| Welcome to The Daily 202! Tell your friends to sign up here. This is Caroline, your Daily 202 researcher, in today for Olivier. Per the Associated Press: On this day in 1765, Britain enacted the Quartering act, which required American colonists to temporarily house British soldiers. | | |  | The big idea | | Leaders wrestle with how to aid Ukrainian refugees now and in the future |  Ukrainian refugees wait to board a train back to the Ukraine on Thursday outside of Przemysl Glowny train station in Poland after fleeing the Russian invasion. (REUTERS/Hannah McKay) | | | Last week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken called it "the biggest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II." Rep Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.), a Ukrainian immigrant, went further: "This is not just a crisis," she told Fox News. "This is going to be a catastrophe." Starting tomorrow, President Biden will have a chance to assess the situation for himself. More than 3.6 million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russian President Vladmir Putin's war began on Feb. 24. As Olivier noted last week, that's larger than Chicago's population. The majority (more than 2.1 million) have gone to Poland, where Biden is headed Friday and will meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda Saturday, after his stop in Brussels to meet with fellow G-7 leaders, NATO allies and the European Union. And while Poland has largely accepted the refugees with open arms, its major cities are starting to sound the alarm: They're overwhelmed and running out of space and supplies. Sheltering, feeding and otherwise caring for 2.1 million people is a daunting challenge. | | There are two big questions facing Biden and European leaders with regard to Ukrainian refugees: First, how to handle the immediate crisis? Second, what happens to them over the long-term? | | The first question is difficult, but the answers are somewhat clearer. Biden is expected to announce the United States will provide more humanitarian aid to refugees and to help Poland and other European nations deal with the influx of Ukrainians. The White House announced plans this morning for the United States to accept 100,000 Ukrainian refugees and others fleeing Russia's aggression toward Ukraine, our colleagues Nick Miroff and Ashley Parker report. Biden's trip will also serve as a way to show support for Poland and its leaders as they deal with the logistical, economic and political strains caused by the war and the influx of refugees. The administration has not directly said Biden will visit a refugee camp in Poland, but it's likely. As in the United States and many parts of Europe, immigration can be a fraught topic in Poland and a public backlash against the refugees could make a bad situation worse. In fact, "the current government in Poland, which came to power in 2015, did so by their exploitation of popular fears that Poland might become a massive waypoint for refugees coming from the Middle East," former U.S. ambassador to Poland Stephen D. Mull told The Daily 202. Mull is now Vice Provost for Global Affairs at the University of Virginia. So in the very recent past, refugees have been politically weaponized in Poland. But that's not the case with the Ukrainian refugees, Mull said. He cited three main reasons: | - Poland doesn't want to be next. "They want to be really helpful to Ukraine because they think they could very well be next in line If Russia continues its aggression westward," Mull said.
- There were already plenty of Ukrainians in Poland, and they're doing well. "They assimilated into Polish culture with very few problems at all. In fact, Ukrainian migrants have been quite popular in Poland," Mull said.
- The United States and Poland didn't have the best relationship. The war is forcing a stronger alliance. Mull: "It's going to be really important to Duda to show his electorate in Poland — and to show the other members of the European Union — that Poland is back. It's OK again, it's OK to be friends with Poland."
| | But, Mull noted, there are probably limits to even the Poles' generosity. That's why the United States and European countries are expected to step in to help shoulder more of the cost of resettling and housing refugees. Following today's announcement on the United States taking more refugees, Biden will also likely face questions on the specifics of when and how those 100,000 people will actually enter the country. | A 'Marshall Plan' for Ukraine? | | U.S. and European leaders hope Putin's invasion can be turned back and the bloodshed soon ends. But even if the best case scenario plays out, the second big question regarding the refugees looms — what will there be to return to in Ukraine? | | Many parts of the country are being destroyed by Russian attacks, and the devastation has sparked questions of how to rebuild Ukraine when the war ends. Some U.S. lawmakers have already talked about a possible "Marshall Plan" for the country — a reference to the American-led effort to rebuild Europe after World War II. "Their infrastructure is being systematically destroyed," Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) told our colleague Jackie Alemany this week after returning from a trip to Germany and Poland. "What one of [the U.S.] members on the trip thought that what we ought to do is try to get at Vladimir Putin's money and use that to rebuild the infrastructure in Ukraine, if he's really worth billions." Others think it might be too soon to discuss. Dan Hamilton, a former State Department official and current senior nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution, told The Daily 202 that Biden will want to show he's focused on more immediate issues. "I'm sure there's some planning going on, but it seems to me in terms of public comments, it's too soon," Hamilton said. Regardless of what's discussed this week, rebuilding Ukraine is an issue that will be difficult for the world's leaders to avoid for much longer. | | |  | What's happening now | | U.S. and allies announce new sanctions on Russia |  NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, U.S. President Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pose during a group photo during a NATO summit at NATO headquarters on Thursday in Brussels. (Thibault Camus/AP) | | Final day of Ketanji Brown Jackson's Supreme Court confirmation hearings begin | North Korea launches first ICBM since 2017 that may be able to reach U.S. | Commuter news: Metro outlines plan to gradually return suspended rail cars through summer | | "Metro unveiled a plan Thursday that would gradually ease a train shortage through the summer, proposing a path to service beginning in May for its suspended rail cars as the transit agency records its highest ridership levels of the pandemic," Justin George reports. | | |  | Lunchtime reads from The Post | | Trump endorsements slow, prompting a scramble from candidates and advisers |  Former President Donald Trump arrives at a rally on March 12, 2022, in Florence, S.C. (Meg Kinnard/AP) | | | Playing hard to get: "The president's decision to temporarily delay endorsements, in the face of struggles by several of those he earlier sided with, has served only to increase efforts among Republican candidates, former advisers and political consultants to court his favor," Michael Scherer and Josh Dawsey report. Who's benefiting: "The endorsement scramble has brought lucrative paydays to more than a dozen Trump consultants and advisers working for candidates, many of whom have lobbied the former president for his imprimatur." | - And how much: "At least five of Trump's informal or formal advisers are seeking his attention on behalf of multiple candidates, some operating under contracts that are individually worth $10,000 or more a month, people familiar with the matter said."
