Closing Summary
It is 6pm in Washington DC. Here is a wrap up of the day’s key events:
The US will send a new weapons aid package worth about $800m, that will include 155m artillery rounds, including Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions, and 105mm artillery rounds. The Ukrainian government has assured the US of the “responsible use” of DPICM, including that it will not use the rounds in civilian-populated urban environments, said the Pentagon.
In an interview with CNN host Fareed Zakaria on Friday, president Joe Biden said that his decision to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions was a “difficult decision, adding, “And by the way, I discussed this with our allies, I discussed this with our friends up on the Hill,” Biden said, adding, “The Ukrainians are running out of ammunition.”
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has hailed the new US defense package which includes cluster munitions. In a tweet on Friday, Zelenskiy said: “A timely, broad and much-needed defense aid package from the United States. We are grateful to the American people and President Joseph Biden @POTUS for decisive steps that bring Ukraine closer to victory over the enemy, and democracy to victory over dictatorship.”
Human rights groups have condemned Joe Biden’s approval to send cluster munitions to Ukraine. At least 149 civilians were killed or injured worldwide by the weapon in 2021, according to the Cluster Munition Monitor. Biden also faced a backlash from within his own Democratic party.
Ukraine’s counteroffensive is “slower than we hoped,” the US undersecretary of defense for policy Colin H Kahl said. He said one of the primary reasons behind the decision to send cluster munitions was because of the “urgency of the moment”, adding that the weapons would be delivered “in a timeframe that is relevant for the counteroffensive.”
Treasury secretary Janet Yellen has arrived in Beijing on a four-day trip that aims to tame spiralling tensions between the world’s two largest economies, particularly over trade and the hi-tech chip industry. She will meet senior Chinese officials including the premier, Li Qiang, and former vice-premier and economics tsar Liu He, who is seen as close to China’s president, Xi Jinping, in her first day of talks on Friday.
James Comer, chair of the house oversight committee, requested a Secret Service briefing after cocaine was found at the White House over the weekend. In a letter to Secret Service director, Kimberly Cheatle, the Kentucky Republican said his committee is “investigating the details surrounding the discovery of cocaine in the White House”.
That’s it from me, Maya Yang, as we wrap up the blog for today. Thank you for following along.
Following the Biden administration’s announcement to supply Ukraine with cluster bombs, the White House announced today that it has destroyed the last munition of its chemical weapons stockpile.
“For more than 30 years, the United States has worked tirelessly to eliminate our chemical weapons stockpile. Today, I am proud to announce that the United States has safely destroyed the final munition in that stockpile—bringing us one step closer to a world free from the horrors of chemical weapons.
Successive administrations have determined that these weapons should never again be developed or deployed, and this accomplishment not only makes good on our long-standing commitment under the Chemical Weapons Convention, it marks the first time an international body has verified destruction of an entire category of declared weapons of mass destruction. I am grateful to the thousands of Americans who gave their time and talents to this noble and challenging mission for more than three decades. Today—as we mark this significant milestone—we must also renew our commitment to forging a future free from chemical weapons. I continue to encourage the remaining nations to join the Chemical Weapons Convention so that the global ban on chemical weapons can reach its fullest potential,” said president Joe Biden.
Here is the video of Pentagon official Colin Kahl speaking earlier today on the Biden administration’s decision to sent cluster bombs to Ukraine:
Kahl told reporters that the “urgency of the moment” demanded it, but also said: “We want to make sure that the Ukrainians have sufficient artillery to keep them in the fight in the context of the current counteroffensive, and because things are going a little slower than some had hoped.”
Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr has joined the growing list of lawmakers and human rights groups condemning the Biden administration for its decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine.
“Cluster bombs are munitions so horrific for civilians that more than a hundred nations have signed an international treaty banning them. Now the Biden administration is preparing to send them to Ukraine,” Kennedy Jr tweeted on Friday.
Cluster bombs are munitions so horrific for civilians that more than a hundred nations have signed an international treaty banning them. Now the Biden administration is preparing to send them to Ukraine.https://t.co/Ck2gSm0SOj
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) July 7, 2023
Zelenskiy says new US defense package "timely, broad and much-needed"
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has hailed the new US defense package which includes cluster munitions.
In a tweet on Friday, Zelenskiy said:
“A timely, broad and much-needed defense aid package from the United States. We are grateful to the American people and President Joseph Biden @POTUS for decisive steps that bring Ukraine closer to victory over the enemy, and democracy to victory over dictatorship.
The expansion of Ukraine’s defense capabilities will provide new tools for the de-occupation of our land and bringing peace closer.”
A timely, broad and much-needed defense aid package from the United States. We are grateful to the American people and President Joseph Biden @POTUS for decisive steps that bring Ukraine closer to victory over the enemy, and democracy to victory over dictatorship. The expansion…
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 7, 2023
Biden on sending cluster munitions to Ukraine: 'It was a difficult decision;
In an interview with CNN host Fareed Zakaria on Friday, president Joe Biden said that his decision to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions was a “difficult decision”.
“It was a very difficult decision on my part. And by the way, I discussed this with our allies, I discussed this with our friends up on the Hill,” Biden said, adding, “The Ukrainians are running out of ammunition.”
