoke, Scott tweeted that Biden was “unfit for office” and should resign. Asked about that after he finished his remarks, Biden said, “I think the man has a problem.”

Biden’s remarks on inflation come ahead of the release of April’s consumer price index. The Bureau of Labor Statistics will announce those numbers on Wednesday morning. In March, the consumer price index spiked 8.5% from the year prior–the largest 12-month increase in 40 years.

ABC News’ Ben Gittleson contributed to this report.

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(WASHINGTON) — Abortion rights activists gathered outside of Justice Samuel Alito’s Virginia home on Monday night to protest the draft opinion he authored that leaked last week from the Supreme Court, indicating to the public that the court could soon overturn the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide.

While protests extended to Alito’s home — after Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh also saw demonstrators at their Maryland homes over the weekend — the Senate voted unanimously on Monday evening on a bill to provide security details for the justices and their families. The bipartisan bill, authored by Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, heads to the House for a possible vote. If it passes, it would then go to President Joe Biden’s desk.

Two federal law enforcement sources told ABC News Monday that steps have been taken to increase security details around the individual justices, including at their homes. The U.S. Marshals Service also said they are assisting the Marshal of the Supreme Court regarding increased security concerns in the wake of Politico obtaining the draft opinion, but didn’t comment further on specific security measures.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell blasted the demonstrations Monday evening as an attempt to influence the justices and “replace the rule of law with the rule of mobs,” he said.

“We’ve seen angry crowds assemble at judges’ private family homes. Activists published a map of their addresses. Law enforcement has had to install a security fence around the Supreme Court itself,” McConnell said from the Senate floor. “Trying to scare federal judges into ruling a certain way is far outside the bounds of First Amendment speech or protest.”

McConnell went on to cite a federal law — 18 U.S. Code Section 1507 — that forbids “pickets and parades” intended to influence judges, suggesting the law could make the protestors’ actions illegal.

ShutDownDC, which organized the event, has more demonstrations planned for this week.

More than 100 people turned up for the gathering outside Alito’s home in Alexandria which included speakers, a candlelight vigil, quiet moments of reflection and unified chants, including, at one point, “Alito is a coward! Alito is a coward!”

It wasn’t clear whether Alito and his family were home at the time — but law enforcement officers were on the scene as the protest remained peaceful.

Virginia GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin tweeted that state police were also assisting federal and local law enforcement “to ensure the safety of our citizens, including Supreme Court Justices, who call Virginia home.”

The demonstrators are part of the majority of Americans who believe Roe v. Wade should be upheld, according to an ABC News/Washington Post poll last week. But across the country, if Roe is overturned, at least 26 states would either ban abortion or severely restrict access to it.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday the White House supports peaceful protests but would condemn any violence.

“I think the president’s view is that there’s a lot of passion, a lot of fear, a lot of sadness from many, many people across this country about what they saw in that leaked document,” Psaki responded. “We obviously want people’s privacy to be respected. We want people to protest peacefully if they want to protest. That is certainly what the president’s view would be.”

The justices are next expected to convene in person — though in private — in the court building on Thursday for their weekly conference, marking the first official gathering of the nine since the leaked draft sent shockwaves through the court and across the country. The next possible opinion release day is next Monday.

For his part, Alito canceled an appearance at a judicial conference last week after the draft decision leaked.

Democrats will force a vote in the Senate to protect access to abortion on Wednesday. Though it’s all but certain to fail, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday it will be a telling vote.

“Tomorrow, there’ll be no more hiding. There’ll be no more distracting. No more obfuscating where every member in this chamber stands,” Schumer said. “Senate Republicans will face a choice. Either vote to protect the rights of women to exercise freedom over their own bodies, or stand with the Supreme Court as 50 years of women’s rights are reduced to rubble before our very eyes.”

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(NEW YORK) — Of the numerous primary races being held Tuesday, two resonate beyond state politics: The Republican gubernatorial primary in Nebraska and the 2nd Congressional District Republican primary in West Virginia.

