The Hill’s Morning Report — Presented by National Shooting Sports Foundation — All eyes this week on Jackson, Ukraine

by Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver - 04/04/22 6:34 AM ET

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It’s crunch time for Democrats on Capitol Hill as they move toward a confirmation vote on Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s nomination to the Supreme Court and to put the finishing touches on a COVID-19 relief package by week’s end.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will meet this morning to vote on Jackson’s nomination, a precursor to a final vote later in the week to put her on the court to replace the retiring Justice Stephen Breyer. Barring any unforeseen developments, the panel will vote along party lines — 11 to 11 — on her nomination, with Democrats subsequently using tools to advance to a full chamber vote (Fox News).

What remains undetermined, though, is the final level of support for Jackson come the end of the week. After Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) announced that she will back her, attention is squarely on Sens. Mitt Romney (Utah) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), the two most likely Senate Republicans to break ranks and join with all 50 Senate Democrats.

The Associated Press: Senate panel to vote on Jackson nomination to Supreme Court.

The Wall Street Journal: Split on Jackson’s Supreme Court confirmation highlights deepening partisanship.

Even if they do, it is still highly likely that at least 47 Senate Republicans will vote against her. As The Hill’s Alexander Bolton writes, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has pushed GOP members to oppose her, privately telling his caucus that she is a bad nominee.

The politics of the situation is also front and center for McConnell, who believes that Jackson’s record could be damaging for vulnerable Democrats come November and doesn’t want to give them any political cover in the battle for chamber supremacy.

In recent days, McConnell allies have made that case. Sen. Roy Blunt (Mo.), a member of GOP leadership who is retiring later this year, told “Meet the Press” on Sunday that he will vote against her, pointing to her judicial philosophy as the main reason (The Hill). Blunt had indicated in early March shortly after Brown’s nomination that he “would love to vote for the first Black woman on the court,” making his “nay” decision noteworthy.

However, Blunt’s argument against voting for her has been echoed in recent days, including by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a Judiciary Committee member and a McConnell confidant.

“Frankly, I couldn’t get a good answer from her on whether she understands the difference between my job, which is to make policy, and her job which is to interpret the law, not make new judge-made law,” Cornyn told “Inside Texas Politics,” a program on ABC’s Dallas affiliate. “And so, because I think that was kind of a blind spot and something I didn’t have confidence in, I’m a no vote.”

Niall Stanage: The Memo: Democrats pin hopes on Jackson to revive Black support.

The Washington Post: Why Democrats hope Romney will support Jackson.

Axios: Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) admits defeat on Eric Garcetti as India ambassador.

Elsewhere in Congress, negotiators are looking to finalize a $10 billion COVID-19 relief package ahead of the two-week recess that starts at close of business on Friday. Lawmakers said at the end of the week that the two sides had a deal in principle, with a potential rise in cases and hospitalizations due to the BA.2 variant and the inability to add funds to the year-end spending bill spurring action.

The package is likely to include funds to combat future COVID-19 variants and increase the nation’s testing, vaccine and treatment capacity in the coming months (The Wall Street Journal). $15.6 billion in funding to battle the virus was stripped from the omnibus spending package after Democrats from affected states objected to how previously passed funds would be reallocated.

Jordain Carney, The Hill: This Week: Congress braces for monster sprint.

Finally, the GOP’s battle over Sen. Rick Scott’s (R-Fla.) tax plan continued to rage on Sunday as Grover Norquist, the president of Americans for Tax Reform, took aim at his proposal to levy income taxes on half of Americans who currently pay none, effectively raising taxes on half of the country.

Norquist, who famously created the organization’s taxpayer pledge to oppose tax hikes, which Republicans of most stripes have signed, including Scott, wrote in an op-ed for The Hill that the Florida Republican’s plan could single-handedly keep the Senate in Democratic control.

“Rick Scott’s ‘Plan to Rescue America’ is a list of 128 planks with only ONE that deals with taxation. If this plank remains in the plan it could cost Republicans the House and Senate in 2022,” Norquist wrote. “For 2022 campaign purposes, Scott’s manifesto is the threat of tax increases.”