“This is a war relating to munitions. And they’re running out of that ammunition, and we’re low on it and so, what I finally did, I took the recommendation of the Defense Department to – not permanently – but to allow for this transition period, while we get more 155 weapons, these shells, for the Ukrainians.”
Despite over 100 countries having outlawed the munitions under the Convention on Cluster Munitions, the US and Ukraine are not signatories.
“They’re trying to get through those trenches and stop those tanks from rolling. But it was not an easy decision,” Biden said, adding, “We’re not signatories to that agreement, but it took me a while to be convinced to do it.”
“But the main thing is they either have the weapons to stop the Russians now – keep them from stopping the Ukrainian offensive through these areas – or they don’t. And I think they needed them.”
US President Biden tells CNN it was a “difficult decision” to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions, but that he was ultimately convinced to send the controversial weapons because Kyiv needs ammunition in its counteroffensive against Russia. https://t.co/Rwy86CRmlg pic.twitter.com/K7Gx6lpgRS
— CNN International (@cnni) July 7, 2023
Updated
Here is an animation on how cluster bombs work:
Cluster bombs are canisters that carry dozens of smaller bombs.
— Joshua Reed Eakle (@JoshEakle) July 7, 2023
While they are designed to explode on impact, as many as 30% do not, making them a risk to civilians for years.
Over 90% of recorded cluster bomb casualties are civilians, of which nearly half are children.
The… pic.twitter.com/ZLsVljnyMn
As the Guardian’s Léonie Chao-Fung reports in her explainer piece on the weapon, “Cluster bombs, like landmines, pose a risk to civilians long after their use. Unexploded ordinance from cluster bombs can kill and maim people years or even decades after the munitions were fired.”
For the full explainer, click here:
Minnesota’s Democratic representative Ilhan Omar has issued a condemnation of the Biden administration’s decision to send cluster bombs to Ukraine, saying, “Instead of dealing cluster munitions, we should be doing everything in our power to end their use.”
The statement continued:
“Cluster munitions are illegal under international law. A total of 123 countries have ratified the convention to ban their use under all circumstances—including nearly all our allies.
“It’s not hard to understand why. Because cluster bombs scatter multiple small bombs over a large area, they kill civilians both during an attack and after. I was recently in Vietnam where I heard firsthand how innocent civilians continue to be killed by US cluster munitions a full fifty years after the conflict ended. Tens of thousands of explosives are found every year there.
“We have to be clear: if the US is going to be a leader on international human rights, we must not participate in human rights abuses. We can support the people of Ukraine in their freedom struggle, while also opposing violations of international law. (In fact, the innocent victims of the cluster munitions will almost exclusively be Ukrainian civilians).”
Updated
Summary of the day so far
Here’s a recap of today’s developments:
The US will send cluster munitions to Ukraine as part of a new $800 military aid package, the Pentagon has confirmed. The package will include Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions (DPICMs), also known as cluster munitions, armored vehicles and air defense missiles. Ukraine has been asking for cluster munitions for months, but US officials have been hesitant as the weapons can kill indiscriminately over a wide area, threatening civilians.
The White House said it had postponed the decision over whether to send the controversial weapons “for as long as we could” because of the risk of civilian harm from unexploded ordnance. National security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters that American cluster munitions had a “dud” rate of below 2.5%, which he described as far below Russia’s cluster munition dud rate.
Human rights groups have condemned Joe Biden’s approval to send cluster munitions to Ukraine. At least 149 civilians were killed or injured worldwide by the weapon in 2021, according to the Cluster Munition Monitor. Biden also faced a backlash from within his own Democratic party.
Ukraine’s counteroffensive is “slower than we hoped”, the US undersecretary of defense for policy, Colin H Kahl, said. He said one of the primary reasons behind the decision to send cluster munitions was because of the “urgency of the moment”, adding that the weapons would be delivered “in a timeframe that is relevant for the counteroffensive”.
The US added 209,000 new jobs in June as hiring slowed amid signs that the economy is cooling. The rise was the weakest gain since December 2020, but the increase was also the 30th consecutive month of jobs gains, and the unemployment rate ticked down to the historically low rate of 3.6%.
Treasury secretary Janet Yellen has arrived in Beijing on a four-day trip that aims to tame spiralling tensions between the world’s two largest economies, particularly over trade and the hi-tech chip industry. She will meet senior Chinese officials including the premier, Li Qiang, and former vice-premier and economics tsar Liu He, who is seen as close to China’s president, Xi Jinping, in her first day of talks on Friday.
The team led by special counsel Jack Smith has indicated a continued interest in a chaotic meeting that took place in the Oval Office in the final days of the Trump administration, according to a CNN report. Investigators have reportedly questioned several witnesses before the grand jury and during interviews about the meeting, which took place about six weeks after Donald Trump lost the 2020 election.
James Comer, chair of the house oversight committee, requested a Secret Service briefing after cocaine was found at the White House over the weekend. In a letter to Secret Service director, Kimberly Cheatle, the Kentucky Republican said his committee is “investigating the details surrounding the discovery of cocaine in the White House”.
