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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Vivian Ho

Biden bans Russian oil imports in response to Ukraine invasion – as it happened

United States Joe Biden Ukraine Russia Vladimir Putin UKR United Kingdom Poland Nancy Pelosi Texas

Summary

  • Joe Biden is expected to begin speaking shortly from Fort Worth, Texas along with Denis McDonough, the secretary of veteran affairs, on expanding access to health care for veterans affected by military environmental exposures such as burn pits.
  • This comes after Biden announced the ban of Russian oil imports.
  • Poland is ready to deploy all its MIG-29 jets to Ramstein Air Base in Germany and put them at the disposal of the US, a move that came as a surprise to Biden administration officials who have been noncommittal about the situation, stating that it was an issue of logistics.
  • A bill that critics have described as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill has passed the Florida state legislature.

Updated

Susan Collins, the Republican senator from Maine, is meeting today with Ketanji Brown Jackson, the nominee chosen by Joe Biden for supreme court.

Here’s a snapshot of Joe Biden in Fort Worth, Texas today:

The BBC will resume all English language reporting in Russia after temporarily suspending operations following the passage of the new law regarding “fake news”.

Read more here:

Poland ready to deploy all MIG-29 jets to US for Ukraine

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been begging the world to send planes to aid Ukraine in the fight against the Russian invasion. Today Poland said they were ready to deploy all its MIG-29 jets to Ramstein Air Base in Germany and put them at the disposal of the US.

US lawmakers have been pushing for Joe Biden to facilitate the transfer of fighter aircraft to Ukraine from Poland and other Nato and Eastern European countries following a plea from Zelenskiy over the weekend. Yesterday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said it was a matter of logistics in what was preventing the US in helping get Polish planes to Ukraine. She repeatedly said the decision was up to Poland on whether to aid Ukraine with planes. “We are not preventing or blocking Poland,” she said.

“It is not as easy as just moving planes around,” Psaki said. She pointed out that they would be taking off from a Nato airbase in Poland. “And where do they land?”

Victoria Nuland, US undersecretary of state, said today that the move by Poland was not preconsulted and came as a surprise.

Updated

Joe Biden is set to deliver remarks in Fort Worth, Texas in a few hours along with Denis McDonough, the secretary of veteran affairs, on expanding access to health care for veterans affected by military environmental exposures such as burn pits.

The election administrator in Texas’ largest county has said she will step down after her office faced scrutiny over errors in the state’s 1 March primary. The administrator, Isabel Longoria, announced she would step down 1 July.

Longoria’s office said there were 10,000 ballots – 6,000 Democratic and 4,000 Republican – that had erroneously not been included in the unofficial results from the primary. Her office also faced criticism for delays in reporting election night results.

Harris county commissioners created an office dedicated to election administration in July 2020. Longoria was appointed to that office in October 2020. At the time, she was serving as a special adviser to election officials on voting rights.

Lina Hidalgo, a Democrat and the top executive in Harris county, said on Tuesday she had requested a change in leadership in Longoria’s office.

Here’s a quick update on the omnibus package, and the Ukraine funding that is included in it.

To recap: Congress must pass an omnibus package to fund the US government by the Friday deadline or risk a shutdown. Aid to Ukraine as well as Covid relief funds are expected to be part of that package - but while Republicans and Democrats are butting heads as expected on Covid relief funds, there appears to be quite a bit of bipartisan cooperation around Ukraine funding.

The White House requested $10bn on Friday. Lawmakers upped that number to $12bn last night. And now:

Guilty verdict in first January 6 trial

The first Capitol rioter to go to jury trial has been convicted on all five charges he faced.

Guy Reffitt in court.
Guy Reffitt in court. Photograph: Dana Verkourteren/AP

Charges against Guy Reffitt, of Texas, included bringing a gun onto the Capitol grounds and obstructing an official proceeding.

Jurors began deliberating after a trial lasting nearly a week which many saw as a litmus test for the effort to bring Capitol rioters to justice. Around 200 of more than 770 defendants have reached plea deals but prosecutors hoped a guilty verdict for Refitt might encourage more to do so.

As reported by Reuters, jurors in court in Washington were shown video in which Refitt “repeatedly urged rioters to drag the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and other lawmakers out of the Capitol building.

“I didn’t come here to play – I’m taking the Capitol,” the video showed Reffitt saying. “I just want to see Pelosi’s head hitting every stair on the way out.”

Refitt, a member of the Three Percenters far-right group, was also charged with threatening his own children if they turned him in. His son, now estranged, testified against him.