“Now the GOP candidates have to spend time, energy and scarce campaign funds to distance themselves from a position they never took,” Norquist continued. “Not impossible. Just made necessary and more difficult by a single tax hike threat inside of a 128-plank manifesto.”

The comments come only days after Scott appeared before the Heritage Foundation to offer a defense of the proposal. The blueprint also includes a call to sunset all legislation after five years, including Social Security and Medicare, which McConnell slammed as an item Senate Republicans will not consider if they retake the majority.

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LEADING THE DAY

UKRAINE CRISIS: Horrific images of unarmed Ukrainian civilians shot in the head and left for dead in the streets of Bucha, a suburb of Kyiv previously home to 37,000 people, are evidence of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s big lie that Moscow ever sought to “liberate” its neighbors, according to international leaders.

President Emmanuel Macron of France said today that the images were “unbearable” and that he supports new sanctions against Russia.

Moscow denied committing any atrocities and suggested Ukrainian and Western powers staged the images.

The Associated Press: 15 images from Bucha.

On Sunday, diplomatic discussions about sanctions and cease-fires shifted to denunciations of alleged Russian genocide and questions about whether there can ever be “adequate” penalties for the murders of unarmed children, women and the elderly who were unable or unwilling to escape Ukrainian cities and rural locations and became targets.

The Associated Press: Ukraine accused Russia of a massacre. At least 410 civilian bodies have been found in towns near Kyiv, according to the Ukrainian government.

Russian forces in some areas have appeared to retreat, but NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned that Moscow appeared to be repositioning for a new phase of war. “This is not a real withdrawal,” he said (The Hill).

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in remarks and a separate interview broadcast on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” pounced on the disturbing video evidence from Bucha reported by journalists and re-released by the Ukrainian government.

“The occupiers were chased out. Hundreds of people were killed. Tortured, shot civilians. Bodies on the streets. Mined territory,” said Zelensky, who also prepared a video message seen during Sunday night’s Grammy awards. “The bodies of the dead were mined.” He called it evidence of genocide, knowing that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has for weeks been investigating war crimes allegedly committed by Russian forces. Moscow does not recognize the ICC.

© Associated Press / Rodrigo Abd | Ukrainian soldier on the outskirts of Kyiv, April 2.

Bottom line: Proving genocide as a matter of international law can take years and prosecutions of former heads of state have been exceedingly rare (Reuters/Yahoo News). But the power of images in today’s global media environment is instantaneous. Over the weekend, video and photographs sparked fresh Western outrage, including from Pope Francis, unleashed international vows to levy new sanctions on Russia and fortified Ukraine’s military to fight on.

Germany’s defense minister was so appalled by the scenes in Bucha, he suggested the European Union consider banning Russian gas imports (Reuters). Moscow’s atrocities against Ukrainian civilians have revived memories of the horrors of World War II among both Germans and the French, not to mention the rest of NATO (Reuters).

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Russia’s attack on Ukrainian civilians in towns on the outskirts of Kyiv “are yet more evidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his army are committing war crimes in Ukraine” (BBC). Echoing similar assertions in Washington, Johnson asserted that Putin’s war is “failing.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Putin has already experienced a “strategic defeat.” He predicted a sovereign Ukraine would outlast the Russian president. The secretary said the images of alleged atrocities from Bucha are “a punch to the gut,” adding later on CNN’s “State of the Union” that the United States believes Russia has committed war crimes and “we’ve been working to document that” (The Hill).

Russia’s chief negotiator on Sunday ruled out a meeting between Putin and Zelensky, saying the two nations remain too far apart to warrant face-to-face talks (The Hill).

******

MORE IN CONGRESS: Lawmakers are engaging in a war of words over a contentious portion of Biden’s budget proposal: $813.3 billion in defense funding, which would represent one of the largest investments in the Pentagon and security in history.

As The Hill’s Jordan Williams writes, Democrats are split on the matter, with liberals crying foul over the idea of a Democratic president pumping money into the Pentagon, which has seen its budget grow exponentially in recent years. However, one group not complaining are centrist Democrats, who are eager to be viewed as pro-defense as they face a multitude of headwinds ahead of what is shaping up to be a challenging midterm cycle.