Florida governor Ron DeSantis said he plans to participate in the first Republican presidential debate in August, whether or not Donald Trump attends. “I’ll be there, regardless,” DeSantis said. Trump, who continues to be frontrunner in the GOP race, has not officially said whether he will skip the debate.
The Biden administration’s approval of the transfer of cluster munitions to Ukraine has sparked concern from human rights groups and some congressional lawmakers over the weapon’s ability to harm civilians, especially children, long after their use.
At least 38 human rights organizations have publicly opposed the transfer of cluster munitions to Ukraine, according to the Hill.
Sarah Yager, the Washington director at Human Rights Watch, said cluster bombs were already “all over” Ukraine and it is “not a good enough excuse for the United States to be sending more”. She added:
Legislators, policymakers and the Biden administration will probably think twice when the pictures start coming back of children who have been harmed by American-made cluster munitions.
Eric Eikenberry, the government relations director at Win Without War, said the adminstration’s argument that cluster munitions could help Ukraine advance and stop the Russian bombings was “speculative”.
He dismissed “the idea that these are going to be a huge boon, the counteroffensive is going to jet forward and we’re going to save lives in the aggregate because these are going to be the wonder weapons that flip the battlefield in our favor and takes Russian artillery out of commission.”
Here’s a clip of Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, who laid out the case for providing cluster munitions to Ukraine ahead of the Pentagon’s announcement.
Kahl says it is too early to judge how the Ukrainian counter offensive is going “because we are at the beginning of the middle”.
The counteroffensive is “slower than we had hoped” but the Ukrainians have a lot of combat power left, Kahl says.
He says the majority of the Ukrainian combat power “has not been brought to bear”.
What you’re seeing across the east and the south is the Ukrainians deliberately probing for weak spots.
The real test will be when they identify weak spots or create weak spots and generate a breach, how rapidly they’re able to exploit that with the combat power that they have in reserve, and how rapidly the Russians will be able to respond.
He says he believes the Ukrainians are doing their best but that the Russians “were more successful in digging in more deeply that perhaps was fully appreciated”.
Kahl does not specify how many rounds of cluster munitions that will be transferred to Ukraine.
He says the US has “hundreds of thousands that are available at this dud rate”, and that it believes that it has the ability to flow them into Ukraine to “keep them in the current fight” and to “build this bridge”.
Cluster munitions to be delivered in timeframe that is relevant for Ukraine's counteroffensive, says Pentagon
Providing cluster munitions to Ukraine “gives them an extra arrow in their quiver”, Kahl says.
He says it is important for the Ukrainians to have a mix of capabilities, and that there is no one silver bullet.
On the subject of a timeline, he says he is going to be “a little circumspect” for operational security reasons, and that the US has been “pretty cautious about talking about specific timelines”. He adds:
The one thing I will say is they will deliver in a timeframe that is relevant for the counter offensive.
Secondly, Kahl says the US has substantially increased the production of 155m rounds, and that allies have also invested in their defense industrial base.
But the reality is that “we’re going to need to build a bridge to the point at which that capacity is sufficient, on a month to month basis, to keep the Ukrainians in the artillery fight”, he says.
He says he is “as concerned about the humanitarian circumstance" as anybody” but that the “worst thing for civilians and Ukraine is for Russia to win the war”.
US to send cluster munitions because Ukrainian counteroffensive 'going slower than hoped'
Kahl says there are two primary reasons behind the decision to include cluster munitions in this latest weapons aid package to Ukraine.
One is the “urgency of the moment”, he says. Ukraine is in the midst of its counteroffensive which has been difficult because the Russians had six months to dig into defensive belts in the east and the south.
We want to make sure that the Ukrainians have sufficient artillery to keep them in the fight in the context of the current counter offensive, and because things are going a little slower than some had hoped.
The Ukrainian government has assured the US of the “responsible use” of DPICM, including that it will not use the rounds in civilian-populated urban environments, Kahl says.
Ukraine has also committed to post-conflict mining “to mitigate any potential harm to civilians”, he says.
He says Washington will work with Kyiv to “minimize the risks associated with the decision” to supply cluster munitions.
Kahl says Russian forces have been using cluster munitions “indiscriminately” since the start of its war in Ukraine. By contrast, Ukraine is seeking DPICM rounds “in order to defend its own sovereign territory”.
The US will be sending Ukraine its “most modern” dual-purpose improved conventional munition (DPICM) cluster munitions with “dud” rates to be under 2.35%, Kahl says.
He compares that to the cluster munitions used by Russia across Ukraine, which he says has dud rates of between 30% and 40%.
Pentagon announces new $800m military aid package to Ukraine, including cluster munitions
The undersecretary of defense for policy, Colin H Kahl, is speaking at a press briefing at the Pentagon.
The US will send a new weapons aid package worth about $800m, that will include 155m artillery rounds, including Dual-Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions, and 105mm artillery rounds.
Also included in the new package are additional munitions for Patriot air defence systems and ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket systems, additional Stryker armoured personnel carriers, precision aerial munitions, demolition munitions and systems for obstacle clearing and various spare parts and operational sustainment equipment.
Updated
Sullivan said the decision to send cluster munitions was not an easy one. He said:
It’s a difficult decision. It’s a decision we deferred. It’s a decision that required a real hard look at the potential harm to civilians.