| One month into the war, a defiant Ukraine is forever changed but adapting | | "Four weeks of explosions, fire and death have devastated Ukrainians and empowered them. Their 'new normal' is always knowing where the nearest bomb shelter is while indulging in a cappuccino at a local coffee shop, or a visit to the barber. It's martial law-imposed sobriety with a ban on alcohol sales," Isabelle Khurshudyan, Max Bearak, Siobhán O'Grady, Sudarsan Raghavan and Robyn Dixon report. "It's the population's — and the world's — growing belief that Ukraine's military could actually win. It has already kept Russia's massive and feared armed forces from the easy victory Putin seemed to expect." | Some Russia journalists are quitting, citing regret over spreading deadly misinformation |  During a rally in support of Ukraine, a protester holds a placard depicting Russian Channel One editor Marina Ovsyannikova's war protest. (Thomas Coex/AFP via Getty Images) | | | "There have been at least four high-profile resignations at Russia's state television channels, a crucial pillar of Mr. Putin's dominance over the country's domestic politics," the New York Times's Anton Troianovski reports. "Marina Ovsyannikova, the Channel 1 staff member who interrupted a live news broadcast last week to unfurl an antiwar poster that said, 'They're lying to you here,' offered the most striking act of protest. Others … have gone more quietly, providing a glimpse of the ferment inside Mr. Putin's system — and a reminder of the immense power of television in shaping how most Russians see the war." Who's watching? "About two-thirds of Russians relied on state television last year to get their news, down from 90 percent in 2014, according to surveys by the Levada Center, an independent Moscow pollster." | | |  | The latest on covid | | Is another booster shot recommendation just weeks away? | | "The Biden administration could authorize a second Covid-19 booster shot for older Americans within weeks, amid rising concern over a potential resurgence of cases," four people with knowledge of the matter told Politico's Adam Cancryn and Erin Banco. | | |  | The Biden agenda | | Migrants flood the southern border amid calls to lift pandemic restrictions that aided expulsions |  France President Emmanuel Macron gestures next to President Biden on Thursday during a NATO summit to discuss Russia's invasion of Ukraine at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels. (Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters) | | | "The number of migrants crossing the U.S. southern border illegally has jumped again in recent weeks, stretching U.S. capacity and stirring fears that the Biden administration will face an even larger influx if it lifts pandemic-era restrictions next week," Nick Miroff and Maria Sacchetti report. | New poll: Americans want Biden to be tougher on Russia | | Only 43% of Americans approve of Biden and a similar percentage approve of his handling of the relationship with Russia, according to a poll released Thursday by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. More numbers: "Fifty-six percent of Americans feel that Biden's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine has not been tough enough. Few believe his response has been too tough and only 36% say his response has been about right." | White House Tiger Team prepares for possibility of WMDs | Biden and Europeans to announce major plan to redirect gas to Europe | | "President Biden and European leaders are expected to announce a major initiative to direct shipments of liquefied natural gas to Europe during his visit to Brussels this week, part of a broader effort to help reduce Europe's dependence on Russian energy," three U.S. officials familiar with the plan told Tyler Pager, Ashley Parker, John Hudson and Jeff Stein. | | |  | Where senators stand on confirming Ketanji Brown Jackson, visualized | | | The Senate Judiciary Committee began its confirmation hearings Monday for the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court. Jackson faces four days of hearings, where Senate Judiciary Committee members will question her record and experience in the federal judiciary. The Washington Post is tracking where senators stand on confirming her to the Supreme Court. | | |  | Hot on the left | | Trump committed felonies, prosecutor who resigned over stalled probe says |  Attorney Mark Pomerantz leaves court in New York on Sept. 8, 2004. (Mary Altaffer/AP) | | - The allegations: "Pomerantz added that Trump lied to banks and other relevant parties committing 'numerous felony violations' through his practice of filing bogus Statements of Financial Condition."
- That's not all: The prosecutor "said he and his counterparts in the probe determined Trump broke New York law and that a criminal case against him was viable."
| | Some context: Pomerantz and Carey Dunne, another top investigator on the team probing Trump and the family-run Trump Organization, "abruptly left the office after people familiar with the matter said District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) appeared uninterested in pursuing a case." | | |  | Hot on the right | | The call to get Ukraine more drones | | Here's the pitch from the Bulwark's Jim Swift: "Drones are a force multiplier—a way for even modestly sized militaries to pursue combined arms strategies. And looking at the battlefield in Ukraine, it's pretty obvious that the Ukrainians are using drones to good effect as well." Thoughts form the Pentagon: "Earlier this month, a Pentagon official said on background that Ukraine was 'terrific' with drones, and they needed more of them, rather than fixed-wing aircraft." The West has already given Ukraine quite a few drones, Swift explains, but he says it ought to offer up even more. | | |  | Today in Brussels (all times eastern) | | | Biden will participate in a European Council summit at 12 p.m. He will also deliver remarks. At 3 p.m., Biden will hold a news conference. | | |  | In closing | | Mitt Romney, meet Ritt Momney. | | In spoonerism news: The senator from Utah met Salt Lake City musician Jack Rutter (better known as Ritt Momney) and his band Wednesday. We wonder what that conversation was like. | | Thanks for reading. See you tomorrow. | | |
