Evening summary
- Joe Biden said inflation was his “top domestic priority” as he attempted to draw a contrast between his party and the “ultra Maga” Republicans who he warned would enact an extremist agenda that doesn’t address the economic challenges facing the nation. He also said he understood that voters were frustrated with the party in power, but insisted his economic agenda had “helped, not hurt” the economic recovery.
- Elon Musk said he would lift Twitter’s ban on Donald Trump, allowing the former president to use the platform more than a year after he was removed after the January 6 riot.
- Avril Haines, the national director of intelligence, testified that Vladimir Putin was prepared for a “prolonged conflict” in Ukraine, the Guardian’s Julian Borger reports.
- A New York appeals court has dismissed a lawsuit by state attorney general Letitia James against Amazon over its coronavirus safety protocols, and against a former employee who led the successful union organizing effort on Staten Island.
- Florida’s Republican governor Ron DeSantis, a possible 2024 presidential hopeful, has signed a law mandating the state’s students receive instruction about “the victims of communism”.
- Pennsylvania’s Democratic senator Bob Casey, one of the last self-described “pro life” Democrats, announced he would support legislation to codify Roe v Wade abortion protections. The measure still does not have enough support to overcome Republican opposition.
- Treasury secretary Janet Yellen said ending the constitutional right to an abortion would have “very damaging” effects on the economy and women’s earning potential, during testimony to the Senate banking committee.
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Still to come today
At present, Biden is still meeting with House speaker Nancy Pelosi and other members of a congressional delegation that visited Ukraine earlier this month to discuss their experience in the war-torn country. Later this evening, the House is expected to vote tonight on a nearly $40bn military and humanitarian aid package.
Meanwhile, voters in Nebraska and West Virginia are still casting ballots in a series of primary elections that will test Donald Trump’s enduring influence over his party.
In West Virginia, Trump waded into a contentious Republican primary between two sitting members of Congress, endorsing congressman Alex Mooney over congressman David McKinley, who infuriated the former president when he voted for the creation of a House committee to investigate the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. And in Nebraska, Trump endorsed Charles Herbster to be the Republican nominee for governor in a bitter, nine-way primary race to replace the sitting Republican governor, who is limited. Herbster is accused of groping multiple women, allegations he has denied.
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