When we put all of that together, there was a unanimous recommendation from the national security team, and President Biden ultimately decided, in consultation with allies and partners and in consultation with members of Congress, to move forward on this strategy.
Pentagon to hold briefing
The Pentagon is due to hold a briefing in the next couple of minutes, where officials are expected to announce the US will send cluster munitions as part of a new weapons aid package to Ukraine.
Joe Biden approved sending cluster munitions to Ukraine after 'unanimous' recommendation from security advisers
Joe Biden approved sending cluster munitions to Ukraine after a “unanimous” recommendation from his national security team, Sullivan says.
He says it was a “difficult” decision and that the president ultimately made the decision “in consultation with allies and partners and in consultation with members of Congress”.
Updated
Russia’s use of cluster munitions in this conflict “is completely unacceptable on multiple counts”, Sullivan says.
He says Russia has been using these weapons to attack a sovereign country, and to strike after civilian targets, in violation of international law.
Crucially, there is a “big difference” between the type of cluster munition being used by Russia and the type that the US would provide to Ukraine, he says.
He says Russia has already spread tens of millions of these weapons across Ukrainian territory, he says.
We have to ask ourselves – is Ukraine’s use of cluster munitions on that same land actually, that much of an addition of civilian harm, given that that area is going to have to be de-mined regardless?
Russia has been using cluster munitions since start of war, says White House
Sullivan does not say whether the US will transfer cluster munitions to Ukraine, but he says it “will not leave Ukraine defenseless at any point in this conflict, period”.
Russia has been using cluster munitions since the beginning of its invasion of Ukraine, he says.
The bottom line is this: we recognize that cluster munitions create a risk of civilian harm from unexploded ordnance. This is why we deferred the decision for as long as we could.
But there is also a massive risk of civilian harm if Russian troops and tanks roll over Ukrainian positions and take more Ukrainian territory and subjugate more Ukrainian civilians.
Updated
National security adviser Jake Sullivan is addressing reporters at a White House briefing. He has not confirmed whether the US will send cluster munitions to Ukraine as part of a new weapons aid package.
Instead, Sullivan says he will “leave it to the Pentagon to make a formal announcement later this afternoon for the next drawdown package”. The Pentagon is due to give its press briefing at 2.45pm EST.
Updated
Congresswoman Betty McCollum of Minnesota has criticized the decision to transfer US cluster munitions to Ukraine, describing the move as “unnecessary and a terrible mistake”.
Allowing cluster bombs on to the battlefield in Ukraine “undermines our moral authority and places the US in a position that directly contradicts 23 of our Nato allies”, the Democratic congresswoman said in a statement, referring to the 2008 treaty signed by more than 120 countries (but not the US, Ukraine or Russia).
The legacy of cluster bombs “is misery, death, and expensive cleanup generations after their use”, the statement continues.
The U.S. pays tens of millions of dollars annually to remove cluster munitions in Laos from the Vietnam era as these remnants of war continue to kill and maim civilians.
As a strong supporter of the Biden administration’s policy in Ukraine, I must state in the strongest possible terms my absolute opposition to the U.S. transferring cluster munitions. These weapons should be eliminated from our stockpiles, not dumped in Ukraine.
White House due to hold briefing amid expectations of a cluster munitions announcement
The White House press briefing is expected to begin shortly at 2.00 pm eastern time, as many expect an announcement that the US may give Ukraine cluster munitions.
We’ll be covering any announcement as it happens.
Updated
Republican senator Tom Cotton has said he supports Biden’s expected decision to provide cluster bombs to Ukraine.
From DC Examiner corespondent Christian Datoc:
.@SenTomCotton backs Biden's decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine
— Christian Datoc (@TocRadio) July 7, 2023
“Ukraine needs at least equal access to the weapons Russia already uses against them... Providing this new capability is the right decision—even if it took too long—and is one I’ve long supported.”
Here’s more information on the controversy surrounding cluster bombs, from the Guardian’s Léonie Chao-Fong.
The US is weighing whether to provide cluster munitions to Ukraine, the White House said on Thursday, amid calls from human rights groups for Kyiv and Moscow to stop using the controversial weapons.
What is a cluster bomb?
A cluster bomb is a weapon that breaks apart in the air and releases multiple explosive submunitions or “bomblets” across a wide area. They can be delivered by planes, artillery and missiles, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
How dangerous are they?
The bomblets are designed to detonate on hitting the ground and anyone in that area is very likely to be killed or seriously injured. Beyond the initial damage caused by the munitions upon impact, many bomblets fail to detonate immediately. Up to 40% of bomblets have failed to explode in some recent conflicts, according to the ICRC.
Read the full article here.
President Joe Biden’s administration did not sanction or support secret meetings that former top US national security officials held with the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, and other Russians on potential talks to end the Ukraine war, the White House and state department have said.
NBC News reported that the former US officials met Lavrov in New York in April, joined by Richard Haass, a former US diplomat and outgoing president of the council on foreign relations, and two former White House aides.
It was not clear how frequently the group, which included former Pentagon officials, held discussions with other prominent Russians thought to be close to the Kremlin, NBC News reported. At least one unidentified group member travelled to Russia, it said.
