One step closer to funding the government

The House bets on a spending bill and billions in aid to Ukraine; the US tries to mend fences with Venezuela, Iran, and Saudi Arabia in a quest for oil.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Ellen Ioanes.

House passes $1.5 trillion spending bill

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

• The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a $1.5 trillion omnibus spending bill that would fund the government through the fiscal year, which ends September 30. It now heads to the Senate. [CNN / Katie Lobosco and Tami Luhby]
• The bill’s progress comes after multiple continuing resolutions — stopgap measures to fund government agencies at the previous year’s levels — as legislators failed to reach an agreement regarding new funding levels. [Vox / Ellen Ioanes]
• Likely behind the timely action: a provision to send $13.6 billion in emergency aid to Ukraine, both to provide military aid in the nation’s continuing efforts to fight off a Russian invasion, and to provide humanitarian assistance. The House also voted in favor of a ban on Russian fuel imports Wednesday. [Reuters / Richard Cowan and Makini Brice]
• What got left out, at least for now: billions in Covid-19 aid for vaccines and treatments. Some Democrats had objected to much of that money coming from unused state aid, a condition Republicans had insisted on. [CQ Roll Call / Laura Weiss, David Lerman, Lindsey McPherson, and Paul M. Krawzak]
• The House of Representatives also passed a four-day stopgap measure on Wednesday to keep the government solvent through March 15. The extension would give lawmakers time to go through the 2,700-page bill without risking a partial shutdown; a previous continuing resolution expires midnight Friday. [WSJ / Natalie Andrews, Siobhan Hughes, and Eliza Collins]

US hunt for oil heads to Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Venezuela

• The US is trying to navigate relationships with Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela as the fallout from a ban on Russian fuel products looms. With gas prices already high due to inflation, the Biden administration is looking to unlikely sources to try and offset further price increases, particularly for allies in Europe dependent on Russian fuel. [AP / Ellen Knickmeyer and Cathy Bussewitz]
• A State Department special envoy for energy affairs traveled to Saudi Arabia last month to speak with the regime, though the relationship between Riyadh and Washington has been strained. Envoys went to Venezuela this past weekend to discuss the possibility of selling Venezuelan fuel on the global market, and a new Iran nuclear deal could open the door to more exports through Tehran. [CNN / Kevin Liptak, Phil Mattingly, Natasha Bertrand, MJ Lee, and Kylie Atwood]
• The Venezuela visit may have had additional motives; it’s Russia’s closest Latin American ally, and the Biden administration may be interested in putting a wedge between the two nations. But the move brought an outcry from Sen. Marco Rubio (R-F) and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Bob Menendez (D-NJ), who called Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro “a cancer to our hemisphere.” [The Hill / Rafael Bernal and Brett Samuels]
• US diplomats have also reached out to Libya and the United Arab Emirates, both nations with sketchy human rights records, to discuss global oil supplies. An earlier effort to pressure OPEC, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, was not fruitful; OPEC and the Saudi regime have in recent years allied with Russia in a new production deal. [WSJ / Timothy Puko, Alex Leary, and Vipal Monga]

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy says Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Paul Gosar (R-AZ) could return to their committee assignments if Republicans win back the House majority after the midterm elections, despite their attendance at a conference put on by white nationalists. [The Hill / Cristina Marcos]

• High-level talks between Russia and Ukraine have again failed to stop Russian hostilities; the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has recorded more than 1,500 civilian casualties, including 549 killed since the invasion began February 24. [NBC]
• The White House warned on Wednesday that Russia could use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine. [AP / Zeke Miller]
• The UK has sanctioned Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich because of his  “preferential treatment and concessions from [Russian President Vladimir] Putin.” [WSJ / Max Colchester] 

“Now that Russia has made these false claims, and China has seemingly endorsed this propaganda, we should all be on the lookout for Russia to possibly use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine, or to create a false-flag operation using them. It’s a clear pattern.”

[White House press secretary Jen Psaki, rebutting Russia's claims that the US and Ukraine were working on chemical and biological weapons and warning of a potential Russian chemical or biological attack.]

From piano-playing comedian to president of Ukraine: These 8 moments capture Volodomyr Zelenskyy's unexpected rise to the global stage. [YouTube]

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