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And as hes done many times, Paul is not budging under growing bipartisan pressure.

Somebody ought to read the bills, dont you think? Paul said in a brief interview, dismissing his colleagues posture on Ukraine as saber-rattling. Most of this is symbolic.

In many ways its vintage Paul: Stake out an outlier position and stick with it, disregarding the ensuing barrage of internal criticism. The Kentuckian was the only Republican senator to leave his name off a recent statement opposing a new nuclear deal with Iran.

Then there was late last year, when he was the face of opposition to additional funding for Israels Iron Dome missile defense system just as his party was criticizing Biden and Democrats for not supporting Israel enough. He also rose to prominence with his stand with Rand filibuster against the nomination of John Brennan to be CIA director, and he single-handedly caused a brief government shutdown in 2018 over his demands for an amendment.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing on Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022 on Capitol Hill.|Greg Nash/AP Photo

But his latest rebellion comes at a perilous time, both for the world and for Republican messaging efforts. The GOP drumbeat of criticism casting Biden as slow and ineffective raged for weeks, and now a member of their own party is getting in the way of one of the few meaningful actions Congress can take in response to Russias invasion of Ukraine. Its possible that passage of the trade bill, a top priority of Bidens, could slip late into April at this point.

On Monday, Republicans aired long-building exasperation with Paul, with Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) simply throwing up his arms when asked if there was anything GOP leaders could do to move him. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who recently traveled to Poland, said Paul has the right to do it, but its not helpful for her partys message.

And after a lengthy sigh, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) put it even more bluntly when asked about Paul: Its what weve come to expect.

Theres a constant mismatch between what Republicans say and do on Ukraine, said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), citing the large numbers of GOP lawmakers who opposed a wide-ranging spending bill that sent $14 billion in aid to Ukraine. When they have a chance, over and over again Republicans are not voting for the things Ukraine needs.

But some Republicans said it was simply a matter of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer prioritizing the trade bill and dismissed suggestions that Pauls holdup undermined their messaging effort. Schumer could have allocated enough floor time to overcome Pauls objections rather than counting on a fast-tracked process that requires unanimous support, they pointed out.

Weve been remarkably unified as a party, said Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), who has been one of the GOPs leading voices on Ukraine. But, as Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) put it, each individual senator is a free agent.

Because of the way the chamber operates, scheduling a quick vote requires consent from all 100 senators. Schumer could schedule a separate vote on the legislation that wouldnt require unanimous support, but it would tie up the Senate floor for as long as a week. And that could complicate Democrats efforts to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court before the forthcoming Easter recess.

I dont begrudge senators expressing themselves. I dont think we ought to censor different points of view, Cornyn said. Its just a matter of Sen. Schumer making it a priority and jumping through all the hoops.

Whats more, Republicans say they wouldnt necessarily support moving the trade bill on its own, and they cant pass both at the same time if the trade bill has to go through the typical floor process. Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) spent days negotiating an agreement to move both the trade legislation and a bill banning Russian oil imports; he said trying to push through just the trade bill would break that agreement.

It wouldnt work, Crapo said. He insisted that he was still discussing the situation with Paul.

Paul was the lone objector to speeding up the Senates consideration last week of a House-passed bill to suspend normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus. The House bill cleared that chamber with 424 votes, and the eight lawmakers who opposed it all Republicans took issue with the bills reauthorization and expansion of the Global Magnitsky Act, a landmark 2016 law that allows the president to punish human-rights abusers worldwide.

Pauls objections stem from similar concerns, and he has refused to agree to a quick vote unless the underlying legislation is changed. Last week, Schumer proposed that the Senate vote on a Paul-authored amendment to the bill in exchange for moving it quickly, but Paul rejected that offer.

The late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) co-authored the Magnitsky Act, and it has enjoyed broad support from both parties over the years. But some conservatives have argued that the expansion approved by the House would allow the president to pursue sanctions based on political ideology or social agendas.

On Monday, Paul said Senate leaders havent been too interested in a compromise and reiterated his concerns that the Magnitsky Act provisions in the trade bill have no restrictions or restraint. There have to be some rules.

Im not against the content of what theyre doing. I told them they could have it, if they define this, he added.

Regardless of Pauls push, however, his proposed changes are going nowhere no matter how long it takes for the Senate to finish up the bill aimed at debilitating Russias economy.

To think that he stopped the process on an amendment that lost in committee, 19-1, said Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). It just tells you what can happen around here when people abuse the authority they have as senator.