“The Biden administration did not sanction those discussions,” a state department spokesperson said on Thursday in response to questions. “And as we’ve said repeatedly, nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine.”
The spokesperson was referring to an administration policy of not discussing possible negotiations on ending the war without involving Ukrainian officials.
He said the administration would continue providing weaponry to Kyiv so Ukrainian officials “can negotiate from a position of strength when they think the time is right”.
Former diplomats said that the US did make use of former diplomats to conduct back channel discussions, although this did not mean they would lead to a more serious negotiations. Lavrov would be highly unlikely to meet retired US officials unless they had some link to official channels, they added.
A former western official said they were aware of the talks but their status was unclear:
But even if not authorised this visit shows that some ‘realists’ in DC want to do a deal with Russia over Ukraine’s head.
Congressman Jim McGovern of Massachusetts said he opposes the transfer of US cluster munitions to Ukraine.
In a statement, McGovern said he supported helping Ukraine in the face of Russia’s war of aggression “but cluster munitions won’t help”. He said:
I urge President Biden to listen to our NATO allies, such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Spain, who oppose sending cluster munitions to Ukraine for the same reasons.
I continue to strongly support helping Ukraine stand up to Russia’s brutal war of aggression. But cluster munitions won’t help.
— Rep. Jim McGovern (@RepMcGovern) July 7, 2023
My full statement ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/lmn0QH9Ug6
Arizona governor Katie Hobbs has announced that adults in the state can get contraceptive medications without a doctor’s prescription.
The rule, which goes into effect immediately, applies to self-administered birth control such as hormonal and oral contraceptives, and patients aged 18 or older need only complete a screening and a blood pressure test.
In a statement, Hobbs said:
We are building an Arizona for everyone, which means ensuring people across the state have what they need to live a free and healthy life.
More than 20 states have statutes that let pharmacists dispense FDA-approved hormonal contraceptives without a prescription, a statement from Arizona’s department of health services said.
Hobbs has used her executive powers in recent weeks to promote reproductive freedom, AP reported. In June, she issued a sweeping executive order that effectively stripped prosecutors from being able to pursue charges against anyone involved with a legally obtained abortion.
Ukraine says cluster munitions would be 'psycho-emotional' weapon against Russian forces
Ukraine would welcome a US decision to send cluster munitions because they have an “extraordinary psycho-emotional impact” on Russian forces, a senior Ukrainian official said.
Mykhailo Podolyak, a key adviser to Volodymyr Zelenskiy, told Reuters:
Undoubtedly, the transfer of additional volumes of shells to Ukraine is a very significant contribution to the acceleration of de-occupation procedures.
He said a decline in the combat capacity and morale of Russian soldiers was “an important component that can be provided by this type of projectile”.
In the great bloody war which has been ongoing for more than 16 months and which will predetermine the future of the world – whether it is lawless (Russian) or whether international law exists after all – the number of weapons matters. So, weapons, more weapons, and more weapons,…
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) July 7, 2023
Updated
It isn’t much fun, or indeed very productive, being a Democrat in Florida these days.
Outnumbered by a Republican supermajority in the state legislature, the party was forced to sit back and watch extremist governor Ron DeSantis sign law after law riding roughshod over the rights of Black voters, immigrants and the LGBTQ+ community.
The humiliation in Tallahassee was the culmination of a years-long decline in Democratic fortunes, predating even the ousting of long-serving US senator Bill Nelson in 2018.
Dismal performances from mediocre candidates in successive elections turned what used to be the nation’s largest swing state firmly red, and for the first time since Reconstruction, the Florida Democratic party has no statewide elected official to its name.
Worse, registered Republican voters, in a minority only three years ago, now outnumber Democrats by half a million. And, this year, the state party faced outright elimination from a bill filed by a Republican state senator.
The only way is up.
The fightback – part revival, part revolution – is in the hands of an aggressive, and progressive, new leadership team that is promising to restore the Florida Democratic party’s lost pride, and equilibrium to the state’s lopsided politics that DeSantis has, in the eyes of some, dragged into fascism.
Florida governor Ron DeSantis said he plans to participate in the first Republican presidential debate in August, whether or not Donald Trump attends.
“I’ll be there, regardless,” DeSantis told Fox News on Thursday evening.
I hope everybody who is eligible comes. I think it is an important part of the process, and I look forward to being able to be on the stage and introducing our candidacy and our vision and our leadership to a wide audience.
Trump, who continues to be frontrunner in the GOP race, has not officially said whether he will skip the debate. The former president has indicated that he may not show up, and sources have told NBC News that he is exploring ways to mess with the debate by, for example, scheduling a competing event.
White House briefing due at 2pm ET amid expectations of weapons announcement
The Biden administration is expected to announce today that the Pentagon will send thousands of cluster munitions to Ukraine as part of a new military aid package worth up to $800m.
US officials have said they expect the military aid to Ukraine will be announced today, but it’s unclear as yet when that will be.
The White House’s press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, and national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, will hold a press briefing at 2pm EST.
The undersecretary of defense for policy, Colin H Kahl, will hold a press briefing at the Pentagon at 2.30pm EST.
