| Welcome to The Daily 202! Tell your friends to sign up here. Via the Associated Press: On this day in 1927, the image and voice of Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover were transmitted live from Washington to New York in the first successful long-distance demonstration of television. | | |  | The big idea | | Blinken speaks as others deny there's training going on now |  Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends a NATO foreign ministers meeting, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Thursday. (Photo by EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) | | | Secretary of State Antony Blinken has opened the door to giving Ukrainians fighting invading Russian soldiers "larger, more sophisticated" weapons than what America and its allies have provided to date, as well as training on how to use them, a potential deepening of the U.S. involvement in the war. Blinken's comments came Wednesday in response to a question from Deutsche Welle in a roundtable interview facilitated by the State Department's Russian-language Telegram channel as he traveled in Belgium. They also followed a series of seemingly contradictory or muddled statements from top U.S. officials over the past two weeks about whether America is currently training Ukrainians, even as it advertises giving them military hardware to kill Russian tanks and planes. U.S. forces trained Ukrainians in the years after Russia's invasion in 2014, but officials have said those programs stopped in the run up to the Feb. 24 escalation. | - "What we're focused on is making sure that we get to Ukraine the systems that they can use now and use effectively," Blinken said. "At the same time, we're looking at other systems — some of them larger, more sophisticated — that may be useful and important going forward."
| | But "Ukrainians need to be trained, because some of these systems you can't just turn them over and have them be used immediately," the secretary said. "Training is required; maintenance is required." The White House did not comment on the record when asked who would do the training, and where. The State Department referred The Daily 202 to the Defense Department, which declined to comment. | | But earlier, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters at his daily briefing: "I know of no other American systems that are either being planned to go in or are already in that they require additional training on." (He had not specifically been asked about Blinken's remarks.) Administration officials have told The Daily 202 that the West Wing worries about American troops training Ukrainians on NATO bases within range of Russian missiles, given the possibility (however remote) Moscow might decide the Ukrainians are legitimate targets. | | Blinken's comments punctuated a strange two-week stretch in which top U.S. officials, from President Biden on down, have left unclear whether there is an ongoing U.S. program to train Ukrainians. On March 22, Biden national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters "we do not have U.S. troops currently training Ukrainians." On March 28, Biden explained a remark he made during a visit with troops from the 82nd Airborne in Poland by telling reporters "we were talking about helping train … the Ukrainian troops that are in Poland." (The same day, Politico reported: "A senior administration official said that U.S. troops help Ukrainian forces in Poland load weapons the West gives them to drive back to Ukraine. As they do so, they provide verbal instruction on how to use the weaponry, like anti-aircraft missiles, but don't lead Ukrainian forces through physical drills.") On March 29, White House communications director Kate Bedingfield denied Biden had revealed a previously secret training program. But American forces in Poland have "regular interaction" with Ukrainian soldiers there, she said. She did not explain what that meant. On March 30, Air Force General Tod Wolters, the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, was asked in a House Armed Services Committee hearing whether the United States was conducting any training of Ukrainians outside of Ukraine. "We are not," he said. On March 31, Gen. James McConville, the Army chief of staff, told reporters "the United States Army is not training Ukrainian soldiers or units right now." "There are materials being provided to Ukrainians," he said, "but that's just a ship — it comes in and it moves out. We are not training Ukrainians right now." | | On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told the House Armed Services Committee that "to use some of the gear" NATO is providing Ukrainians "certainly they have to have training. And we're doing that." On Wednesday, Kirby said the United States was providing "a little bit of training" on how to use explosives-packed "Switchblade" drones to "a very small number of Ukrainian soldiers who were already in the United States" before Russia's invasion. "It is not a very complex system. It doesn't require a lot of training. An individual could be suitably trained on how to use the switchblade drone in about two days or so," he said, adding that's what Austin was referring to in the hearing. Asked about the most recent training Americans had provided