11:55
Martin Pengelly
The Republican governor of Arizona, Doug Ducey, has come under fire for saying he needs the support of a far-right state senator who told a white nationalist event in Florida she fantasises about building gallows on which to hang her enemies.
Doug Ducey. Photograph: Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports
State progressive groups said Ducey should “stop catering to hate”.
The state senator, Wendy Rogers, spoke on Friday at the America First Political Action Conference, or AFPAC, a conference organised by the activist Nick Fuentes. Two Republican members of Congress, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul Gosar of Arizona, also spoke at the event, generating condemnation and calls for censure.
Mitt Romney, the Utah senator, called Greene and Gosar “morons”. Romney’s niece, Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel, said: “White supremacy, neo-Nazism, hate speech and bigotry are disgusting and do not have a home in the Republican party.”
As the Arizona Republic reported, Rogers told AFPAC “we need to build more gallows” with which to “make an example of … traitors who have betrayed our country”.
She also told the audience they were “patriots” and said Fuentes was “the most persecuted man in America”.
“Now they de-platform and debunk people like Nick Fuentes and even President Trump,” she said. “This is like the USSR, but worse.”
On Thursday, Ducey told reporters he needed working majorities to achieve his political aims, which meant even an extremist like Rogers was “still better than her [Democratic] opponent, Felicia French”.
Two progressive groups, Advancing Arizona and Progress Now Arizona, condemned the remark.
“Governor Doug Ducey must stand with the people he swore an oath to represent and stop catering to the hate that he feels is necessary to advancing his own agenda,” they said.
A spokesman for Ducey told the Arizona Republic the governor was “not about hate. That should be pretty clear. And for people who are suggesting otherwise, they’re just attempting to score political points”.
11:36
Judge Jackson to meet with senators on Wednesday
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will meet with Senate leaders on Wednesday, days after Joe Biden announced he was nominating her to replace Justice Stephen Breyer on the supreme court.
Jackson will hold in-person meetings on Wednesday with Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, minority leader Mitch McConnell, judiciary committee chairman Dick Durbin and judiciary committee ranking members Chuck Grassley.
Deputy White House press secretary Andrew Bates confirmed the judge’s plans via Twitter:
Andrew Bates
(@AndrewJBates46)NEW: Judge Jackson will meet with @SenatorDurbin, @ChuckGrassley, @SenSchumer, and @LeaderMcConnell this Wednesday, in-person. https://t.co/9bkBnrqhlo
Politico reports:
Jackson will be joined on Wednesday by her ‘sherpa’ for the confirmation process, former Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.). Schumer has said he hopes to have Jackson confirmed by the Senate’s Easter break.
Bates noted that Jackson was quickly praised by legal experts, former House Speaker (and distant relative) Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), the Fraternal Order of Police, and retired D.C. Circuit Judge Thomas Griffith, who was appointed by President George W. Bush.
Still, few Senate Republicans are expected to vote for Jackson but Biden and his White House staff have repeatedly stressed that they are pushing for bipartisan support for the current federal circuit court judge.
11:12
Mark Warner, the Democratic chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, said it was crucial for the world to stand firm against Vladimir Putin’s aggression in Ukraine to protect “the values of open democracy [and] freedom”.
“We’ve got to stand up to this because if he’d been successful in Ukraine, he will go for another bite,” Warner told MSNBC. “Next time it’ll be Moldova. Next time it may be the Baltic nations or Poland.”
MSNBC
(@MSNBC)“This really has been a uniform world reaction against Putin’s aggression,” Sen. Warner tells @jdbalart on widening Western sanctions and actions against Russia. pic.twitter.com/fmXErhjUwU
Warner noted that the US and its allies are looking for ways to give Putin “some face-saving” in order to deescalate the violence in Ukraine, while the world waits to see if any progress can be made from the peace talks in Belarus.
Warner also praised the Biden administration and European nations for working in coordination to impose devastating sanctions on the Russian economy broadly and Putin specifically.
“This really has been a uniform world reaction against Putin’s aggression,” Warner concluded.
10:48
Hugo Lowell
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US officials will deliver two classified briefings on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to members of the House and senators this afternoon, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The separate briefings are expected to cover the Biden administration’s next steps on sending military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, as well as the US intelligence community assessment of the situation, the source said.
With the House returning from recess, the briefings mark the first time all lawmakers will be given a classified update on the situation in Ukraine. Briefings by national security council officials last week were unclassified.