More controversy from Florida, where a bill critics have labelled the “Don’t Say Gay” bill has passed the state legislature.

That means it will head for the desk of Ron DeSantis, the governor and rising Republican star seeking to make a name for himself (and evidently succeeding if polling is to be believed) by fighting culture war battles on the road to the presidential primary in 2024.

As described by the Associated Press, the bill will “forbid instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade”.

The bill says: “Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade three or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.”

It also says parents will be able to sue school districts over violations.

Tina Polsky, a Democratic state senator, said: “What we really need to be doing is teaching tolerance, caring, loving, anti-discrimination, anti-bigotry. Tell me how this bill does that. Tell me how this bill is helping us create kind, giving, tolerate adults. I don’t see it. I see it as exactly the opposite.”

Jason Pizzo, another Democrat, said: “We have failed as a legislature if hundreds of kids stand outside screaming for their rights and you can’t explain to fifth-graders and sixth-graders and eighth-graders simple definitions of your bill. You’ve failed.”

On Monday, DeSantis said: “We’re going to make sure that parents are able to send their kid to kindergarten without some of this stuff injected into their school curriculum.”

Full story:

Joe Biden’s decision to ban imports of Russian oil increases the economic pressure on Vladimir Putin – but it is not without risk.

On the face of it, the announcement from the White House looks like a bit of a free hit, given the fact that Russia accounts for just 7% of the oil imported by the world’s biggest economy. Three-fifths of Russia’s oil exports go to the EU, only 8% to the US.

Even so, Biden is taking a gamble for three important reasons.

  • The first risk is that a toughening up of sanctions has given another upward twist to oil prices. American motorists were already paying higher pump prices and as the US president admitted, they will soon be paying even more. Oil prices are up by 70% since the start of the year. The Oslo-based consultancy Rystad Energy has predicted a complete ban on Russian oil and gas could send crude prices to $200 a barrel. The previous milestone was $147, reached in 2008.
  • The second risk is that Biden’s action fractures the western coalition against Putin, which has been solid. While support from the UK means the US is not going it alone , other European countries have misgivings. That is hardly surprising, because the EU gets 40% of its gas and just over a quarter of its oil from Russia.
  • The third risk is that Putin gets in his retaliation first by cutting off supplies. The EU has announced steps to reduce its dependency on Russian oil and gas, and the crisis could well have the effect of speeding up the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy. But in the short term the loss of such a big chunk of its energy supply would result in weaker growth and higher inflation.

Here’s our story on Biden’s ban:

Experts condemn Florida over child Covid vaccine advice

Health experts have widely denounced Florida’s decision to recommend against Covid-19 vaccinations for children, describing it as “irresponsible”, “reckless” and “dangerous”.

In a pronouncement which stunned experts on Monday, Florida’s controversial surgeon general, Dr Joseph Ladapo said the state would be the first to “recommend against” Covid-19 vaccination for “healthy children”.

The move followed two recent Covid-19 surges in which pediatric hospitalization was believed to be higher because of low vaccination rates among children.

“It’s very generous to call it a recommendation, because recommendations come with supporting evidence and transparency,” said Saad B Omer, director of the Yale Institute of Global Health and professor of medicine in infectious diseases.

“Trying to interpret that is trying to create a GPS map from a dream. You don’t know where it’s coming from, what is the scientific rationale, if any,” said Omer.

He also called the announcement “irresponsible … inappropriate and … dangerous”.

Full story:

Summary

  • Joe Biden announced that the US will be banning all Russian oil imports.
  • House speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House will go ahead with their Russia bill, which includes a ban on Russian oil imports but also gives the Biden administration authority to issue tariffs on Russian goods and suspends the Kremlin from the World Trade Organization.
  • Senators say they’re making progress on the omnibus package, which includes $12bn in aid for Ukraine. The deadline to pass government funding is Friday.

Last week, the Russian parliament passed a law essentially preventing independent or critical coverage of the invasion of Ukraine. Under this new law, the journalists face up to 15 years in prison for reporting on whatever the government determines to be “fake news”.

Following this media crackdown, the New York Times, Bloomberg, the BBC and CNN have all pulled their journalists out of Russia.

A number of businesses and brands have cut ties with Russia in the days since the invasion of Ukraine. Today McDonald’s, a symbol of Western capitalism, has joined the ranks.