to Ukrainians, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters: "There's not new training to report out to you." | | |  | What's happening now | | DOJ plans to investigate boxes of records taken to Trump's Mar-a-Lago |  President Donald Trump holds up papers as he speaks about the coronavirus in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on April 20, 2020. (Alex Brandon/AP) | | | "The Justice Department has begun taking steps to investigate former president Donald Trump's removal of presidential records to Mar-a-Lago — some of which were labeled 'top secret,' people familiar with the matter said," Matt Zapotosky and Jacqueline Alemany report. State of the investigation: "The people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter, said the probe remained in the very early stages. It's not yet clear if Justice Department officials have begun reviewing the materials in the boxes or seeking to interview those who might have seen them or been involved in assembling and moving them." | Senate expected to vote today to make Jackson first Black woman on Supreme Court | House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tests positive for the coronavirus | | "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has tested positive for the coronavirus and is currently asymptomatic, her office said Thursday, the latest among a raft of Washington officials who have come down with the virus in recent days," Amy B Wang reports. | D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser tests positive for COVID | | "D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said on Thursday morning she tested positive for COVID-19 and is experiencing 'mild cold-like/allergy-like symptoms,'" Axios's Cuneyt Dil reports. | Ukrainian officials say east is under fire as thousands flee | | "Ukrainian officials reported intensified Russian attacks Thursday on cities and towns in eastern Ukraine as thousands fled parts of a region bracing for a major Russian offensive," Ellen Francis reports. More key updates: | | |  | Lunchtime reads from The Post | | Germany intercepts Russians' talk of indiscriminate killings in Ukraine |  A man carries a coffin on April 6, as police officers investigate the killing of civilians in Bucha, Ukraine. (Heidi Levine for The Washington Post) | | | "In two separate communications, Russian soldiers described how they question soldiers as well as civilians and then shoot them, according to an intelligence official familiar with the findings who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter's sensitivity," Isaac Stanley-Becker and Vanessa Guinan-Bank report. | Dozens of lawmakers urge Biden to clear red tape for Ukrainian refugees | | "Sixty-five members of Congress, mostly Democrats and a handful of Republicans, asked the president to extend temporary protected status to thousands of Ukrainians who sought refuge at the nation's ports and borders in recent weeks, expedite immigration processing so that U.S. citizens and green-card holders can bypass the slow-moving refugee program and sponsor their relatives themselves, and waive costly application fees for people who fled, 'often with little more than the clothes on their back,'" Maria Sacchetti reports. | Homeland Security watchdog omitted damaging findings from reports | | "The Department of Homeland Security's inspector general and his top aides directed staff members to remove damaging findings from investigative reports on domestic violence and sexual misconduct by officers in the department's law enforcement agencies, according to documents obtained by The New York Times and two government officials familiar with the inquiries," the New York Times's Chris Cameron reports. The findings: "One investigation found that more than 10,000 employees of Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Secret Service and the Transportation Security Administration had experienced sexual harassment or sexual misconduct at work — more than one-third of those surveyed, according to an unpublished draft report dated December 2020." | Within the Capitol, Senate restaurant workers struggle | | "Senate restaurant workers were among those honored by Congress in January resolution recognizing the Capitol personnel for their service during and after the insurrection. But 81 of those workers nearly lost their jobs when they were told that there was not enough money to keep them employed," the New Republic's Grace Segers reports. | | |  | The latest on covid | | FDA panel explores challenges of revamping coronavirus vaccines | | "Researchers trying to devise an updated coronavirus vaccine for use this fall would have to settle on a formula as early as June to meet that deadline, federal officials said on Wednesday, even though some clinical trials are just now getting underway," the NYT's Sharon LaFraniere reports. | | |  | The Biden agenda | | Military brass undercuts Biden budget by requesting billions more |  President Biden signs the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 in the State Dining Room at the White House on Wednesday (Susan Walsh/AP) | | | "In a series of unfunded requirement lists sent to lawmakers from military services and commands and obtained by CQ Roll Call, generals and admirals asked for