Today’s Headlines and Commentary

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell will support the Senate bipartisan gun deal, according to AP News. The Kentucky senator’s announcement provides additional support for the agreement on an issue that has long faced deadlock in Congress. McConnell said that the proposed legislation would be “a step forward on a bipartisan basis.” The move illustrates a potential shift in the political landscape on issues of gun regulations after the massacres in Uvalde, Texas and Buffalo, New York.

The House voted 396 to 27 to extend police protection to the immediate family members of Supreme Court justices, writes the New York Times. While the legislation received bipartisan support, there were disagreements between Republicans and Democrats about whether to include protection for clerks and other staff members at the court.

NATO allies meet in Brussels to discuss how to further assist Ukrainian forces against Russian onslaught in eastern Ukraine, writes the Washington Post. NATO members are still working on the details of a new military aid package for Ukraine, according to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. The assistance is part of a longer-term plan to provide the country with more NATO-standard weapons as opposed to Soviet-style weapons. Ukrainian Presidential Adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said Ukraine needs 1,000 drones, 500 tanks, and 1,000 howitzers, reports Reuters.

A trilateral natural gas agreement between Israel, Egypt, and the European Union was established in an attempt to provide an alternative to Russian energy, reports the Washington Post. The agreement will allow for an increase in Israeli natural gas through existing pipelines to Egypt, before making its way to Europe. European Commission President Ursala von der Leyen tweeted, “This will contribute to our energy security. And we are building infrastructure fit for renewables—the energy of the future,” in reference to the deal.

Priti Patel, the British home secretary, said the British government intends to move forward with its plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, writes the New York Times. The statement comes after a decision from the European Court of Human Rights kept the first flight of Rwandan asylum seekers grounded on Tuesday. The move to send the asylum seekers to Rwanda has been opposed by church leaders, advocacy organizations, and Prince Charles.

The defense ministers for Japan and Australia said their countries will form closer ties to support democracy in the Indo-Pacific region, writes AP News. The announcement comes amid growing fears that China, emboldened by Russia, will expand its influence in Southeast Asia. In January, Australia and Japan entered into an agreement, allowing their troops to operate within each other’s country for military training and other defense operations.

The New York Court of Appeals rejected former President Trump’s attempt to avoid providing testimony in the state attorney general’s civil investigation of his business practices, according to AP News. New York Attorney General Letitia James said that her investigation has found that the Trump Organization inflated the value of assets to receive loans and other business benefits.

ICYMI: Yesterday on Lawfare

Jen Patja Howell shared an episode of The Lawfare Podcast in which Benjamin Wittes sat down with Quinta Jurecic, Natalie Orpett, and Rohini Kurup to discuss day two of the Jan. 6 hearings.

Bruce Riedel reviewed Gregory D. Cleva’s “John F. Kennedy’s 1957 Algeria Speech: The Politics of Anticolonialism in the Cold War Era”(Lexington 2022).

Hadley Baker shared an episode of Lawfare No Bull which features audio of the second public hearing held by the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the Capitol.

Adam Aliano discussed whether Russia is exploiting a gap in the 1936 Montreux Convention in its war against Ukraine.

Katherine Pompilio shared the U.S. Justice Department Office of the Inspector General’s audit of the U.S. Marshals Service’s management of seized cryptocurrency.

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