Here’s a list of some of the other brands cutting ties with Russia:

There were earlier reports that US officials went to Venezuela over the weekend to discuss the possibility of easing sanctions to offset any shortages caused by the ban on Russian oil imports.

Some Democrats are balking at the idea of cozying up to governments like Venezuela, Iran and Saudia Arabia with problematic regimes.

Enrique Tarrio, a leader of the Proud Boys far-right group, has been charged with conspiracy over the attack on the US Capitol on 6 January 2021.

The news follows charges of seditious conspiracy against 11 members of another far-right group, the Oath Keepers militia, which were announced in January.

Tarrio and his group rose to prominence in support of Donald Trump and through violent confrontations with leftwing protesters in the past few years.

On 6 January 2021, Trump supporters gathered in Washington DC to protest Trump’s election defeat by Joe Biden. Trump told them to “fight like hell” in service of his lie about electoral fraud in that defeat. The Capitol was then attacked. Seven people died around the riot and more than 100 police officers were hurt.

More than 700 people have been charged. The first jury trial arising from the attack, involving a Texas man who was a member of the Three Percenters rightwing group, reached jury deliberations on Tuesday.

Tarrio was not in Washington on 6 January 2021, having been arrested for vandalising a Black church and for carrying two high-capacity rifle magazines.

In August last year, he was sentenced to five months in prison. He has also been revealed to have previously been an FBI informant.

Read more here:

Meanwhile, House speaker Nancy Pelosi will go ahead with the planned Russia bill today, despite the earlier announcement from Joe Biden that already bans Russian oil imports.

One other tidbit from Joe Biden’s address on Ukraine, and the ban on Russian oil imports:

Joe Biden reiterated some points made yesterday by his press secretary, Jen Psaki, in assuring that it was not his administration nor his green policies that were holding back domestic oil production and that the US was “approaching record levels of oil and gas production.”

However, he pointed out that moving toward a more environmentally friendly future would mean “that no one has to worry about the price at the gas pump in the future.

“It would mean that tyrants like Putin won’t be able to use fossil fuels as weapons against other nations,” he said.

“This crisis is a stark reminder that to protect our economy over the long-term, we have to become energy independent,” he said. “It should motivate us to accelerate the transition to clean energy.”

Since Vladimir Putin began amassing troops on the Ukrainian border, the price of gas has gone up 75 cents a gallon. Joe Biden acknowledged that with the US banning Russian oil imports, “it’s going to go up further.”

“I’m going to do everything I can to minimize Putin’s price hike here at home,” he said.

Biden issued a warning as well: “To the oil and gas companies, and to the finance firms that back them: we understand that Putin’s war against the people of Ukraine are causing prices to rise. That’s self-evident. But that’s no excuse to exercise excessive price increases, or padding profits or any other efforts to exploit this situation or American consumers.

He continued: “Russia’s aggression is costing us all and it’s no time for profiteering or price gouging.”

Joe Biden said he is issuing this ban on Russian oil imports after “close consultation with our allies, especially in Europe”. He said the American people must understand that many of our European partners will not be able to join the US, a net exporter of energy, in this ban.

“We can take this step when others cannot, but we are working closely with Europe and our partners to develop a long term strategy to reduce their dependency on Russian energy as well,” he said.

He acknowledged that the ban on Russian oil imports had bipartisan support in the Congress, as well as widespread support nationwide - even amid skyrocketing gas prices.

“This is a step that we’re taking to inflict further pain on Putin, but there will be further cost as well here in the United States,” he said. “I said I would level with the American people form the beginning. When I first spoke of this in the beginning, I said defending freedom is going to cost us as well in the United States. Republicans and Democrats alike understand that. Republicans and Dempcrats alike have been clear that we must do this.”

Biden: Russian oil will no longer be acceptable in US ports

Joe Biden announced a ban on imports of Russian oil, saying that by targeting “the main artery of Russian economy”, the American people were dealing “another powerful blow to Putin’s war machine”.

More to come.

Updated

Another update on the omnibus package, this time from House majority leader Steny Hoyer:

The House intelligence committee is holding an open hearing on worldwide threats, with testimony coming from:

  • Avril Haines, director of national intelligence
  • Bill Burns, director of the CIA
  • Christopher Wray, director of the FBI
  • General Paul Nakasone, director of the NSA
  • Lieutenant general Scott Berrier, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency

With a deadline looming Friday, senate majority leader Chuck Schumer is saying that they’re getting close to the end when it comes to negotiations on the omnibus package for government funding.