The briefings – set to take place on Capitol Hill at 5:15pm for members of the House and at 7:15pm for senators – are also expected to drive the Biden administration’s request for Congress to provide $6.4bn in emergency funding to help Ukraine.
The funding request, which includes $2.9bn for security and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and $3.5bn for the Pentagon’s response to the Ukraine invasion, is expected to be introduced this week with bipartisan support.
Blinken will lead the briefing team that also includes the Director of National Security Avril Haines, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, the chair of the joint chief of staff Gen. Mark Milley and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, among others, the source said.
10:29
Fence reinstalled around US Capitol ahead of State of the Union
In case you missed it yesterday: the fencing around the US Capitol has been reinstalled ahead of Joe Biden’s first State of the Union Speech, which is set for tomorrow night.
The fencing, which remained around the Capitol for months after the January 6 insurrection, was put up amid concerns of demonstrations in Washington in connection to the State of the Union.
Groups of truckers are planning to drive to the DC area to protest Biden’s coronavirus-related policies, but one convoy from California is not expected to reach Washington by tomorrow.
New security fencing surrounds the US Capitol building in Washington. Photograph: Bryan Olin Dozier/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock
“In light of the upcoming State of the Union Address, and the possibility of demonstrations in the next couple of weeks, we have been working closely with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners on a security plan to prevent any disruption to the important work of Congress,” the US Capitol Police chief, Tom Manger, said in a statement yesterday.
“Out of an abundance of caution, and in conjunction with the United States Secret Service, a plan has been approved to put up the inner-perimeter fence around the Capitol building for the State of the Union Address.”
Manger also noted that the USCP has requested assistance from “outside law enforcement agencies as well as the National Guard” to ensure the safety of lawmakers during Biden’s speech.
10:08
Martin Pengelly
The Republican congresswoman Lauren Boebert was condemned for comparing the Russian invasion of Ukraine to the clearing of a truckers’ protest in Ottawa, saying: “We also have neighbors to the north who need freedom and who need to be liberated.”
A former US ambassador to Canada called the comments “reckless” and “dangerous”.
A protest in imitation of the Canadian truckers has been making its away across the US. It is expected in Washington this week.
Anthony Housefather, a Liberal member of the Canadian parliament, told Boebert that “while it’s good that you are not following the Trump line and are standing with Ukraine instead of Putin, it is sad to hear you compare free and democratic Canada to the invasion of Ukraine.
“If you would like to learn about Canada please reach out.”
Full story:
09:53
Marco Rubio, the Republican vice chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, said Vladimir Putin is committing war crimes with rocket strikes on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
“Brace yourselves,” Rubio said on Twitter. “The images and videos from #Kharkiv of the war crimes committed by #Putin will shock & outrage the world.”
Marco Rubio
(@marcorubio)
The Ukrainian interior ministry has said that dozens of people were killed and hundreds more were injured in Kharkiv this morning, after Russian forces launched a series of rocket strikes on the city.
“Kharkiv has just been massively fired upon by grads (rockets),” Ukrainian interior ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko said on Facebook. “Dozens of dead and hundreds of wounded.”
Follow the latest updates from Ukraine on the Guardian’s other live blog:
09:41
Sanctions-hit Russian rouble crashes
The Guardian’s Martin Farrer, Andrew Roth and Julian Borger report:
The Russian rouble crashed more than 40% after trading began on Monday in the wake of unprecedented international sanctions against the country’s financial system over Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
The news came as Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the British prime minister that the next 24 hours would be “crucial” for his country and amid reports that a column of Russian tanks was heading for the capital.
With restrictions in force limiting how much the Russian central bank can do to prop up the currency, the rouble plunged 41.5% to a record low when the markets opened, sinking to as low as 119 per dollar from 83.7 at its close on Friday. It recovered a little ground later on Monday to stand at 107 to the dollar, a fall of 28%.
Analysts at Rabobank in Singapore said that Monday could see a “complete collapse in the rouble” after the asset freeze on the Central Bank of Russia means it cannot sell foreign currency reserves to support the rouble.
Russia’s central bank more than doubled interest rates to 20%, and banned foreigners from selling local securities, in a bid to protect its currency and economy.
Read the Guardian’s full report:
09:29
Joe Biden will use his State of the Union speech to describe his efforts to “build a global coalition” to push back against Russian aggression in Ukraine, White House press secretary Jen Psaki has said.