Across the aisle, Republicans don’t think the defense budget is robust enough, pointing to the threat China poses and the ongoing fighting between Russia and Ukraine.

Hanna Trudo, The Hill: Centrists and liberals fighting to the end over executive actions.

➤ Jan. 6 latest: It was a banner week for the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol after a series of revelations emerged about the involvement of allies of former President Trump in the days leading up to the fatal event.

The panel’s discoveries — headlined by those involving Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) and Ginni Thomas — is providing mounting evidence to the committee charged with investigating the attack as it gears up for prime-time hearings, as The Hill’s Rebecca Beitsch and Harper Neidig write. Adding to the big week, a federal judge found it “more likely than not that President Trump corruptly attempted to obstruct the Joint Session of Congress on January 6.”

As the evidence grows, it gives the committee momentum in the face of continued GOP dismissals of its work, which it considers wholly political.

“When you have an independent judge or a member of the Republican Party say these things, I think it can catch the attention of people, who might otherwise be inclined to kind of brush it off as partisan politics, to say, ‘Oh, wait a minute, a judge made that finding? Wait a minute, Mo Brooks is saying this?’ ” said Barbara McQuade, a former federal prosecutor.

The Hill: GOP cries “we told you so” on Hunter Biden.

© Associated Press / J. Scott Applewhite | The U.S. Capitol on Friday.

IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKES

ADMINISTRATION & POLITICS: Take note: Biden has phoned some high-profile friends? It is perhaps no coincidence that both former President Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are seen this week using their high-wattage platforms in the Democratic Party to help the president get his message out that the party has a good-news story to tell to voters.

Obama will appear at the White House on Tuesday for the first time since leaving office to help celebrate the enactment and benefits of the Affordable Care Act, which Americans say they favor after more than a decade (NBC News). The former president will also appear Wednesday afternoon as part of The Atlantic’s event with the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics focused on “Disinformation and the Erosion of Democracy.”

If there is agreement among Democrats this year on anything, it’s that their messaging to their base and to independents gets low grades. Big names in the party are stepping into the spotlight this spring to help Biden improve the narrative. Enter stage left: the former secretary. While active with a podcast, social media and other public platforms, she weighed in on Sunday to applaud Biden for “doing a very good job” during a discussion on NBC’s “Meet the Press” (The Hill).

Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, said there’s a compelling and favorable contrast Democrats can draw with Republicans ahead of November. “Unfortunately, most of that party has now gone to the extreme and are saying and doing things that have no basis in reality. So, we’ve got a good case to make if we get our focus in the right place to do it,” she said.

Progressive advocates are fighting for $50,000 in student loan forgiveness per borrower and have put Biden in a tough political spot ahead of the midterms. Some have urged the president to freeze student loan payments until next year to sidestep a decision on a tough issue. Polls suggest broad support among Americans for the general idea of student loan forgiveness, but opinion about various proposals gets sticky after that. Republicans and baby boomers are the least likely to support any kind of education debt forgiveness, according to a Morning Consult report in December (The Hill).

Another partisan battle returns in May over immigration policy when the administration ends the Trump-era Title 42, which deemed COVID-19 a public health risk severe enough to keep many asylum-seekers out of the U.S. Biden, under pressure to make good on campaign promises after high-profile court fights, says the administration will rescind the prohibition before the end of May. Democrats are divided for a host of reasons, including administration preparations for the influx at a time when Republicans continue warning of a “crisis” at the southern border, report The Hill’s Rebecca Beitsch and Rafael Bernal.

The Hill: Judges last week said Democrats, not Republicans, have violated state constitutions to unfairly benefit the party in congressional redistricting.

The Hill: Trump on Sunday endorsed former Alaska Republican Gov. Sarah Palin, who days ago entered a crowded GOP House primary in her state. “Palin is tough and smart and will never back down, and I am proud to give her my Complete and Total Endorsement, and encourage all Republicans to unite behind this wonderful person and her campaign to put America First!,” the former president wrote.