billions in additional funds not included in Biden's plan," Roll Call's Mark Satter, John M. Donnelly, and Andrew Clevenger. Who wants what: "The Navy, for example, wants $4.9 billion more, and the Marine Corps $3.5 billion. Southern Command, which oversees national security threats in Central and South America, has asked for more than $270 million, while Northern Command, which has responsibility for North America, wants an additional $130 million. Space Command wants less than $100 million in additional operations and maintenance funds." | Transgender minors have a right to gender-affirming care, Justice Dept. warns states | | "The Justice Department said last week that states seeking to block transgender minors from accessing gender-affirming care may be violating federal law — and signaled that it is prepared to pursue legal action or support existing litigation against states seeking such restrictions," the 19th's Orion Rummler reports. | In the fight against Putin, Senate unanimously approves measure that once helped beat Hitler | | "The Senate unanimously passed major legislation late Wednesday to revive a World War II-era program allowing President Joe Biden to more efficiently send weapons and other supplies to Ukraine amid Russia's bloody invasion," Politico's Andrew Desiderio reports. | Biden preparing to announce pair of SEC nominees | | "The White House said Wednesday that President Biden would tap Jaime Lizárraga, a top aide to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.), to fill a Democratic seat currently occupied by commissioner Allison Herren Lee. Ms. Lee has said she plans to leave the agency once a successor is in place," the Wall Street Journal's Paul Kiernan and Andrew Ackerman report. "Mr. Biden also plans to nominate Mark Uyeda, an SEC staffer now detailed to the Senate Banking Committee, to fill a GOP vacancy created by the departure of former commissioner Elad Roisman, the White House said." | Biden at war: Inside a deliberate yet impulsive Ukraine strategy | Why Biden's executive order on policing is still up in the air | | "The Biden White House is struggling to reshape an executive order on police accountability three months after a leaked draft drew sharp opposition from law enforcement groups, putting the initiative at risk at a time when violent crime is rising and civil rights groups have expressed frustration over the pace of reform," David Nakamura, Mark Berman and Annie Linskey report. | | |  | Children who lost a parent to gun violence, visualized | | | |  | Hot on the left | | How Chuck Schumer avoided a primary challenge from the left |  Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) meets with reporters following a Democratic Caucus meeting on Tuesday. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP) | | | "Barring some extraordinary development — Schumer has attracted no serious left-wing challenger to his Senate re-election bid as Thursday's primary filing deadline arrives, despite months of speculation about who might emerge," the NYT's Katie Glueck, Blake Hounshell and Leah Askarinam report. "[Schumer] is a highly visible presence from Brooklyn to Buffalo, building relationships with elected officials at every level of the ballot and across the Democratic ideological spectrum. But Schumer's efforts to engage the farthest-left faction of his party have been particularly consequential in New York, a state where several top Democratic officials have lost primaries in recent years." | | |  | Hot on the right | | This nixed natural-gas project shows you just how absurd Biden's energy policy is | | "Biden isn't at war with Putin, he's at war with domestic energy production — and has been since Day One of his administration, when he canceled the Keystone pipeline to bring Canadian oil to the United States," Victoria Coates and Jennifer Stefano write for the New York Post. The project in question: "But Keystone was only the first Biden action that significantly undermined investments that would have increased both domestic supply and exports abroad. Right now, millions of gallons of natural gas could be streaming out of the central Pennsylvania town of Wyalusing, then shipped out of a new export facility in Gibbstown, NJ. Instead, environmental extremists emboldened by the administration's heavy-handed regulation spent the last year and a half shutting down this critical project." | | |  | Today in Washington | | | The president does not have any public events scheduled this afternoon. | | |  | In closing | | Two Darwin notebooks had been missing since 2001. They were just mysteriously returned. | | "Cambridge University librarian Jessica Gardner's heart was racing as she pulled two postcard-sized notebooks bound tight in plastic wrap from the bright pink gift bag found outside her office last month," Jaclyn Peiser reports. "The artifacts, known as Notebooks B and C, date back to 1837 and are records of Darwin's first articulations of his theory of evolution by natural selection, Gardner said. They include Darwin's handwritten notes, diagrams and drawings. The notebooks were dropped off anonymously; an investigation by Cambridgeshire police is ongoing." | | Thanks for reading. See you tomorrow. | | |
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