In an interview with ABC News yesterday, Psaki was asked how Biden would handle his first State of the Union speech, which comes as his approval rating hits new lows and civilian casualties rise in Ukraine.
ABC News Politics
(@ABCPolitics)“Leaders lead during crises. That’s exactly what Pres. Biden is doing. He’ll speak to that, but he’s also going to speak about his optimism about what’s ahead and what we all have to look forward to,” @PressSec says before Biden’s State of the Union. https://t.co/QZHY89nstP pic.twitter.com/3RcNcuGmb1
“If you look back when President [Barack] Obama gave his first State of the Union, it was during the worst financial crisis in a generation,” Psaki said. “When President [George W] Bush gave his first State of the Union, it was shortly after 9/11.”
The White House spokesperson said Biden’s remarks would reflect “his optimism and his belief in the resilience of the American people” in this time of international crisis.
“Leaders lead during crises. That’s exactly what President Biden is doing,” Psaki said. “He’ll speak to that, but he’s also going to speak about his optimism about what’s ahead and what we all have to look forward to.”
09:25
Biden faces crises at home and abroad as State of the Union looms
Greetings from Washington, live blog readers.
Joe Biden is dealing with a number of crises, from the Russian invasion of Ukraine to rising prices in the US, that he will need to address in his State of the Union speech tomorrow.
Biden’s first official State of the Union comes as his approval rating has dropped to a disappointing 40.4%, according to FiveThirtyEight’s average of recent polls.
The entire world is tense over the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has already resulted in at least 100 civilian deaths, and Kyiv is demanding a ceasefire as Russia continues to launch airstrikes on major cities.
Ukraine supporters rally at the White House to protest Russia’s invasion. Photograph: Bob Korn/Rex/Shutterstock
Meanwhile, Biden has warned that the Ukraine crisis and the ensuing sanctions on Russia could drive up gas prices, which are already high. The US is experiencing the highest rate of inflation in 40 years, resulting in sticker shock for many Americans in the grocery store and at the gas pump.
The US president will have to address all of these issues when he speaks to the American people tomorrow, and there are no easy answers to any of these crises.
The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.
11.55am EST 11:55 Martin Pengelly The Republican governor of Arizona, Doug Ducey, has come under fire for saying he needs the support of a far-right state senator who told a white nationalist event in Florida she fantasises about building gallows on which to hang her enemies. Doug Ducey. Photograph: Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports State progressive groups said Ducey should “stop catering to hate”. The state senator, Wendy Rogers, spoke on Friday at the America First Political Action Conference, or AFPAC, a conference organised by the activist Nick Fuentes. Two Republican members of Congress, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul Gosar of Arizona, also spoke at the event, generating condemnation and calls for censure. Mitt Romney, the Utah senator, called Greene and Gosar “morons”. Romney’s niece, Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel, said: “White supremacy, neo-Nazism, hate speech and bigotry are disgusting and do not have a home in the Republican party.” As the Arizona Republic reported, Rogers told AFPAC “we need to build more gallows” with which to “make an example of … traitors who have betrayed our country”. She also told the audience they were “patriots” and said Fuentes was “the most persecuted man in America”. “Now they de-platform and debunk people like Nick Fuentes and even President Trump,” she said. “This is like the USSR, but worse.” On Thursday, Ducey told reporters he needed working majorities to achieve his political aims, which meant even an extremist like Rogers was “still better than her [Democratic] opponent, Felicia French”. Two progressive groups, Advancing Arizona and Progress Now Arizona, condemned the remark. “Governor Doug Ducey must stand with the people he swore an oath to represent and stop catering to the hate that he feels is necessary to advancing his own agenda,” they said. A spokesman for Ducey told the Arizona Republic the governor was “not about hate. That should be pretty clear. And for people who are suggesting otherwise, they’re just attempting to score political points”. 11.36am EST 11:36 Judge Jackson to meet with senators on Wednesday Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will meet with Senate leaders on Wednesday, days after Joe Biden announced he was nominating her to replace Justice Stephen Breyer on the supreme court. Jackson will hold in-person meetings on Wednesday with Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, minority leader Mitch McConnell, judiciary committee chairman Dick Durbin and judiciary committee ranking members Chuck Grassley. Deputy White House press secretary Andrew Bates confirmed the judge’s plans via Twitter: Andrew Bates (@AndrewJBates46) NEW: Judge Jackson will meet with @SenatorDurbin, @ChuckGrassley, @SenSchumer, and @LeaderMcConnell this Wednesday, in-person. https://t.co/9bkBnrqhlo February 28, 2022 Politico reports: Jackson will be joined on Wednesday by her ‘sherpa’ for the confirmation process, former Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.). Schumer has said he hopes to have Jackson confirmed by the Senate’s Easter break. Bates noted that Jackson was quickly praised by legal experts, former House Speaker (and distant relative) Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), the Fraternal Order of Police, and retired D.C. Circuit Judge Thomas Griffith, who was appointed by President George W. Bush. Still, few Senate Republicans are expected to vote for Jackson but Biden and his White House staff have repeatedly stressed that they are pushing for bipartisan support for the current federal circuit court judge. 