Elections officials in Texas’ most populous county discovered 10,000 mail-in votes that were erroneously not included in the vote tally from last Tuesday’s primary.

Officials in Harris county said 10,000 ballots – 6,000 Democratic and 4,000 Republican – were scanned into its tabulation computer but not included in the unofficial results. The results will be added to the election results on Tuesday.

The results could sway the results of a local race for the state house, according to the Texas Tribune. Harold Dutton, a Democrat, currently leads Candis Houston, a primary challenger, by just 136 votes. The uncounted votes could also determine the second candidate to make it into a runoff for the Democratic primary for attorney general. Joe Jaworski, a former mayor of Galveston, leads civil rights attorney Lee Merritt by just over 1,400 votes.

It’s not clear what caused the error, but Harris county election officials said they were investigating. The office already faced scrutiny for reporting results late after the primary after there were more than 1,600 damaged ballot sheets. Some polls were short staffed on election day, leading to long lines.

Senator Ron Johnson is now backtracking from his comments on Breitbart News Radio, in which he discussed repealing and replacing Obamacare - the Affordable Care Act - if Republicans win the White House and the House and senate majorities in 2024.

“For example, if we’re going to repeal and replace Obamacare — I still think we need to fix our health-care system — we need to have the plan ahead of time so that once we get in office, we can implement it immediately, not knock around like we did last time and fail,” he said on air Monday.

He later clarified: “During a radio interview I used our failure to repeal and replace Obamacare as an example of how we need to be prepared to deliver on whatever agenda items we decide to run on. I was not suggesting repealing and replacing Obamacare should be one of those priorities. Even when we tried and failed, I consistently said our effort should focus on repairing the damage done by Obamacare and transitioning to a health system that works.”

During the interview, he said his party’s main goal was to obstruct Biden’s and the Democrats’ agenda until - he hoped - Republicans could win the majority of the House and senate in the midterms.

Even though Joe Biden is expected to announce in less than an hour that he will be banning the import of Russian oil, it appears House speaker Nancy Pelosi doesn’t want to take any chances.

On Monday night, the Senate unanimously passed the Emmett Till Antilynching Act, a bill to make lynching a federal hate crime. Such efforts had failed for more than a century.

Bobby Rush, the Illinois Democrat who introduced the measure in the House, said: “Despite more than 200 attempts to outlaw this heinous form of racial terror at the federal level, it has never before been done. Today, we corrected that historic injustice. Next stop: [Joe Biden’s] desk.”

The New Jersey Democrat Cory Booker, Senate co-sponsor with Tim Scott of South Carolina, a Republican, said: “The time is past due to reckon with this dark chapter in our history and I’m proud of the bipartisan support to pass this important piece of legislation.”

Subject to Biden’s signature, the bill will make lynching a hate crime punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

The last time such a bill failed, Senator Rand Paul, of Kentucky, was the reason. This time round three House Republicans voted against it: Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Chip Roy of Texas and Andrew Clyde of Georgia.

The full story on events in the Senate on Monday is here.

Here, meanwhile, is an interview with Christine Turner, director of the Oscar-nominated short film Lynching Postcards: Token of a Great Day. You should read it:

Biden expected to ban Russian oil imports

Howdy, live blog readers. Happy Tuesday.

After bipartisan pressure from Congress, the New York Times and other outlets are reporting that Joe Biden is expected to announce this morning the ban of Russian oil imports.

He is scheduled to speak at 10.45am ET.

The expected announcement comes amid reports that a bipartisan bill seeking to ban the import of Russian oil, to allow the administration to impose tariffs on other Russian goods and to suspend the Kremlin from the World Trade Organization, could make it to a vote in the House this week, the Washington Post reports.

Furthermore, the top four trade committee leaders in Congress announced yesterday bipartisan legislation seeking to sever all trade relations with Russia and Belarus, a Kremlin ally.

The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, said yesterday Biden was undecided on whether he supported banning the import of Russian oil, as the price of gas rocketed across the country.

She said: “The president’s message is that he is going to do everything he can to reduce the impact on the American people, including the price of gas at the tank.”

But a Quinnipiac University poll found that despite having to pay on average more than $4 a gallon at the pump – more than $5 a gallon in California – 71% of Americans support a ban on Russian oil.

Congress is also looking to increase the aid package to Ukraine from the requested $10bn to $12bn. As we reported yesterday, the funding will be part of a $1.5tn omnibus package to fund the US government that includes proposed funding for Covid relief. The deadline to pass that package is Friday.

Stay tuned for more.

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