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☆ Two Ukrainian pilots are in the U.S. for training assessment on attack aircraft, including F-16s
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Courtney Kube | Carol E. Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. authorities have approved bringing up to 10 more Ukrainian pilots to the U.S. for further assessment as early as this month, the officials said. The arrival of the first two pilots marks the first time Ukrainian pilots have traveled to the U.S. to have their skills evaluated by American military trainers. Officials said the effort has twin goals: to improve the pilots' skills and evaluate how long a proper training program could take. Asked about the assessment of two Ukrainian pilots, a defense official described it as "familiarization event." This event allows us to better help Ukrainian pilots become more effective pilots and better advise them on how to develop their own capabilities."

☆ U.S. intel on China considering lethal aid for Putin's war was gleaned from Russian officials
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Courtney Kube | Carol E. Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Initial U.S. intelligence suggesting that China is considering supplying lethal aid to Russia for its war in Ukraine was gleaned from Russian government officials, according to one current and one former U.S. official familiar with the intelligence. The multiple threads of intelligence suggesting that China is considering giving lethal aid to Russia, including ammunition and artillery, raised alarm among Biden administration officials, particularly given how such a move by Beijing could shift the dynamic of the war in Moscow's favor. Top administration officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and CIA Director Williams Burns, have publicly expressed confidence in the intelligence and warned China against providing Russia with lethal military aid. China has denied it is considering sending lethal aid to Russia, calling the U.S. accusation "disinformation." U.S. officials note that they have not seen any evidence of movement or a decision from China to take that step.

Governors gathered in the nation’s capital in recent days for the National Governors Association winter meeting. And while they were focused on their jobs at hand, questions about the 2024 presidential race were unavoidable. Asked on Saturday if she would like to see Biden run again, Michigan Gov. At a Democratic Governors Association press conference on Thursday, a group of 11 governors echoed support for Biden’s potential re-election campaign. Spencer Cox also joined “Meet” and weighed in on the presidential race, saying he would like to see his party nominate a governor.

Kate Bedingfield, a top adviser for President Biden since 2015, will step down as White House communications director later this month, NBC News has learned. Among Biden’s tight-knit campaign team, she earned the monicker of captain of the “team of killers,” a reference to the assessment of Biden’s campaign team by then-President Donald Trump. LaBolt served as a spokesperson for then-Sen. Barack Obama in Congress and later joined his 2008 campaign team. After serving as a White House spokesperson during Obama’s first term, he served as chief spokesperson for Obama’s re-election campaign. LaBolt will be the first openly gay person to serve as White House communications director.

The Pentagon would not confirm that the balloon in the photo was the surveillance balloon. The Biden administration is working on declassifying U.S. intelligence that includes details of China flying surveillance balloons above dozens of other countries around the world, according to three administration officials. The effort comes just days after the U.S. shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina following its trek across the continental United States. They said Biden administration officials plan to brief the dozens of countries that the U.S. believes have been subject to surveillance by China's balloons violating their airspace. The U.S. believes there are more than 40 countries that have been had Chinese surveillance balloons flown in their airspace, two officials said.

☆ Suspected Chinese spy balloon found over northern U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Courtney Kube | Carol E. Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The Pentagon would not confirm that the balloon in the photo was the surveillance balloon. The U.S. military has been monitoring a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that has been hovering over the northern U.S. for the past few days, and military and defense leaders have discussed shooting it out of the sky, according to two U.S. officials and a senior defense official. "The United States government has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is over the continental United States right now," Pentagon spokesperson Brig. A senior defense official said the balloon is still over the U.S. but declined to say where it is now. Pentagon leaders presented the options to President Joe Biden on Wednesday.

On other pages, they said he memorialized in writing some of his experiences or thoughts as vice president at the time. The number of notebooks Biden kept is large, according to the person familiar with the investigation, but they did not know the precise number. Trump and Biden’s possession of classified documents is the subject of separate special counsel investigations. Attorney General Merrick Garland has so far not named a special counsel to investigate Pence’s handling of classified documents. On Friday, Pence apologized for having classified documents in his possession and said he takes full responsibility for it.