After former President Donald Trump’s endorsed candidates won in the Ohio and Indiana primaries, the Nebraska GOP gubernatorial primary will once again test the power of Trump’s endorsement — this time in a race in which established GOP state leaders have backed another candidate.

Former President Donald Trump has put stock in the Nebraska gubernatorial GOP primary by backing wealthy businessman Charles Herbster, who has been accused of sexual assault by eight women — allegations he has denied. He is engaged in a legal battle with state Sen. Julie Slama, the only accuser to be identified by name.

Trump held a rally in Nebraska last week in support of Herbster, but almost all of Nebraska’s GOP establishment leaders, including Gov. Pete Ricketts, support businessman Jim Pillen in the primary.

A third contender, state Sen. Brett Lindstrom, has gained traction partly due to his endorsement from the mayor of Omaha, Nebraska’s largest city.

Meanwhile, in West Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District GOP House primary race the impact of congressional redistricting will be on full display.

West Virginia lost one of its three House seats, and while both existing districts lean strongly Republican, there is one fewer seat for Republicans to hold onto, according to analysis from FiveThirtyEight.

One of the House races features a rare matchup between two incumbent lawmakers. Republicans Rep. David McKinley and Rep. Alex Mooney are facing off against each other and three other challengers in the primary.

The McKinley-Mooney matchup is another test of former President Donald Trump’s endorsement power. Trump has backed Mooney, who has echoed the former president’s false claims about the 2020 election. McKinley, however, has the support of Republican West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin.

Manchin even released an ad denouncing Mooney and declaring his support for McKinley.

“Alex Mooney has proven he’s all about Alex Mooney. But West Virginians know David McKinley is all about us,” Manchin said in the ad.

West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner, however, told ABC News Live’s Diane Macedo on Monday that he doesn’t think the Trump or Manchin endorsements will decide the race.

“He’s certainly very popular… I think people still are tuned in to what he has to say. But I really don’t think that’s going to be the decisive factor in this election,” Warner said of the former president. “Endorsements are important, but I think people really vote their conscience.”

As for Manchin’s endorsement, Warner was unsure of whether it would have “much play at all in this particular race,” which is also a test of one of President Joe Biden’s signature policies.

West Virginia is one of the nation’s poorest states, and McKinley is one of 13 Republicans who voted for Biden’s infrastructure bill that is expected to funnel $6 billion to the state. Mooney voted against it and won Trump’s endorsement when Biden signed the bill into law.

Greg Thomas, a Republican political consultant in the state who knows both candidates and once worked for McKinley, is of the belief that Trump’s support for Mooney could, in fact, be a tipping point.

“Trump’s personality isn’t something that we see a lot here in West Virginia. But his issues, these are West Virginia conservative issues and have been before Trump came along,” he told ABC News.

McKinley has also been hurt by Trump’s focus on his vote to establish an independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

Unfounded claims about the 2020 election overshadow the two races, as both Herbster and McKinley have pushed the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump. Herbster attended the “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021, which preceded the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Mooney has also supported a Texas-led lawsuit seeking to throw out the election results in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin; and he objected to certifying the election results in Pennsylvania and Nevada.

Tuesday’s primaries are coming just over a week after a Supreme Court draft opinion that would overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision on abortion was leaked. The impending decision has galvanized abortion rights supporters and anti-abortion rights activists alike.

Warner told ABC News Live the abortion issue could play a role in Nebraska and West Virginia.

“It may excite the [voter] base, but I think we’re gonna have an exciting election either way,” Warner said.

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(WASHINGTON) — West Virginia voters head to the polls Tuesday to vote in primaries for the House of Representatives and state legislature, as well as other statewide and regional offices. Early voting in the state ended Saturday.

Polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET.

State significance

The Republican primaries for the House of Representatives in West Virginia are significant because they will help determine which party controls the House and will put the impact of congressional redistricting on full display.

As a result of redistricting — and a decline in the state’s population — West Virginia lost one of its three House seats. Both existing districts lean strongly Republican, but now there is one fewer seat for Republicans to hold onto, according to analysis from FiveThirtyEight.