11.12am EST 11:12 Mark Warner, the Democratic chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, said it was crucial for the world to stand firm against Vladimir Putin’s aggression in Ukraine to protect “the values of open democracy [and] freedom”. “We’ve got to stand up to this because if he’d been successful in Ukraine, he will go for another bite,” Warner told MSNBC. “Next time it’ll be Moldova. Next time it may be the Baltic nations or Poland.” MSNBC (@MSNBC) “This really has been a uniform world reaction against Putin’s aggression,” Sen. Warner tells @jdbalart on widening Western sanctions and actions against Russia. pic.twitter.com/fmXErhjUwU February 28, 2022 Warner noted that the US and its allies are looking for ways to give Putin “some face-saving” in order to deescalate the violence in Ukraine, while the world waits to see if any progress can be made from the peace talks in Belarus. Warner also praised the Biden administration and European nations for working in coordination to impose devastating sanctions on the Russian economy broadly and Putin specifically. “This really has been a uniform world reaction against Putin’s aggression,” Warner concluded. 10.48am EST 10:48 Hugo Lowell Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US officials will deliver two classified briefings on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to members of the House and senators this afternoon, according to a source familiar with the matter.The separate briefings are expected to cover the Biden administration’s next steps on sending military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, as well as the US intelligence community assessment of the situation, the source said.With the House returning from recess, the briefings mark the first time all lawmakers will be given a classified update on the situation in Ukraine. Briefings by national security council officials last week were unclassified.The briefings – set to take place on Capitol Hill at 5:15pm for members of the House and at 7:15pm for senators – are also expected to drive the Biden administration’s request for Congress to provide $6.4bn in emergency funding to help Ukraine.The funding request, which includes $2.9bn for security and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and $3.5bn for the Pentagon’s response to the Ukraine invasion, is expected to be introduced this week with bipartisan support.Blinken will lead the briefing team that also includes the Director of National Security Avril Haines, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, the chair of the joint chief of staff Gen. Mark Milley and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, among others, the source said. 10.29am EST 10:29 Fence reinstalled around US Capitol ahead of State of the Union In case you missed it yesterday: the fencing around the US Capitol has been reinstalled ahead of Joe Biden’s first State of the Union Speech, which is set for tomorrow night. The fencing, which remained around the Capitol for months after the January 6 insurrection, was put up amid concerns of demonstrations in Washington in connection to the State of the Union. Groups of truckers are planning to drive to the DC area to protest Biden’s coronavirus-related policies, but one convoy from California is not expected to reach Washington by tomorrow. New security fencing surrounds the US Capitol building in Washington. Photograph: Bryan Olin Dozier/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock “In light of the upcoming State of the Union Address, and the possibility of demonstrations in the next couple of weeks, we have been working closely with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners on a security plan to prevent any disruption to the important work of Congress,” the US Capitol Police chief, Tom Manger, said in a statement yesterday. “Out of an abundance of caution, and in conjunction with the United States Secret Service, a plan has been approved to put up the inner-perimeter fence around the Capitol building for the State of the Union Address.” Manger also noted that the USCP has requested assistance from “outside law enforcement agencies as well as the National Guard” to ensure the safety of lawmakers during Biden’s speech. 