Thursday, March 24, 2022 TOP TIDBITS
FROM THE DNC WAR ROOM
FROM THE CHAIR'S DESK
MESSAGE TO MOBILIZE
ARTICLES TO AMPLIFY
TOP TWEETS
TALKING POINTS
BIDEN-HARRIS ADMINISTRATION WEEK AHEADTOP TIDBITS Today, we learned that the number of new unemployment claims fell to 187,000, the lowest since September of 1969. President Biden’s economic plan is working. Read more HERE. Read President Biden’s statement on today’s unemployment insurance claims data HERE.
President Biden is in Europe to continue our historic coordination with allies and partners on all aspects of our response to Russia’s war against Ukraine, including imposing further severe costs on those enabling President Putin’s war of choice. Today, the United States is sanctioning over 400 individuals and entities comprised of Russian elites, the Duma and more than 300 of its members, and defense companies, aligning and strengthening our sanctions in close coordination and partnership with the EU and G7. The U.S. has now sanctioned over 600 targets. Read the full White House fact sheet HERE. Today, the United States is announcing that we are prepared to provide more than $1 billion in new funding towards humanitarian assistance for those affected by Russia’s war in Ukraine and its severe impacts around the world, including a marked rise in food insecurity, over the coming months. This funding will provide food, shelter, clean water, medical supplies and other forms of assistance. We are also announcing an additional $320 million in democracy and human rights funding to Ukraine and its neighbors. Read the full White House fact sheet HERE.
Yesterday, the Senate and the country once again saw Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s deep commitment to the rule of law, and learned just how qualified she is for the Supreme Court. Read more about her journey – from her upbringing in Miami to her nomination to the highest court in the nation HERE. Despite Republicans’ best attempts to smear Judge Jackson, this week’s hearings showcased Ketanji Brown Jackson’s impeccable qualifications to sit on the Supreme Court. From her background as a public defender to her family’s history of law enforcement work, her broad and deep experience makes her incredibly qualified to sit on the highest court in the land. Read more from the @DNCWarRoom.
FROM THE DNC WAR ROOM Look out for the DNC War Room Twitter feed’s fact checks and real-time call outs of Republican hypocrisy throughout Judge Jackson’s confirmation hearings. @DNCWarRoom: .@HawleyMO, @tedcruz, @LindseyGrahamSC, and @SenTomCotton would rather weaponize the pain of survivors to attack Judge Jackson instead of actually legislatively addressing the sentencing issues they pretend to care so much about. DNC War Room: ICYMI: Washington Post Editorial Board: Opinion: Republicans boast they have not pulled a Kavanaugh. In fact, they’ve treated Jackson worse. DNC War Room: What Is Going On In the Republican Party? DNC War Room: Judge Jackson’s Qualifications Are Beyond Question @DNCWarRoom: FACT CHECK: @HawleyMO’s own record shows he’s repeatedly voted to confirm Trump-appointed judges with sentencing records similar to Judge Jackson’s record that he criticized. Josh Hawley is a shameless hypocrite. Full stop. FROM THE CHAIR'S DESK Chair Harrison spoke to local television stations to discuss the twelve-year anniversary of the Affordable Care Act: WSAV: DNC Chair: ACA is a Boon for Georgians and South Carolinians CW Atlanta: DNC Chair: Affordable Care Act Has Made Health Care More Accessible for Americans in Georgia WFXG (Augusta): Affordable Care Act 12th Anniversary WLOS (Asheville): ACA Anniversary MESSAGE TO MOBILIZEPlease amplify some of our top content from DNC channels below: On the anniversary of the Affordable Care Act being signed into law, know that as long as any American lies awake at night wondering how they’re going to pay their medical bills, we will keep fighting to lower costs and further expand health coverage. @JoeBiden (Twitter), @JoeBiden (Facebook) “What my being here, I think, is about, at some level—is about the progress that we’ve made in this country in a very short period of time.” —Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson @TheDemocrats (Twitter), @Democrats (Facebook) President Biden has nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, one of our nation’s brightest legal minds, to the United States Supreme Court. Want to know more about Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson? Watch now: @TheDemocrats (Twitter) ARTICLES TO AMPLIFYWashington Post Editorial Board: Opinion: Republicans boast they have not pulled a Kavanaugh. In fact, they’ve treated Jackson worse. CNN: GOP questions reveal the bad-faith scrutiny reserved for Black nominees Florida Phoenix: FL Dems highlight protection of Obamacare as an issue in 2022 elections
ABC Madison (WKOW): Democrats, supporters of Obamacare rally on 12th anniversary of passage InDepth NH: Op-Ed: On ACA Anniversary, Republicans Double Down on Healthcare Attacks TOP TWEETS @POTUS: This morning, we learned that new unemployment claims are now at a level not seen since 1969. America’s historic economic recovery is strong. Americans are getting back to work. @POTUS: NATO leaders met today in Brussels — one month since the start of Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine. We will continue to support Ukraine with security assistance to fight Russian aggression and uphold their right of self-defense. [PHOTO] @SecMartyWalsh: When @POTUS took office, more than 800,000 new claims were being filed each week. Today, we're seeing the lowest level for initial claims since September 6, 1969. Our historic recovery continues. @BrianDeeseNEC: The strength of the US labor market is on display again this week. The 4-wk avg of initial UI claims is now 6K below pre-pandemic levels. Overall insured unemployment is at its lowest since Feb 1970. Easy to take for granted, but this outcome was far from guaranteed 1 yr ago. [CHART] @nellwyn: For the past few years, @TheDemocrats have been making huge investments in overhauling our data and tech platform for campaigns -- and in 2022 the DNC Tech team is thrilled to bring those innovations to thousands of races across the country. TALKING POINTS 1. President Biden’s Meetings with Leaders of NATO, G7 and European Union On the one-month anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, President Biden traveled to Brussels to meet with leaders of NATO, the G7 and the European Union to discuss and announce the next steps in supporting Ukraine and holding Russia accountable. The president announced significant new actions to reinforce NATO, provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, welcome Ukrainian refugees to America, and impose new sanctions on Russian government officials and defense entities. Reinforcing NATO. The president joined other NATO leaders in welcoming President Zelenskyy, who gave a virtual address to the alliance, and pledged to continue providing Ukraine with security assistance to fight Russian aggression. NATO announced the establishment of four additional multinational battlegroups in Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria to strengthen the eastern flank. The U.S. has already deployed thousands of troops to Europe to reinforce NATO, and now has approximately 100,000 forces in Europe.