☆ Biden considering a trip to Europe in show of support for Ukraine after one year of war
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Carol-Lee-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Carol E. Lee | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON — President Biden is considering a trip to Europe next month to coincide with the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to three administration officials and a person familiar with the discussions. The White House is exploring ways Biden might mark the one-year milestone in the Ukraine war, the sources said. Biden administration officials have also discussed announcing another major military aid package for Ukraine to coincide with the anniversary of Russia’s invasion, according to three U.S. officials. On Wednesday Biden reversed his administration’s position on sending Abrams tanks to Ukraine, though the tanks are not expected to arrive for months if not a year. Last March when Biden traveled to Europe, he delivered a speech in Poland where he said — controversially — that Putin “cannot remain in power.”

☆ Inside the Biden administration's decision to reverse course and give tanks to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Courtney-Kube-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Courtney Kube | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

When he announced his decision to provide Abrams tanks to Ukraine, President Joe Biden made a point to say Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had recommended the move. Biden wasn’t initially sold on sending the tanks, despite pressure to do so to give cover to Germany to send Ukraine some Leopard 2 tanks, the officials said. But because Germany had said it would send Leopards to Ukraine if the U.S. agreed to commit tanks, too, the U.S. promise of a future delivery opened the door for Germany to send tanks to Ukraine now. In the case of the tanks, U.S. military leaders argued the Leopards and the U.K.’s Challengers were much better options. Military leaders, namely Milley, also have been more publicly vocal about the importance of potential talks to end the war.

☆ Biden administration, in a reversal, is preparing to send Abrams tanks to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Courtney-Kube-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Courtney Kube | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

After weeks of discussion, the Biden administration is preparing to send Abrams tanks to Ukraine, according to three senior U.S. officials. The current plan includes a couple dozen Abrams tanks, but the officials stressed that the decision is not yet final and could change. The decision to move forward with providing the tanks would be a reversal for the Biden administration, which had been resisting pressure from Germany to send them to Ukraine. It was not immediately clear what may have led the Biden administration to apparently shift its stance on sending the tanks. Earlier Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Biden administration is “leaning toward sending” Abrams tanks to Ukraine.

☆ Biden's Cabinet is sticking around, bucking the turnover trend of his predecessors
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Peter Nicholas | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Carol-Lee-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

By early 2019, Trump had cycled through seven of 15 Cabinet secretaries and was on his third chief of staff. A White House official said Mayorkas would fight any such attempt and has no wish to step down. The durability of Biden’s Cabinet is something of a surprise. Going back decades, presidents have steadily concentrated power in the White House, at the Cabinet’s expense, historians say. Some Cabinet secretaries have felt marginalized as presidents stocked the West Wing with trusted advisers and usurped the prerogatives of Cabinet members who had thought they were brought in to run things.

Despite German efforts to pressure the U.S. into providing Abrams tanks to Ukraine, the Pentagon’s top leaders are against sending them, three U.S. officials said. At the same time, the officials said President Joe Biden would not pressure Germany to send the Leopard tanks to Ukraine. Asked Friday about sending Abrams tanks to Ukraine, Biden was noncommittal. They also have argued they are not the right vehicles for the fight in Ukraine right now, according to the officials. Artur Widak / AP fileU.S. officials said opposition within the Biden administration to sending Abrams tanks to Ukraine is not due to concerns Russia would see the move as escalatory.

“We want him to be a president at State of the Union, not a candidate,” one of the sources said. There had been discussion among Biden aides of an earlier announcement, but the idea faded as they still await the president’s final decision. And now Biden advisers insist the new special counsel probe won’t impact any of his 2024 plans. But despite months of planning, Biden aides still have not even settled on a specific rollout plan, the sources familiar with the discussions said. Then-Vice President Biden waited until late October 2015 — after the first Democratic primary debate -- to announce he would not run in the 2016 race.