10.08am EST 10:08 Martin Pengelly The Republican congresswoman Lauren Boebert was condemned for comparing the Russian invasion of Ukraine to the clearing of a truckers’ protest in Ottawa, saying: “We also have neighbors to the north who need freedom and who need to be liberated.” A former US ambassador to Canada called the comments “reckless” and “dangerous”. A protest in imitation of the Canadian truckers has been making its away across the US. It is expected in Washington this week. Anthony Housefather, a Liberal member of the Canadian parliament, told Boebert that “while it’s good that you are not following the Trump line and are standing with Ukraine instead of Putin, it is sad to hear you compare free and democratic Canada to the invasion of Ukraine. “If you would like to learn about Canada please reach out.” Full story: 9.53am EST 09:53 Marco Rubio, the Republican vice chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, said Vladimir Putin is committing war crimes with rocket strikes on the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. “Brace yourselves,” Rubio said on Twitter. “The images and videos from #Kharkiv of the war crimes committed by #Putin will shock & outrage the world.” Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) Brace yourselvesThe images and videos from #Kharkiv of the war crimes committed by #Putin will shock & outrage the world February 28, 2022 The Ukrainian interior ministry has said that dozens of people were killed and hundreds more were injured in Kharkiv this morning, after Russian forces launched a series of rocket strikes on the city. “Kharkiv has just been massively fired upon by grads (rockets),” Ukrainian interior ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko said on Facebook. “Dozens of dead and hundreds of wounded.” Follow the latest updates from Ukraine on the Guardian’s other live blog: 9.41am EST 09:41 Sanctions-hit Russian rouble crashes The Guardian’s Martin Farrer, Andrew Roth and Julian Borger report: The Russian rouble crashed more than 40% after trading began on Monday in the wake of unprecedented international sanctions against the country’s financial system over Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The news came as Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the British prime minister that the next 24 hours would be “crucial” for his country and amid reports that a column of Russian tanks was heading for the capital. With restrictions in force limiting how much the Russian central bank can do to prop up the currency, the rouble plunged 41.5% to a record low when the markets opened, sinking to as low as 119 per dollar from 83.7 at its close on Friday. It recovered a little ground later on Monday to stand at 107 to the dollar, a fall of 28%. Analysts at Rabobank in Singapore said that Monday could see a “complete collapse in the rouble” after the asset freeze on the Central Bank of Russia means it cannot sell foreign currency reserves to support the rouble. Russia’s central bank more than doubled interest rates to 20%, and banned foreigners from selling local securities, in a bid to protect its currency and economy. Read the Guardian’s full report: 9.29am EST 09:29 Joe Biden will use his State of the Union speech to describe his efforts to “build a global coalition” to push back against Russian aggression in Ukraine, White House press secretary Jen Psaki has said. In an interview with ABC News yesterday, Psaki was asked how Biden would handle his first State of the Union speech, which comes as his approval rating hits new lows and civilian casualties rise in Ukraine. ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) “Leaders lead during crises. That’s exactly what Pres. Biden is doing. He’ll speak to that, but he’s also going to speak about his optimism about what’s ahead and what we all have to look forward to,” @PressSec says before Biden’s State of the Union. https://t.co/QZHY89nstP pic.twitter.com/3RcNcuGmb1 February 28, 2022 “If you look back when President [Barack] Obama gave his first State of the Union, it was during the worst financial crisis in a generation,” Psaki said. “When President [George W] Bush gave his first State of the Union, it was shortly after 9/11.” The White House spokesperson said Biden’s remarks would reflect “his optimism and his belief in the resilience of the American people” in this time of international crisis. “Leaders lead during crises. That’s exactly what President Biden is doing,” Psaki said. “He’ll speak to that, but he’s also going to speak about his optimism about what’s ahead and what we all have to look forward to.” 9.25am EST 09:25 Biden faces crises at home and abroad as State of the Union looms Greetings from Washington, live blog readers. Joe Biden is dealing with a number of crises, from the Russian invasion of Ukraine to rising prices in the US, that he will need to address in his State of the Union speech tomorrow. Biden’s first official State of the Union comes as his approval rating has dropped to a disappointing 40.4%, according to FiveThirtyEight’s average of recent polls. The entire world is tense over the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has already resulted in at least 100 civilian deaths, and Kyiv is demanding a ceasefire as Russia continues to launch airstrikes on major cities. Ukraine supporters rally at the White House to protest Russia’s invasion. Photograph: Bob Korn/Rex/Shutterstock Meanwhile, Biden has warned that the Ukraine crisis and the ensuing sanctions on Russia could drive up gas prices, which are already high. The US is experiencing the highest rate of inflation in 40 years, resulting in sticker shock for many Americans in the grocery store and at the gas pump. The US president will have to address all of these issues when he speaks to the American people tomorrow, and there are no easy answers to any of these crises. The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.