Updated
Treasury secretary Janet Yellen will meet senior Chinese officials including the premier, Li Qiang, and former vice-premier and economics tsar Liu He, who is seen as close to China’s president, Xi Jinping, in her first day of talks on Friday.
A treasury official told journalists Yellen would address “unfair practices” by China, including recent punitive actions against US firms and barriers to market access, and a member of her delegation tried to downplay expectations, Reuters reported.
But there are also strong incentives for both sides to try to patch up the relationship where possible. Cooperation between Washington and Beijing is vital to make progress on global threats including the climate crisis and debt relief for poorer countries.
Their economies are so closely entwined that escalating trade controls risk causing serious damage to both. And without good channels of communication, there is a greater risk that flashpoints such as military patrols near Taiwanese airspace and territorial waters could escalate.
Today I met with U.S. businesses operating in China to discuss the bilateral economic relationship between our two countries. We seek a healthy economic competition that benefits American workers and firms. pic.twitter.com/p4iwMGPUBu
— Secretary Janet Yellen (@SecYellen) July 7, 2023
Yellen plans to discuss the need “to responsibly manage our relationship, communicate directly about areas of concern, and work together to address global challenges”, the US treasury said before her trip.
However, Chinese anger about US sanctions may limit room for real improvement. “I wouldn’t regard it as ‘Janet Yellen is not welcome’, but China cannot just swallow all the poison pills and continue to show a smile,” Wang Huiyao, the president of the Center for China and Globalization thinktank, told Reuters.
Updated
Treasury secretary Janet Yellen, who is in Beijing for high-level talks, appealed for “regular channels of communication” at a time when US-China relations are at their lowest in decades.
In China’s Great Hall of the People, Yellen pledged to Chinese Premier Li Qiang that the US does not seek economic estrangement from China, but that it wants to engage in “healthy economic competition” that would benefit both countries over time.
But she defended “targeted actions” by the US to curb Chinese access to advanced processor chips and other technology, saying they are needed to protect national security. “You may disagree,” she said.
But we should not allow any disagreement to lead to misunderstandings that needlessly worsen our bilateral economic and financial relationships.
Yellen is one of several senior US officials due to visit Beijing amid rising tensions around trade restrictions, national security concerns, Taiwan and the South China Sea. She is not expected to meet with China’s president, Xi Jinping.
Jobs report shows 'Bidenomics in action', says Biden
A report showing a 30th consecutive month of jobs gains proved “Bidenomics in action” and a sign of a sustainable economic expansion, Joe Biden said.
The latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show the US added 209,000 new jobs in June as hiring slowed amid signs that the economy is cooling. The rise was the weakest gain since December 2020, but also showed the unemployment rate ticked down to the historically low rate of 3.6%.
In a statement, Biden said:
This is Bidenomics in action: Our economy added more than 200,000 jobs last month—for a total of 13.2 million jobs since I took office. That’s more jobs added in two and a half years than any president has ever created in a four-year term.
He added:
We are seeing stable and steady growth. That’s Bidenomics—growing the economy by creating jobs, lowering costs for hardworking families, and making smart investments in America.
Today, we learned over 200,000 jobs were created last month – bringing our total to 13.2 million jobs since I took office.
— President Biden (@POTUS) July 7, 2023
Unemployment remained below 4%.
Working-age Americans with jobs is at a 20-year high.
And inflation is down by more than half.
This is Bidenomics.
The US added 209,000 new jobs in June as hiring slowed amid signs that the economy is cooling.
The rise was the weakest gain since December 2020, lower than the 240,000 jobs economists had expected and lower than the 309,000 jobs added in May. But the increase was also the 30th consecutive month of jobs gains, and the unemployment rate ticked down to the historically low rate of 3.6%.
The US job market has remained robust despite the Federal Reserve’s aggressive attempts to slow the economy and tamp down inflation with more than a year of interest rate hikes. The Fed chair, Jerome Powell, has indicated that the central bank will likely raise rates again this month after announcing a pause in June.
Wages rose 4.4% in June from a year earlier. In a note to investors, Capital Economics said the 209,000 rise “suggests labour market conditions are finally beginning to ease more markedly. That said, it is unlikely to stop the Fed from hiking rates again later this month”.
James Comer, chair of the house oversight committee, is requesting a Secret Service briefing after cocaine was found at the White House over the weekend.
In a letter to Secret Service director, Kimberly Cheatle, the Kentucky Republican said his committee is “investigating the details surrounding the discovery of cocaine in the White House”. He wrote:
This alarming development requires the Committee to assess White House security practices and determine whose failures led to an evacuation of the building and finding of the illegal substance.
Comer said he wanted the secret service to provide a staff-level briefing by 14 July, adding:
The presence of illegal drugs in the White House is unacceptable and a shameful moment in the White House’s history.
The detection of a white power in a the White House prompted a brief evacuation of the area, with a formal lab test confirming the substance was cocaine.
A Secret Service review of visitor logs and surveillance cameras will seek to determine how the cocaine, described as being in a small, zippered bag, came to be in the executive mansion.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Wednesday that public tours of the West Wing had taken place over the weekend but deferred to the Secret Service for details about the investigation.