“He’s got to say, ‘I messed up, I apologize,’” said Lanny Davis, who handled various investigations as a lawyer in the Clinton White House. The White House didn’t publicly confirm that documents had been found until Monday, when CBS News reported that a review was underway. A statement from a White House lawyer, Richard Sauber, mentioned only classified material found at the center. We respect that process.”Jennifer Palmieri, who served as communications director in the Obama White House, suggested that any White House press secretary in this position would be in a tough spot in terms of what can be disclosed in the briefing room. “The White House should consider appointing a separate spokesperson to handle all questions related to this matter,” said Karen Finney, a Democratic strategist who also served in the Clinton White House.

☆ Multiple Biden aides have been interviewed by federal law enforcement in classified document review
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Carol-Lee-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Carol E. Lee | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — Multiple aides who worked for President Joe Biden in the final days of the Obama administration have been interviewed by federal law enforcement officials reviewing how classified documents ended up in his Delaware residence and a Washington office, according to two people familiar with the matter. One of the sources said that those who were asked to be interviewed by law enforcement officials complied "quickly." “The people who were boxing [up the vice presidential office] had no idea that there was anything in there that shouldn’t leave the White House,” the source said. On Thursday, the White House acknowledged that documents with classified markings had been found in a garage at Biden's residence in Wilmington, Delaware. No documents were found in Biden’s residence in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

WASHINGTON — Aides to President Joe Biden have discovered at least one additional batch of classified documents in a location separate from the Washington office he used after leaving the Obama administration, according to a person familiar with the matter. The initial discovery of classified documents in an office used by Biden after his vice presidency was first reported on Monday by CBS News. It also was not immediately clear when the additional documents were discovered and if the search for any other classified materials Biden may have from the Obama administration is complete. Two sources familiar with the matter said less than a dozen documents with classified markings were found at the office. Trump's possession of over 100 documents with classified markings despite have been subpoenaed for their return is the subject of a federal criminal investigation by the Justice Department.

WASHINGTON — There were less than a dozen documents with classified markings found in the office used by President Joe Biden while he was out of office, two sources familiar with the matter tell NBC News. The White House on Monday confirmed a CBS News report that a “small number of documents” with classified markings that appeared to be from the Obama administration had been found at a think tank tied to Biden. The acknowledgment launched a flurry of criticism from Republicans and former President Donald Trump, whose Florida home was raided last year in search of documents he had removed from the White House. The sources who confirmed the number of documents found in the Biden office spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details about the ongoing investigation. In all, federal investigators recovered over 300 documents with classification markings from Trump.

☆ Biden expected to announce more Ukraine aid, including sending Bradley Fighting Vehicles
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Courtney-Kube-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Courtney Kube | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

President Joe Biden on Thursday announced that Bradley Fighting Vehicles will be part of the new package. The announcement was made in conjunction with Germany, which plans to send Marder Infantry Fighting Vehicles. The president held a phone call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz early Thursday afternoon, according to a White House statement. A U.S. Bradley Fighting Vehicle. The president said Wednesday he was considering sending the powerful Bradley Armored Vehicles to Ukraine, something Kyiv has been asking the U.S. to do.

House Dem whip says caucus will keep voting in speaker race House Democratic whip Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass, said her caucus will stick around and continue voting in the speaker race. Davidson suggested there are "a couple procedural paths" where McCarthy could become speaker if Republicans changed the threshold needed to win the election. The polarization is too great.” Cole said that for all the House GOP divisions, “there’s no question” that most members in the caucus are closer in policy and vision to the anti-McCarthy rebels than they are to centrist Democrats. As Biden celebrated an upgrade to an aging bridge linking Kentucky and Ohio, House Republicans deadlocked on the basic task of electing a speaker, foreshadowing what is likely to be two years of infighting. The McCarthy-aligned Congressional Leadership Fund and the conservative Club for Growth agreed to not pick sides in some competitive House GOP primary races in exchange for supporting McCarthy's bid for speaker.

COVINGTON, Ky. — A key part of the White House plan to combat the new House GOP majority was on vivid display Wednesday: President Joe Biden talked about bridges and bipartisanship, while Republicans bickered among themselves. They plan to show him addressing real-world problems that are Americans' top concern while painting congressional Republicans as being focused on raw politics. They are refining plans to pressure House Republicans in swing districts to stop any impeachment votes in committee — before the issue reaches the House floor. The general view inside the White House is that there is little of substance to worry about. There, Barack Obama challenged McConnell and congressional Republicans to “help us rebuild this bridge!” and put unemployed construction workers to work.