Redistricting also means one of the House races features a rare matchup between two incumbent lawmakers. Republicans Reps. David McKinley and Alex Mooney are facing off against each other and three other challengers in the primary for the newly drawn 2nd Congressional District.

The McKinley-Mooney matchup is another test of former President Donald Trump’s endorsement power. Trump has backed Mooney, who has echoed the former president’s false claims about the 2020 election. But McKinley, who voted for President Joe Biden’s infrastructure bill, has the support of Republican West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin.

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(WASHINGTON) — The homes of Supreme Court justices are the newest site for protests over abortion access in the United States.

Activists gathered Saturday in the rain outside the Maryland residences of Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh to protest a leaked draft opinion reportedly supported by the court’s conservative majority.

The document, reported by Politico last week, showed the panel is poised to repeal Roe v. Wade. The court confirmed the draft’s authenticity but reminded Americans it is not the final ruling. A decision in the case, which centers on a Mississippi abortion restriction, is expected by the end of June or early July.

Protesters held signs that read, “Never Again” and “Don’t Tread on My Choice.”

The demonstrations sparked a response Monday from the White House that justices shouldn’t have to worry about their “personal safety.”

“[President Joe Biden] strongly believes in the Constitutional right to protest,” press secretary Jen Psaki said in a Twitter post. “But that should never include violence, threats, or vandalism. Judges perform an incredibly important function in our society, and they must be able to do their jobs without concern for their personal safety.”

Republicans had accused the administration of not condemning violent threats after Psaki’s initial response to protests taking place at the justices’ homes.

“These activists posted a map with the home addresses of the Supreme Court justices. Is that the kind of thing this president wants to help your side make their point?” Fox News reporter Peter Doocy asked during her daily press briefing May 5.

“I think the president’s view is that there’s a lot of passion, a lot of fear, a lot of sadness from many, many people across this country about what they saw in that leaked document,” Psaki responded. “We obviously want people’s privacy to be respected. We want people to protest peacefully if they want to protest. That is certainly what the president’s view would be.”

Officers from the Montgomery County Police Department were on the scene as the protests unfolded, as seen in photographs from ABC affiliate station WJLA. The department did not immediately respond to ABC News request for comment. There didn’t appear to be any reports of violence or vandalism during the protests.

Senators Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, and John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, on Monday introduced legislation that would allow the Supreme Court Police to provide all nine justices and their families with around-the-clock security protection.

ShutDownDC said 100 people were part of Saturday’s protests in the Chevy Chase neighborhood where Kavanaugh and Roberts live. It’s unclear if the justices or their families were home at the time.

The group has another protest planned for outside the home of Justice Samuel Alito on Monday night that will include speakers, a candlelight vigil and quiet moments of reflection.

Alito was the author of the Feb. 10 draft opinion, in which he wrote, “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start.”

“It is important that we gather in this way because attacks on abortion rights represent not only a violation of our autonomy over our own bodies and an invasion of privacy between us and our doctors, but also a real and symbolic victory for those who would like to strip even more rights from us – among them contraception, gay marriage, privacy and safety from state scrutiny of our beliefs – and still more from our Black, brown and Indigenous friends and siblings,” ShutDownDC’s Hope Neyer told ABC News.

The bombshell draft opinion on Roe sparked rallies from both abortion rights activists and anti-abortion protesters across the country. A nationwide day of action is planned for Saturday, May 14.

An “unscalable,” eight-foot-high fence was placed around the Supreme Court building last week. Neither the court or law enforcement officials have said anything publicly about possible threats to the institution or the justices, who are set to return in-person for a private conference on May 12.

Republicans are condemning the protests, with Sen. Ted Cruz equating them to “mob violence” even though there were no reports of violence.

“It is disgraceful,” Cruz, R-Texas, told Fox News on Sunday.

ShutDownDC responded to Cruz’s comments, telling ABC: “We are exercising our constitutional right to gather and demonstrate and intend to continue to do so regardless of whatever aspersions people like Ted Cruz who are scared of our collective power might cast.”

