Democrats and Republicans agree on plan to suspend trade relations with Russia and Belarus – live | US news

Chuck Grassley, the Republican senator from Iowa who famously rushed supreme court justice Amy Coney Barrett onto the highest court in the land in 30 days, is now saying – with Joe Biden’s nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson, heading toward her confirmation hearings in two weeks – that “vetting a nominee for a lifetime appointment to the high court is serious business”.

“The American people rightly expect a full and thorough vetting process,” Grassley said. “We should not sacrifice the integrity of our constitutional advice and consent responsibility to meet an arbitrary timeline. The court’s next term doesn’t begin until October, so there’s absolutely no need to rush.”

Joe Biden had a video teleconference today with Emmanuel Macron, president of France; Olaf Scholz, chancellor of Germany; and Boris Johnson, prime minister of the United Kingdom:

The Ukrainian ambassador to the US has sent a letter to lawmakers asking for their “urgent action” as it comes to legislation.

This comes as lawmakers plan to include $10bn in aid to Ukraine in a $1.5tn omnibus package that is likely to pass by the end of the week.

Among the asks from Ukrainian ambassador Oksana Markarova:

• Providing Ukraine with aircraft and air defense systems
• Increasing the amount of presidential drawdown authority in fiscal year 2022
• Increasing the amount provided for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative
• Making funds flexible so that Ukraine can react to any emerging challenges

Congressmen Richard Neal and Kevin Brady – the Democratic chair and Republican leader of the House ways and means committee, respectively – and senators Ron Wyden and Mike Crapo – the Democratic chair and the Republican ranking member of the Senate finance committee, respectively – have announced a bipartisan agreement on legislation that will suspend trade relations with Russia and Belarus.

Federal prosecutors were expected to make closing arguments today in the first jury trial of someone charged with joining in the 6 January attack of the US Capitol.

Guy Reffitt of Texas, the first of some 750 people charged with joining the riot to face trial in Washington, has been charged with carrying a semi-automatic handgun while on Capitol grounds and obstructing justice by threatening his children with harm if they reported him to authorities.

About 200 defendants have pleaded guilty to charges relating to the attack. Read more here:

Here’s a good list of some brands that have cut ties with Russia in the days since the invasion:

Joe Biden is in a video teleconference with Emmanuel Macron, president of France; Olaf Scholz, chancellor of Germany; and Boris Johnson, prime minister of the United Kingdom.

It should be an interesting chat, given the recent report that Biden is willing to move forward with a ban on Russian oil imports, even without the participation of the country’s European allies – many of whom will be deeply affected by such a ban and could possibly be pushed into a recession.

Reuters is reporting that the Biden administration is willing to move ahead with a ban on Russian oil imports into the US, even without the participation of its European allies.

This development comes as the House plans to take up a bill on the issue this week, amid skyrocketing gasoline prices across the country – more than $4 a gallon on average and more than $5 in California alone.

The White House had previously been reluctant to push for a full ban of all Russian oil imports because of these price surges, even though the US is the least affected – Europe gets at least 25% of its oil and 40% of its natural gas from Russia. This weekend, US officials made a trip to Venezuela to discuss resuming oil imports from there to help replace Russia oil.

Antony Blinken, US secretary of state, reaffirmed the US’ commitment to the Nato alliance, standing with the leaders of Lithuania and Latvia in a joint press conference and assuring them that the US will stand with the Baltics against any Russian aggression.

“The United States is more committed than ever to standing with you as our democracies rise to the challenge,” he said.

Blinken continued: “We will defend every inch of Nato territory if it comes under attack. No one should doubt our readiness. No one should doubt our resolve.”

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, Joe Biden’s nominee for the supreme court, is meeting with senators ahead of her senate confirmation hearings in two week.

Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer has sent out a letter to colleagues on the week ahead, noting that Senate will vote on postal service reform and that “Democrats have made a reasonable global offer to Republicans” regarding an omnibus package on government funding ahead of the 11 March deadline.

“We have been working on a bipartisan, bicameral basis through the weekend to finish work on an omnibus package that includes robust assistance to the people and government of Ukraine and additional funds to ensure our country is prepared if and when the next Covid variant strikes,” he wrote.

Ahoy there, live blog readers. Happy Monday.

Now on day 12 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, much of the agenda in Congress is focused on how to provide aid for Ukraine while taking a strong stand against Russia.

Up first is a $10bn request for funding from the White House which, according to the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, in a Sunday letter, will be included as part of the a $1.5tn omnibus package – yes, government funding expires at the end of this week.

But Pelosi also wrote that the House will take up a bill to ban the import of Russian oil – something the White House has been reluctant to push for, with oil prices skyrocketing across the country (with a $0.70 increase over just the past month, average gasoline prices are up to $4 per gallon and more than $5 a gallon in California).

A US ban on Russian oil would send a strong message to Russia, for sure, but could also push Europe, which imports about 40% of its natural gas from Russia and 25% of its oil, into a recession.

However, Antony Blinken, the secretary of state, told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday the US is in “very active discussions with our European partners about banning the import of Russian oil to our countries, while of course, at the same time, maintaining a steady global supply of oil”.

When asked if the US has ruled out banning Russian oil imports, Blinken responded: “I’m not going to rule out taking action one way or another, irrespective of what they do, but everything we’ve done, the approach starts with coordinating with allies and partners.”

Stay tuned for more.