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The team led by special counsel Jack Smith has indicated a continued interest in a chaotic meeting that took place in the Oval Office in the final days of the Trump administration, according to a report.
In this meeting, which took place about six weeks after Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, the former president considered a series of extraordinary proposals to keep him in power over objections from his White House counsel.
Investigators have questioned several witnesses before the grand jury and during interviews about the meeting, multiple sources told CNN. The investigation has been ongoing for several months, the report said.
Prosecutors have reportedly focused their inquiries specifically on three external Trump advisers who participated in the meeting: former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, one-time national security adviser Michael Flynn and former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne.
During the Oval Office meeting on 18 December 2020, outside advisers including Powell, Flynn and Byrne gathered for a discussion with White House attorneys to discuss a plan to have the military seize voting machines in the key states that Trump lost. They also discussed appointing Powell as a special counsel to investigate purported voter fraud and having Trump declare martial law as part of his efforts to overturn the election results.
According to the report, the meeting involved shouting and insults. Former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani also reportedly received questions about the meeting when he sat down with investigators last month.
Most members of Nato, the western military alliance that has provided Ukraine with unprecedented levels of support, are signatories to a 2008 treaty known as the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which prohibits the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of the weapons. Russia, Ukraine and the US have all declined to sign the treaty.
Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, was asked at a press conference today about the wisdom of sending cluster munitions to Ukraine.
Nato “does not have a position on them” as some allies have signed up to prohibit their use and some have not, Stoltenberg replied, adding:
This will be for governments to decide, not for Nato to decide.
He went on to say:
We are facing a brutal war, and we have to remember this brutality is reflected, that every day we see casualties, and that cluster munitions are used by both sides. And Russia used cluster munitions to invade another country. Ukraine is using cluster munitions to defend itself.
Germany’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, was also asked to comment on the US plan to provide Ukraine with the weapons.
Baerbock, at a climate conference in Vienna, referred to the Convention on Cluster Munitions which was opened for signature in the Norwegian capital. She said:
I have followed the media reports. For us, as a state party, the Oslo agreement applies.
Whether Joe Biden should approve the transfer of US cluster bombs to Ukraine has been controversial within his own administration.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the United Nations, accused Russia of using “exceptionally lethal weaponry,” including cluster munitions, that “has no place on the battlefield” and is “banned under the Geneva Convention” in remarks to the UN’s security council in March 2022.
As the Washington Post’s Aaron Blake points out, Thomas-Greenfield’s “no place” reference was later excised from the state department’s official transcript of the speech, which was also amended to note that the Geneva conventions ban cluster use “directed against civilians”.
On March 2, 2022, U.N. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said cluster munitions had "no place on the battlefield" and were banned by the Geneva Conventions.
— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) July 7, 2023
By March 4, State Department excised that line from her speech and clarified that use was banned *against civilians.* pic.twitter.com/D7BFL9LrnV
The decision to provide cluster munitions to Ukraine from US defense department stocks follows months of internal administration debate over whether to supply the controversial weapons.
Under the decision, the US would send Ukraine 155m artillery shells loaded with explosive grenades called Dual-Purpose Conventional Improved Munitions (DPICM). The two main 155mm DPICM shells in the US inventory are the M483, which contains 88 grenades, and the longer-range M864 which carries 72 grenades. It is not clear which version is being considered for Ukraine, according to the New York Times.
In its last publicly available estimate from more than 20 years , the Pentagon assessed that artillery shell to have a “dud” rate of 6%, the Washington Post reported. The Pentagon now says it has new testing with failure rates no higher than 2.35%. The dud rate is both morally and legally key to supplying the weapons, the paper writes.
US law bans export of some cluster munitions - but Biden can waive rule
US law bans the export of cluster munitions with bomblet failure rates higher than 1%, which covers virtually all of the U.S. military stockpile – but Joe Biden is able to waive this rule.
Pentagon spokesperson Brig Gen Pat Ryder said on Thursday that the Biden administration was considering sending cluster munitions known as Dual-Purpose Conventional Improved Munitions (DPICM) that had a lower failure rate than older versions. He said:
The ones that we are considering providing would not include older variants with [dud] rates that are higher than 2.35%.
He added that “we would be carefully selecting rounds with lower dud rates for which we have recent testing data” from 2020.
Also in the aid package, expected to be worth up to $800m, will include munitions for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), and ground vehicles such as Bradley fighting vehicles and Stryker armored personnel carriers.
The package will be funded using Presidential Drawdown Authority, which authorizes Biden to transfer articles and services from US stocks without congressional approval during an emergency. The material will come from US excess inventory.
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Why does Ukraine want cluster bombs?
Kyiv has been pushing for cluster bombs, arguing that the weapons would help in its counteroffensive by allowing its troops to target entrenched Russian positions and to overcome its disadvantage in manpower and artillery.
Until recently, Washington had resisted Kyiv’s calls, citing concerns about the weapons’ use and saying they were not necessary. However US officials have recently signaled a shift and a senior Pentagon official said last month that the US military believes cluster munitions “would be useful, especially against dug-in Russian positions”.