Democratic strategist Paul Begala also chimed in on the protests in front of Roberts and Kavanaugh’s homes, saying they could do more harm than good.

“This is wrong, stupid, potentially dangerous, and politically counterproductive,” Begala wrote on Twitter.

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(WASHINGTON) — A critical week in the battle over abortion rights — what activists are calling the “fight of a generation” — kicks off in the U.S. Senate on Monday, with Democrats preparing to force a vote seeking to enshrine abortion rights into federal law, following last week’s bombshell leak showing the Supreme Court’s conservative majority ready to overturn Roe versus Wade.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is expected to file cloture on Monday on the Women’s Health Protection Act, setting up the bill for a roll call vote on Wednesday — but without 60 votes needed to overcome the Senate filibuster, the legislation is poised to fail, as a similar version did in February. Republicans are united against both the bill and lowering the threshold to break the Senate filibuster.

Still, the vote, while largely symbolic, will force every single senator, Democrat and Republican, to go on the record on where they stand on the issue, Schumer said.

Ahead of Wednesday’s vote, more Democrats have also expressed outrage over Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell telling USA Today in an interview published on Saturday that if Republicans take control of Congress, they could pursue a national ban on abortion — which activists on both sides of the aisle will likely use as a rallying cry this midterm election season.

“If the leaked opinion became the final opinion, legislative bodies — not only at the state level but at the federal level — could certainly legislate in that area,” McConnell said, asked if a national abortion ban was “worthy of debate.”

“So yeah, it’s possible,” he added.

Arkansas Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a potential 2024 presidential candidate, pointed out to ABC’s “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz on Sunday that a national ban on abortion would be “inconsistent” with the long-standing Republican argument that the authority over abortion be returned to the states.

“If you look at a constitutional or a national standard, that goes against that thrust of the states having prerogative,” replied Hutchinson, chair of the National Governors Association. “And secondly, I think there’s some constitutional issues of a national standard as well as to what is the authority of the Constitution to enact that.”

With Democrats seizing McConnell’s message, Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., already launched a digital ad linking her GOP opponents to what her campaign calls “McConnell’s decade-long crusade to criminalize abortion.”

“Ultimately, I think this is going to push a lot of people to the polls this November, that may have otherwise stayed home,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said on “Fox News Sunday.” “Because they see that this fight is coming not just in the state legislatures, but in Washington as well.”

The stunning leak out of the Supreme Court has offered Democrats a chance to focus on the judiciary and argue that Biden’s judicial choices will be obstructed if Republicans regain control of the Senate, but it has also energized opponents of abortion rights, who have been waiting nearly 50 years for the court to strike down Roe.

Over the weekend, thousands of people took to the streets in Washington, rallying to send a message to the conservative-leaning justices on the bench, who appear poised to overturn the 1973 landmark ruling, according to the draft opinion obtained by Politico.

Those demonstrators — some gathering outside of the homes of Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Chief Justice John Roberts — are part of the majority of Americans who believe Roe versus Wade should be upheld, but across the country, if Roe is overturned, at least 26 states would either ban abortion or severely restrict access to it.

“We need to make sure that every single voter understands that the Republican Party and Mitch McConnell does not believe that their daughters, that their mothers, that their sisters have rights to make fundamental life and death decisions,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., told CNN’s “State of the Union.”

While the House of Representatives had already voted to codify Roe, Speaker Nancy Pelosi indicated in a new “Dear Colleague” letter on Monday that more measures would come.

“We know we must carry forward this fight in the weeks and months ahead. Our proud pro-choice House Majority must continue this fight in the public arena so that the American people know that their rights are on the ballot this November,” she said.

Last week, an ABC News/Washington Post poll found a majority of Americans support upholding Roe, say abortion should be legal in all or most cases and — by a wide margin — see abortion as a decision to be made by a woman and her doctor, not by lawmakers.

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(WASHINGTON) — The United States is bringing back a World War II-era program to bolster Ukraine’s war supplies.