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Rand's latest stand undercuts GOP's Ukraine message - POLITICO

Rand Pauls wife, Kelley, got a jumpstart on marking Transgender Day of Visibility by firing off a psychotic tweet ranting and raving about Chinese third graders, math, and men having babies.

Related: 6 binge-worthy shows that celebrate trans visibility and give us hope

Yesterday, Mrs. Paul tweeted: Chinese third graders are learning multi-variable calculus. Our third graders are being taught that men can have babies. This will not end well.

OK first, we would like to meet these Chinese third graders learning multi-variable calculus. Second, sex ed is definitely not being taught to third graders in the United States. And third, Kelleys tweet, like Kelley herself, is complete garbage. Sadly, its right on brand for the extreme right-wing activist and frequent guest on Fox News.

Related: Rand Pauls wife is freaking out over an elementary school Pride event that happened a year ago

Mrs. Paul has quite a history of saying stupid things on social media. Last week, she tweeted about her outrage over an elementary school in Austin, Texas that held a Pride parade for students back in April 2021. Last month, she tweeted her support for transphobic childrens author JK Rowling. And last year, she accused 80s singer Richard Marx, best known for his 1989 worldwide hit single Right Here Waiting, of trying to get her husband killed.

Related: Rand Paul and his wife accuse 80s singer of possibly being behind foiled plot to have them killed

Were sure Kelleys transphobic tweet being fired off the day before Transgender Day of Visibility, an annual event occurring on March 31 that celebrates trans people and raises awareness of the discrimination they still face worldwide, was no coincidence.

Now, some responses

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Rand Paul's wife is losing it on Twitter over Chinese third graders, math, and men having babies - Queerty

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)Calling her decision to vote for the confirmation of Ketanji Brown Jackson totally unacceptable, Senate Republicans are punishing Susan Collins by forcing her to sit next to Rand Paul.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Collinss sentence from the well of the Senate, declaring, By sitting next to Rand Paul, Susan Collins is paying the ultimate price.

After a few days and weeks of hearing Rand natter on in that grating way of his, maybe shell start to think about what she has done and whether it was truly worth it, he said.

Speaking to reporters, Collins appeared shaken by the Republican leaderships decision to seat her next to the Kentucky senator.

Clearly, this is going to be awful, but Im trying to look on the bright side, she said. At least Im not sitting next to Josh Hawley.

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Senate Republicans Punish Susan Collins by Making Her Sit Next to Rand Paul - The New Yorker

AMAC Exclusive By Seamus Brennan

For decades, in the eyes of many conservatives, establishment Republican candidates and officeholders have remained steadfastly beholden to their own political fortunes and outdated dogmas at the expense of the needs and values of the Americans they have claimed to represent. But with the rise of the Tea Partyand later the ascendancy of President Donald Trumps America First agendathat all started to change. Among the most notable Republicans who have bucked this establishment are Senators Josh Hawley (R-MO), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Ron Johnson (R-WI), and Rand Paul (R-KY). These senators, and others like them, represent a GOP grounded in courage, principle, and public serviceall attributes that conservatives are hopeful their party will embrace in 2022.

Since he was elected to the Senate in 2018, Josh Hawley has consistently stood on the front lines of some of the most contentious cultural and political disputes of the last several years and has repeatedly made clear that he understands the stakes of the present moment. For years the politics of both left and right have been informed by a political consensus that reflects the interests not of the American middle, but of a powerful upper class and their cosmopolitan priorities, Hawley remarked at the 2019 National Conservatism Conference.

Hawleys chief legislative priority throughout his time in the Senate has been breaking up Big Tech giants. In Hawleys view, these Big Tech behemoths have been granted permission by Washington politicians to censor political opinions they dont agree with and shut out competitors who offer consumers an alternative to the status quo.

Hawley has also been forthright about his disappointment with ostensibly conservative members of the Supreme Court when they fail to abide by the constitutional principles they vowed to uphold. Following the Courts controversial Bostock v. Clayton County decision, for instance, in which the Court bizarrely held that sexual orientation and gender identity were protected classes under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (even though the law itself made no mention of such characteristics), Hawley took to the Senate floor to denounce the decision as the end of the conservative legal movementsignaling a significant break with other Republican members who instead opted to remain silent on the matter.

Hawleys colleague Tom Cotton, who has served as the junior senator from Arkansas since 2014, has similarly been a fierce advocate for a more assertive Republican Party that knows how to effectively take the offensive. Were the party of the common man, the worker, the farmer, the cop on the beat, Cotton recently said at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. Unlike Democrats, we remember the forgotten man.