The US has so far sent more than two million rounds of its own stocks of traditional 155 howitzer munitions to Ukraine. A 155 mm round can strike targets 15 to 20 miles (24 to 32 kilometers) away, and Ukrainian forces are burning through thousands of rounds a day.
Yehor Cherniev, a Ukrainian MP, earlier this year said Kyiv would probably need to fire 7,000 to 9,000 of the rounds daily in intensified counteroffensive fighting, which would put substantial pressure on US and allied stocks. Tapping into the US stores of cluster munitions could help Ukraine destroy more targets with fewer rounds, and alleviate pressure on the 155 mm stockpiles in the US and elsewhere.
Proponents for sending the weapons argue that Russia has already been using cluster bombs in Ukraine, and that the munitions the US will provide have a reduced “dud rate” – meaning there will be far fewer unexploded rounds that can result in unintended civilian deaths.
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The Biden administration is expected to make an announcement today on a new military aid package for Ukraine that will, for the first time, include cluster munitions.
Here’s what you need to know:
What is a cluster bomb? A cluster bomb is a weapon that breaks apart in the air and releases multiple explosive submunitions or “bomblets” across a wide area. They can be delivered by planes, artillery and missiles, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
How dangerous are they? The bomblets are designed to detonate on hitting the ground and anyone in that area is very likely to be killed or seriously injured. Beyond the initial damage caused by the munitions upon impact, many bomblets fail to detonate immediately. Up to 40% of bomblets have failed to explode in some recent conflicts, according to the ICRC.
As a result, cluster bombs, like landmines, pose a risk to civilians long after their use. Unexploded ordinance from cluster bombs can kill and maim people years or even decades after the munitions were fired.
Human rights groups say that the use of cluster bombs in populated areas is a violation of international humanitarian law because they cause indiscriminate destruction. Sixty percent of cluster bomb casualties are people injured while undertaking everyday activities, according to Reuters. One third of all recorded cluster munitions casualties are children.
More than 120 countries have signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which prohibits the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of the weapons. Russia, Ukraine and the US have all declined to sign the treaty. Since the adoption of the convention in 2008, 99% of global stockpiles have been destroyed, according to the Cluster Munition Coalition.
Where have they been used? The weapons were first used in the second world war and at least 15 countries have used them in the years after, according to Reuters. They include Eritrea, Ethiopia, France, Israel, Morocco, the Netherlands, Britain, Russia and the US.
The US dropped an estimated 260m cluster munitions in Laos between 1964 and 1973. So far, fewer than 400,000 – or 0.47% – have been cleared and at least 11,000 people have been killed, according to Reuters.
Russian troops have used cluster munitions in populated areas in Ukraine, research by the Guardian has found, resulting in the deaths of scores of civilians. Ukraine has also used them in efforts to retake Russian-occupied territory, according to Human Rights Watch.
US to announce sending cluster bombs to Ukraine
Good morning politics blog readers. Joe Biden has approved providing cluster munitions – widely banned weapons known to pose a serious risk to civilians, especially children – to Ukraine.
The Biden administration is poised to announce a new weapons package for Ukraine today that will include controversial cluster munitions Kyiv has long asked for. US officials have said the military aid to Ukraine, believed to be worth up to $800m, will include thousands of cluster munitions from Pentagon stocks as well as Bradley and Stryker armored vehicles and an array of ammunition.
Ukraine believes the weapons would help in its counteroffensive by allowing its troops to target entrenched Russian positions and to overcome its disadvantage in manpower and artillery. But rights groups say that the use of cluster bombs in populated areas is a violation of international humanitarian law because they cause indiscriminate destruction. In a report on Thursday, Human Rights Watch called on Russia and Ukraine to stop using cluster bombs, and urged the US not to supply the munitions to Kyiv.
US officials have claimed that any munitions provided to Ukraine would have a reduced “dud rate”, meaning there will be far fewer unexploded rounds that could later result in unintended civilian deaths.
Meanwhile, the White House and state department have said the Biden administration did not sanction or support secret meetings that former top US national security officials held with the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, and other Russians on potential talks to end the Ukraine war.
According to a NBC News report, former US officials met Lavrov in New York in April, joined by Richard Haass, a former US diplomat and outgoing president of the council on foreign relations, and two former White House aides. Other meetings reportedly included former Pentagon officials and prominent Russians thought to be close to the Kremlin.
Here’s what else we’re watching today:
Joe Biden will leave for Europe this weekend. His trip will begin in London where he will meet with King Charles and the prime minister, Rishi Sunak. He’ll then go to Vilnius for a summit of Nato leaders, where Russia’s war with Ukraine is expected to be in focus. Biden will then travel to Helsinki for a meeting with Nordic leaders.
Treasury secretary Janet Yellen is in Beijing today to meet with senior Chinese government officials during a visit aimed at improving strained US-China relations. She is not expected to meet with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping.
Former president Donald Trump is on the campaign trail in Iowa, where he is due to address thousands of supporters in Council Bluffs at around 1pm. Trump is expected to use his speech to attack his main GOP rival, Ron DeSantis, for opposing the federal mandate for ethanol, a renewable fuel additive that Iowa leads the nation in producing.
Florida governor Ron DeSantis said last night that he plans to participate in the first GOP presidential debate in August, even if Donald Trump skips it.
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