OPINION

Seven worst-case scenarios from the war in Ukraine, by Niall Ferguson, columnist, Bloomberg Opinion. https://bloom.bg/37bc7q6

The enemies of liberalism are showing us what it really means, by Ezra Klein, columnist, The New York Times. https://nyti.ms/3wW5naG

WHERE AND WHEN

The House meets at noon.

The Senate convenes at 3 p.m. The Senate Judiciary Committee meets in executive session at 10 a.m. to vote on judicial nominees, including Jackson.

The president arrives in Washington from Delaware at 10:20 a.m. Biden will receive the President’s Daily Brief at 11:30 a.m. He will speak at 1:45 p.m. about the administration’s plan to help untangle supply chain problems by bringing more veterans and women into the trucking industry. He will be accompanied by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Vice President Harris will deliver remarks on the administration’s plan to make public schools more energy efficient at 5:20 p.m.

The White House daily press briefing is scheduled at 2:45 p.m. Press secretary Jen Psaki, who recently confirmed a report that she will switch careers to join MSNBC this spring, makes her return to the Briefing Room after testing positive for COVID-19 last month.

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ELSEWHERE

➤ CORONAVIRUS: Total U.S. coronavirus deaths reported as of this morning: 982,565. As of today, 76.2 percent of the U.S. population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 64.9 percent is “fully vaccinated,” according to the Bloomberg News global vaccine tracker and the government’s definition. The percentage of Americans who have received third or booster doses is 29.1.

➤ MARIJUANA: Where is it legal and illegal? Here’s a map (NewsNationNow).

➤ INTERNATIONAL: The Taliban on Sunday issued a ban on harvesting poppies across Afghanistan, warning that if farmers proceed with production, their crops will be burned and they will be jailed. The move comes as farmers in parts of the country have started their yearly harvest of the plant, including the extraction of opium to produce heroin. Afghanistan is the world’s largest producer of opium, having produced 6,000 tons of it last year (The Associated Press).

➤ HOOPS: The University of South Carolina took home its second national title in women’s basketball on Sunday night, topping the vaunted University of Connecticut squad, 64-49, in Minneapolis. The victory launched the Gamecocks into a stratosphere of women’s hoops, making them the eighth program to take home multiple national championships. Of course, Connecticut tops that list with 11 championships of their own (ESPN). … Tonight, the madness all ends as Kansas University takes on the University of North Carolina for the men’s title in New Orleans. Kansas is seeking its fourth title, having defeated Villanova in the Final Four two nights ago to clinch its spot in tonight’s affair. As for the eighth-seeded Tar Heels, it toppled Duke in the most highly anticipated Final Four contest in decades in its quest for a seventh championship. Tipoff is at 9:20 p.m. ET.

➤ HELLO, FRIENDS: Will he or won’t he? That’s the question surrounding Tiger Woods this week as he teases his potential return to competitive golf this week at The Masters Tournament in Augusta, Ga. The 15-time major champion tweeted on Sunday that he will be a “game-time decision” for the first major of the year, which starts on Thursday. Woods is 14 months clear from a devastating car accident that almost forced his right leg to be amputated (ESPN).

THE CLOSER

And finally … The winners of the 64th Grammy Awards Sunday included Jon Batiste, who won album of the year with “We Are” (The New York Times), Silk Sonic for record of the year with “Leave the Door Open” (The Associated Press and YouTube), and Olivia Rodrigo, 19, for best pop vocal album and as best new artist (People).

Zelensky, always ready to reach a larger, niche global audience during the Ukraine crisis, delivered an emotional pre-taped video speech (The New York Times), which segued to a performance by John Legend with a new song, “Free,” along with the singer Mika Newton, the poet Lyuba Yakimchuk, and Siuzanna Iglidan on the bandura, all of whom are Ukrainian. The stage backdrop: a gigantic image of the Ukrainian flag.

The late drummer Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters, who died a week ago at age 50, received a musical tribute (The New York Times).

A complete list of Grammy winners appears HERE, thanks to the Los Angeles Times. The Associated Press has winners in the top categories HERE.

Morning Report is created by journalists Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver. We want to hear from you! Email: asimendinger@digital-staging.thehill.com and aweaver@digital-staging.thehill.com. We invite you to share The Hill’s reporting and newsletters, and encourage others to SUBSCRIBE!