During the riot-filled summer of 2020, when so-called moderate Republicans like Senator Mitt Romney of Utah were seen proudly linking arms and marching with supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement (which had played a role in tormenting Americas cities with looting and arson for weeks on end), Cotton took to the pages of the New York Times to publish a strongly-worded op-ed calling for a restoration of law and order. In the op-ed, Cotton called for send[ing] in the troops, even if many politicians prefer to wring their hands while the country burns.

Predictably, the op-ed earned Cotton an endless flood of vitriol from the political left and the media class: as a result of the lefts uproar, the Times eventually added an editors note at the front of the article, which claimed the piece should not have been published.

Some longer-serving members of the Senate have also become forceful leaders of the modern conservative movement in recent years. Ron Johnson, the senior senator from Wisconsin, and Rand Paul, the junior senator from Kentuckyboth of whom have served since 2011have been strong Republican voices against draconian COVID-19 mandates and Dr. Anthony Faucis domineering role in the federal governments COVID response.

Johnson was among the first in Congress to demand answers on the origins of COVID. He was consequently dismissed by the New York Times as a foremost amplifier of conspiracy theories and disinformation for suggesting the virus originated in a Chinese labeven though, of course, such conspiracy theories and disinformation have since turned out to be not only plausible, but likely. Rare was the Republican who backed Senator Johnson, even once it became clear that China was hiding something about the origins of the virus. The Wisconsin Republican has established himself as a fighterless flashy than some of his colleagues, but one who has earned the respect and gratitude of conservatives everywhere.

Similar to Johnsons courage on COVID, Rand Paulhimself a licensed physicianintroduced legislation to repeal Washington, D.C.s vaccine mandates and has repeatedly clashed with Fauci during committee hearings, indicating loudly and clearly that he will not kowtow to, in his words, the unscientific and capricious rules promulgated by Fauci and other unelected medical bureaucrats. Johnson and Paul have also taken the lead on holding Biden accountable by launching investigations into the Biden familys foreign connections and being some of the most vocal opponents of the administrations progressive agenda.

Ultimately, Republicans like Senators Hawley, Cotton, Johnson, and Paul are slowly but successfully leading the Senate out of the establishment mold that has for too long hindered the partys ability to effectively represent its constituents. And so far, a handful of promising Republican candidates for Congress like Blake Masters (Arizona), J.D. Vance (Ohio), and Joe Kent (Washington) have embraced this model of conservatism. If recent polling of these candidates and others like them is any indication, it may soon be that an America First platform is the rule, rather than the exception, for elected Republicans.

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Move Over Squad, Here Comes the Pride of the Senate - AMAC

By GARRETT ROSS

04/01/2022 01:10 PM EDT

Updated 04/01/2022 03:29 PM EDT

President Joe Biden said this morning that the March jobs report means that our economy has gone from being on the mend to being on the move. | Getty Images

This morning, we wrote that President JOE BIDEN was facing a slump as the week of news came to a close. The White House took umbrage at that claim, pointing to todays jobs report as a sign of progress. (See White House chief of staff RON KLAINs Twitter feed this morning for more trumpeting.)

And certainly, the March jobs report is a feather in the cap for the administration.

Heres the breakdown, via APs Paul Wiseman:

But the reality is that one strong jobs report does not snap the administration out of its current circumstances. And even Biden himself alluded to that fact in his remarks at the White House this morning.

This job is not finished, he said. We need to do more to get prices under control. [Russian President VLADIMIR] PUTINs invasion of Ukraine has driven up gas and food prices all over the world.

Elsewhere, he painted the March figures as a strong sign that things are getting back on track: It means that our economy has gone from being on the mend to being on the move.

But, of course, what really matters politically is whether the White Houses message lands with voters in the midterms. The American people, I think theyre beginning to understand that this American Rescue Plan and theres no reason why they should know the names of all of these pieces of legislation that got passed but the American Rescue Plan, with it we were able to get Americans vaccinated, schools opened and businesses humming, Biden said.

More context: March Jobs Report Keeps Fed on Track for Larger Rate Rise in May, WSJ

PSAKI BOMB White House press secretary JEN PSAKI is planning to leave her post this spring and is in exclusive talks with MSNBC to join the network, Axios Sara Fischer reports. The deets: Psaki will host a show for MSNBC on NBCUniversals streaming platform, Peacock. She will also be a part of live programming on MSNBCs cable network as a voice on different shows, but she will not be hosting the 9 p.m. hour replacing RACHEL MADDOW, which has been speculated. Psaki's deal is similar to that of SYMONE SANDERS, a former adviser and senior spokesperson for Vice President KAMALA HARRIS.