☆ Biden to resend former L.A. Mayor Garcetti's stalled ambassador nomination and others to Senate
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Carol-Lee-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Carol E. Lee | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Those allegations were included in an investigative report released by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, who was among the members who opposed the nomination. Asked last month about Garcetti’s nomination, Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., the Foreign Relations Committee chair, wouldn’t say if he wanted the former mayor to be renominated. “He has a very impressive portfolio as it relates to India," Young told NBC. Too much time has passed.”India is a key ally for the U.S. that has been without a American ambassador since Biden took office. India also is scheduled to host this year's summit of the Group of 20 leading rich and developing nations.

☆ Democrats fret as Biden tries to bolster re-election case touting legislative wins
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Peter Nicholas | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Carol-Lee-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

WASHINGTON — As 2022 draws to a close, President Joe Biden plans to give an upbeat national address Thursday afternoon with a unifying message. Biden would be traveling the country touting reduced insulin prices and new road projects, while House Republicans hold hearings into obscure conspiracy theories. The first is Biden runs and loses, perhaps to a younger Republican opponent who eclipses Trump as the new GOP favorite. His top aides have been meeting privately with left-leaning interest groups urging them to go out and showcase Biden’s record. “President Biden became the first president since FDR in 1934 to not lose a single incumbent United States Senate seat” in the midterms, Donilon wrote.

☆ A Biden admin official recently told members of Congress Ukraine has the military capability to take back Crimea
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Carol-Lee-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Carol E. Lee | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

The late November Ukraine briefing to some members of Congress included discussion of the reasons Ukraine will continue to need U.S. weapons and equipment for the foreseeable future. Administration officials say they believe three recent deadly drone strikes against Russian military bases were carried out by Ukrainians, although they say it’s still not clear whether the Zelenskyy government ordered them directly. Senior U.S. military officers and Western governments say Ukraine has shown ingenuity and grit in fighting a larger, better-armed military and quickly incorporated new weapons systems provided by NATO members. If Ukraine made more advances against Russian forces in eastern and southern Ukraine, it could be better placed to eventually strike at Crimea, experts and a U.S. official said. In October, Ukraine indirectly claimed credit for damaging the Kerch Bridge in eastern Crimea, which connects it to mainland Russia.

☆ Biden admin wants to boost efforts to track U.S. weapons in Ukraine, may send another handful of troops
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Courtney-Kube-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Courtney Kube | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

The Pentagon is working to shore up efforts to track weapons provided to Ukraine, according to three senior U.S. officials, including discussing whether to send a small number of additional U.S. troops to Ukraine. The Pentagon has a couple dozen U.S. troops in Ukraine at present, including a very small number already assigned to making sure weapons reach their intended recipients. While the U.S. troops do not travel to the front lines, they would travel outside Kyiv to scan barcodes on weapons and equipment to track supplies. The State Department also imposes caps on how many U.S. government officials — civilian and military — can live and work in other countries and that limit is low in Ukraine, officials say. “That’s ridiculous,” a U.S. defense official said, explaining that this is an “extremely limited” additional presence with a “very specific” mission.

☆ Russia is providing 'unprecedented' military support to Iran in exchange for drones, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Courtney-Kube-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Courtney Kube | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Russia is now providing an "unprecedented level" of military and technical support to Iran in exchange for Tehran supplying weapons for the war in Ukraine, senior Biden administration officials say. As part of the enhanced partnership, Russia may be providing Iran with advanced military equipment and components, including helicopters and air defense systems. Russia is looking to collaborate with Iran on weapons development, including possibly establishing a joint production line for drones in Russia, according to the officials. The U.S. believes Iran is considering the sale of hundreds of ballistic missiles to Russia, the senior administration officials said. And they expect Iranian support for the Russian military to continue to grow in the coming months.

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