Sitting at his desk in the Oval Office on Monday, President Joe Biden signed the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022 into law. The legislation gives Biden the authority to lend or lease defense equipment to Ukraine and other Eastern European nations as Russia’s aggression in the region continues.

“It matters, it really matters,” Biden said as he signed the bill.

A similar lend-lease program was enacted in 1941 to provide pivotal aid to Allied nations in the battle against Nazi Germany. President Franklin Roosevelt said at the time that the U.S. should serve as a “great arsenal of democracy” to defeat Adolf Hitler.

The Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022 was a bipartisan undertaking, passing the Senate by unanimous consent and the House of Representatives with 417 votes.

Rep. John Katko, a cosponsor of the bill, said the law will “expand our nation’s ability to expeditiously deliver additional defense articles to the Government of Ukraine as they fight back against Vladimir Putin’s barbaric and unlawful invasion.”

“This is a necessary step to protect the future of Ukraine and the safety of its people,” Katko, R-N.Y., added.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, also cosponsor of the lend-lease legislation, said Congress “cannot let up” on providing assistance to Ukraine.

“As Ukraine fights for its future — and the future of liberal democracies around the globe — delivering military equipment to the frontlines is paramount,” Shaheen, D-N.H., told ABC News in a statement.

Biden signed the bill just hours after Russia’s commemoration of Victory Day, a holiday celebrating the 77th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany. Russian President Vladimir Putin used the occasion to defend his invasion of Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24.

“You are fighting for the motherland, for its future, so that no one forgets the lessons of the Second World War,” Putin said in a speech on Monday.

Putin notably did not make any declaration of war or victory during his remarks.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, remained defiant, stating there will soon be “two Victory Days in Ukraine.”

“On the Day of Victory over Nazism, we are fighting for a new victory,” Zelenskyy said in a video message. “The road to it is difficult, but we have no doubt that we will win.”

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(WASHINGTON) — As he seeks to close the nation’s digital divide, President Joe Biden will announce on Monday new commitments from 20 internet service providers to expand discounted, high-speed internet access to tens of millions of low-income Americans under an existing federal program.

According to a senior administration official, 20 internet providers have agreed to either increase speeds or cut prices, and to offer enrollees of the Affordable Connectivity Program, or ACP, with high-speed internet plans for no more than $30 a month. The new participation from the private sector, in conjunction with the ACP subsidy covering up to $30 a month (or $75 a month on Tribal lands), essentially makes the program free.

“For example,” the White House said in a fact sheet, “as part of this initiative, Verizon lowered the price for its Fios service from $39.99/month to $30/month for a plan that delivers download and upload speeds of at least 200 Megabits per second, and Spectrum doubled the speed of the $30/month plan it makes available to ACP participants from 50 to 100 Megabits per second.”

More than $14 billion in funding for the subsidy program was included in the $1 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law which Biden signed into law last November. So far, more than 11 million households have already signed up to receive the benefit — but the White House has said 48 million households are eligible.

Participating companies unveiled Monday include AT&T, Verizon, Spectrum and Comcast, as well as several regional companies, which altogether cover more than 80% of the U.S. population, the White House said, or nearly 40% of households in the country.

“The Biden-Harris Administration is grateful for the efforts of these companies, and encourages additional internet service providers to join this effort to close the digital divide by offering high-speed, low-cost plans,” the White House said in a statement.

As he continues to push his infrastructure agenda, Biden has repeatedly recalled stories of families driving to McDonalds’ parking lots during the pandemic to connect to Wi-Fi.

“How many people did you see out in McDonald’s parking lots with their kids in their cars because they get access to the internet?” Biden said in a speech in Scranton, Pennsylvania last October.

Households with an income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, or with a family member participating in one of several federal programs, including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Pell Grants, Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income, are eligible for the discount.

Americans can see if they qualify at Getinternet.gov.

The administration’s effort to lower internet costs for families comes ahead of a dire inflation report expected Tuesday, as Biden struggles to keep prices down for Americans ahead of the midterm election season.

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