AFTERNOON READ Michael Kruse has an incisive read from Tampa on Rep. CHARLIE CRIST, who, Kruse writes, with his fit build, his trim suits, his white hair and his tan face has been one of the most durable and recognizable characters in Florida politics for parts of the last four decades. But now, Crist is the front runner among the Democrats vying in the primary in August for the right come November to try to topple the colossus of [Florida Gov. RON] DESANTIS, who routinely polls as the most popular GOP presidential candidate not named DONALD TRUMP.

But the race isnt just about Florida: Beyond the high stakes in this cycle, and perhaps the next one, too, this ultra-important race could have yet broader implications. Because the way Crist is running is a bet. That people are exhausted of the nonstop politics of conflict. That what they want really is to dial down the volume and the vitriol. And that almost all Democrats will vote for Crist and almost all Republicans will vote for DeSantis but that enough of the people somewhere in whatevers left of the middle will vote because of this for Crist.

Happy Friday afternoon. The Grammys are this Sunday my personal favorite awards show. Heres the official playlist for your pre-show listening. (Ill be rooting for TAYLOR SWIFT to go back to back on Album of the Year.) Let me know your favorites on email or Twitter.WAR IN UKRAINE

An evacuation effort from the port city of Mariupol was at least partly underway on Friday for civilians trapped for weeks by a Russian siege, according to an adviser to the mayors office, who said buses with civilians had left the city, NYTs Megan Specia and Matthew Mpoke Bigg report. On the military front, Ukrainian helicopters, flying low, crossed into Russian territory early Friday and fired on an oil depot in the city of Belgorod, according to a Russian regional governor. The airstrike, which would be a first for Ukrainian forces since Russias invasion began on Feb. 24, appeared to be an embarrassment for Moscow.

CONGRESS

PULLING THE PORK NYTs Luke Broadwater, Emily Cochrane and Alicia Parlapiano dig into the deets on the nearly 5,000 earmarks that made their way into last months $1.5 trillion government spending bill. Overall, Democrats brought home considerably more money for their states than Republicans, some of whom boycotted the process. Democrats secured more than $5 billion for their states, compared with less than $3.4 billion for Republicans. Just over $600 million of earmarks were bipartisan, secured by lawmakers in both parties.

The states that received the most money California, Alabama, New York, South Carolina and Missouri were either large and well-populated or had influential senators in leadership or on the committee that oversees spending.

POLICY CORNER

LEFT BY THE WAYSIDE With surging gas prices and a stalled-out agenda in Congress, Biden is facing a harsh reality that his climate goals may be on the back burner now. Even Mr. Bidens top aides and closest allies now concede that the legislative centerpiece of his climate plan is unlikely to become law in the face of steadfast Republican opposition. And regulations that are now under development strict limits on the pollution from cars and power plants that is dangerously heating the planet could be curtailed or blocked by the conservative majority on the Supreme Court, writes NYTs Coral Davenport.

ALL POLITICS

WAKING UP IN VEGAS NYTs Jennifer Medina and Reid Epstein have the download on Dems growing concerns in Nevada (featuring perhaps our favorite headline of the day: Democrats Worry That What Happens in Nevada Wont Stay in Nevada). Democrats have long relied on working-class and Latino voters to win Nevada, but the loyalty of both groups is now in question. Young voters who fueled Senator BERNIE SANDERS biggest victory in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary remain skeptical about President Biden. And Senator CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, a Nevada Democrat and the countrys first Latina senator, is one of the partys most endangered incumbents.

She must overcome the presidents sagging approval ratings, dissatisfaction with the economy and her own relative anonymity. And she lacks the popularity and deep ties with Latino voters that Senator HARRY M. REID, who died in December, harnessed to help build the states powerful Democratic machine. The state has long been a symbol of the Democratic Partys future by relying on a racially diverse coalition to win elections, but those past gains are now at risk.

Specifically of concern for Cortez Masto: Despite five years in the Senate and eight years as Nevadas attorney general, Ms. Cortez Masto remains unknown by a broad swath of the Nevada electorate, as a result of her longtime aversion to publicity, cautious political demeanor and Nevadas transient voters.

And a staggering statistic: Almost half the voters on Nevadas rolls have registered since Ms. Cortez Masto was last on the ballot in 2016, according to an analysis by TargetSmart, a Democratic data firm.

JAN. 6 AND ITS AFTERMATH

UPPING THE ANTE D.C. A.G. KARL RACINE is ratcheting up his lawsuit against members of the Jan. 6, 2021 mob. Racine this morning announced that he was adding six new high-profile figures to the districts lawsuit, which already featured more than 30 defendants connected to the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, Kyle Cheney writes.