Imposing Costs on Russia. The president announced the United States will sanction over 400 additional Russian elites, Duma members, and defense companies. In addition, the U.S. and EU are establishing an initiative to coordinate responses to sanctions evasion – to make it tougher for those entities already sanctioned to avoid enforcement. Our sanctions have already imposed significant costs on the Russian economy, and we will continue to strengthen those measures.
Humanitarian Assistance. The president announced the U.S. is prepared to provide more than $1 billion in new funding towards humanitarian assistance to provide shelter, clean water, medical supplies, and other forms of humanitarian assistance for those affected by Russia’s war in Ukraine and its severe impacts around the world. The U.S. is already the largest single donor of humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, and our commitment to helping those affected by Russia’s aggression will continue, including by helping our European partners in countries neighboring Ukraine who are taking in Ukrainian refugees.
Welcoming Refugees. The president announced the U.S. will welcome 100,000 Ukrainians and others fleeing Russian aggression through the full range of legal pathways, including the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. In particular, we are working to expand and develop new programs with a focus on welcoming Ukrainians who have family members in the United States.
Promoting Democracy. The president launched the European Democratic Resilience Initiative, which is intended to provide at least $320 million in new funding to support human rights defenders, anti-corruption watchdogs, journalists, and other members of civil society operating in and around Ukraine.
Securing Europe’s Energy Independence. On Friday, the president will join the president of the European Union to announce new actions to establish Europe’s independence from Russian energy. He will then travel to Poland, where he will meet with U.S. troops helping to defend NATO territory and experts involved in the humanitarian response.
Final Day: Judge Jackson’s Senate Confirmation Hearings
During her confirmation hearing this week, Judge Jackson demonstrated that she is unequivocally qualified for the Supreme Court.
She showed incredible grace under pressure over more than 20 hours of questioning by members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
She thoughtfully and thoroughly answered questions, demonstrating the depth and breadth of her decade of experience across the legal system. And, she masterfully explained the law in her answers – underscoring her commitment to transparency in her decision making and demonstrating her true love of the law.
Some on the committee tried to mischaracterize Judge Jackson’s record and views and were combative in their questioning. Judge Jackson showed the poise and temperament required for a Supreme Court justice.
The attacks on the judge’s sentencing record have been discredited by fact checkers from major news outlets including the Associated Press, New York Times, and National Review. The great majority of the judge’s sentences for child pornography offenders were at or above the level recommended by the US Probation Office, and they were in line with other federal judges. And, these attacks overlook her overall record as a district court judge, when she has sentenced more than 100 defendants in her time as a judge.
Judge Jackson’s nomination has been supported by a wide range of individuals and groups — from the law enforcement community including the Fraternal Order of Police and International Association of Chiefs of Police; to conservative and Republican legal and judicial voices, including retired Judges Thomas Griffith, Michael Luttig, David Levi (who endorsed Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh); to domestic violence and sexual assault survivors. And her presentation in the hearing was praised by the Wall Street Journal editorial board.
This week is Judge Jackson’s fourth time before the Senate Judiciary Committee. She has been confirmed three times with bipartisan support – including just last year to the United States Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit. In recent weeks, Judge Jackson has met with 45 senators, including every member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Judge Jackson has been transparent and forthcoming throughout this process, as evidenced by the many tens of thousands of pages produced to the Senate on her record. She provided documents totaling 12,000 pages from her time on the Sentencing Commission. And the Obama Library produced nearly 70,000 pages of material related to Judge Jackson’s nominations to both the Sentencing Commission and the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
With these materials, on top of her nearly 600 written opinions, the Senate Judiciary Committee has all the information it needs to evaluate Judge Jackson’s qualifications to sit on our nation’s highest court.
Judge Jackson is a brilliant legal mind with the utmost character and integrity. She will make an exceptional Supreme Court Justice.
The Judiciary Committee, and subsequently the U.S. Senate, should move forward in a timely fashion to vote to confirm her to the Supreme Court.
BIDEN-HARRIS ADMINISTRATION WEEK AHEAD Thursday, March 24 President Biden will attend an extraordinary NATO summit to discuss ongoing deterrence and defense efforts in response to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified attack on Ukraine. The president will reaffirm our ironclad commitment to our NATO allies and to defend every inch of NATO territory. The president will attend a G7 meeting to further discuss with our allies and partners the consequences we are imposing on Russia for its war of choice. The president will join a scheduled European Council Summit to discuss our shared concerns about Ukraine, including transatlantic efforts to impose economic costs on Russia, provide humanitarian support to those affected by the violence, and address other challenges related to the conflict. Today, Vice President Harris will deliver remarks at the one-year commemoration of the president’s Executive Order on Promoting Access to Voting.
Friday, March 25 Saturday, March 26 President Biden will hold a bilateral meeting with President Andrzej Duda of Poland. The president will discuss how the United States, alongside our allies and partners, is responding to the humanitarian and human rights crisis that Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked war on Ukraine has created.
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