THE PANDEMIC

HEADS UP Global health organizations are considering changing their Covid-19 vaccination pledges a move that could leave millions of people without first shots as countries reprioritize at-risk groups in the coming months, according to four people familiar with the matter, Daniel Payne and Erin Banco report.

BEYOND THE BELTWAY

FUNNELING THE FUNDING Congress is stumbling to get a new round of pandemic aid unstuck from the bottom of its collective shoe. But, meanwhile, some states are awash with federal funds that they are still figuring out how to spend. Since the outset of the pandemic, the Trump and Biden administrations have injected $5 trillion into the American economy, including the rescue plan. With midterm elections approaching, the gush of federal stimulus spending will draw even greater scrutiny as Republicans accuse Democrats of wasting funds and fueling inflation, and demand a precise accounting of how the money has been spent, NYTs Sheryl Gay Stolberg reports from Frankfort, Ky.

ABORTION FILES More American voters favor the idea of a 15-week abortion ban than oppose it, according to the latest Wall Street Journal poll, as the Supreme Court prepares to issue a ruling that could alter the nations abortion landscape, WSJs Catherine Lucey writes. With lawmakers in several states pushing forward with bills that would ban abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, 48% of voters said they would strongly or somewhat favor such restrictions, with exemptions to protect the life of the mother, while 43% were in opposition. At the same time, the survey found a majority of voters say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, underscoring the complicated views many Americans hold on the issue.

APPLE ENTERS THE RING FOR LGBTQ RIGHTS Apple is quietly mobilizing its vast resources to lobby against anti-LGBTQ legislation proliferating across the country an unusual push by one of the worlds most valuable companies into a consequential political debate, Emily Birnbaum reports. The company, whose CEO, TIM COOK, is the nations most visible gay executive, has deployed its lobbyists to oppose legislation that limits protections for trans and gay people or their families in Iowa, Florida, Texas and at least six other states.

AMERICA AND THE WORLD

FOR YOUR RADAR The Biden administration this morning secured the release of SAFI RAUF, 27, an Afghan-American Naval reservist who was doing humanitarian work in Kabul and who had been in captivity under the Taliban since December, CNNs Jake Tapper reports.

NOKOS NO-NO The U.S. leveled sanctions on five North Korean entities Friday in response to two ballistic missile tests the reclusive Asian country conducted in February and March, APs Fatima Hussein reports.

PLAYBOOKERS

CONSERVATIVES FOREIGN POLICY CONFAB On Thursday, the American Conservative and American Moment hosted Up from Chaos: Conserving American Security, a foreign policy conference at the Marriott Marquis with about 200 attendees. Delivering keynote addresses were: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Dan Bishop (R-N.C.) and Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.), J.D. Vance, Joe Kent and David Sacks.

Vance, the Ohio GOP Senate candidate who as recently as Thursday stated his opposition to elevating the war in Ukraine over immigration in an op-ed for the Columbus Dispatch, said this: Foreign policy is uniquely dangerous. Its kind of OK to be on the wrong side of the consensus on trade, on immigration, but if you are on the wrong side of the foreign policy consensus, it is amazing how much this town will push back on you.

Former Trump OMB Director Russ Vought also participated in a panel, and had some harsh words for the former presidents national security advisers: It was a process preoccupied with tinkering and not zooming out to ask the paradigm-shifting questions, such as why are we still in Afghanistan? Shouldnt we prioritize China over everything else? It is a system that assumes a president that asks these questions is wrong or does not mean what he says.

SPOTTED at a birthday party for Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) hosted by Bono and ONE Campaign at Seven Reasons on Thursday night: Marcelle Leahy, Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), Gayle Smith, Tom Hart,Andrea Mitchell, J.P Dowd, Alicia Leahy and Lawrence Jackson. Pic

WELCOME TO THE WORLD Anne Filipic, assistant to the president and director of management and administration of the White House, and Carlos Monje, undersecretary of Transportation for policy, recently welcomed Louisa Pilar Monje, who came in at 8 lbs, 6 oz and 20.5 inches. Louisa, which means renowned warrior in Latin, joins big brothers Sebastian and Leo.

BONUS BIRTHDAY: The Spectators Matt Purple

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this Playbook PM misstated the co-author of a POLITICO article about global vaccination pledges. It was Erin Banco.

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POLITICO Playbook PM: What the March jobs report means for Biden- POLITICO - POLITICO