Monday, April 25

· President Joe Biden appointed career diplomat Bridget Brink as ambassador to Ukraine. Brink is currently serving as ambassador to Slovakia.

· Cuba’s foreign minister Bruno Rodriguez accused the United States of seeking to exclude Cuba from the Ninth Summit of the Americas, a regional summit that brings together the leaders of countries in the Organization of American States and meets in June in Los Angeles. “There is no justification for excluding Cuba or any other country from this event that we have attended the last two editions,” Rodriguez said.

· Russia warned the U.S. against sending more weapons to Ukraine and said the delivery of arms supplies is “pouring oil on the flames.” The U.S. has provided about $6.4 billion in military assistance to Ukraine since 2014; $3.7 billion of which was allotted in the last two months.

· The Commission on International Religious Freedom released it annual report on the state of religious freedom worldwide, in which it accused India of “engaging in and tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom” last year. The panel urged the State Department for targeted sanctions against the country over these alleged abuses.

Tuesday, April 26

· Vice President Kamala Harris tested positive for COVID-19, the latest top federal official to contract the coronavirus. Spokeswoman Kirsten Allen said, “She has exhibited no symptoms, will isolate and continue to work from the vice president’s residence.”

· Biden granted the first three pardons of his presidency: Abraham Bolden Sr., a Kennedy-era Secret Service agent who was convicted of federal bribery charges yet maintained that he was set up for speaking out against racism in the Secret Service; Betty Jo Bogans, who was convicted in 1998 of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine in Texas after attempting to transport drugs for her boyfriend and his accomplice; and Dexter Jackson, who was convicted in 2002 for marijuana trafficking. Biden also commuted the sentences of 75 others for non-violent, drug-related convictions.

· Secretary of State Antony Blinken testified before the Senate, during which he defended efforts to revive the Iran nuclear agreement against congressional criticism.

Wednesday, April 27

· The Chinese military accused the U.S. of undermining regional peace and security when it sent a naval destroyer through the Strait of Taiwan as part of a routine freedom of navigation exercise. The People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command referred to the exercise as “provocative” and that it sends the “wrong signals to ‘Taiwan independence’ forces.”

· Twelve House members signed a letter urging the Biden administration to pressure Tunisian President Kais Saied to stop what they describe as the North African country’s “democratic backsliding” and recommended conditioning parts of the U.S.’s security assistance package to Tunis. “President Kais Saied’s power grab since July 25, 2021 threatens to derail this democratic transition and could usher in another dictatorship in the region or a period of increased unrest and instability,” the letter read.

Thursday, April 28

· The House unanimously passed legislation calling on the State Department to submit a plan to help Taiwan regain its observer status at the World Health Organization. Taiwan is excluded from most global organizations due to objections from China, which claims the island nation as its own territory.

· Biden asked Congress for $33 billion to support Ukraine, saying that the massive sum is a “small price to pay” to defeat Russia and reduce the possibility of future conflict. Biden also requested new powers from Congress to seize and repurpose Russian oligarchs’ assets as part of the larger funding proposal.

· Progressive members of the House and Senate introduced two bills, respectively dubbed the Department of Defense Civilian Harm Transparency Act and the Protection of Civilians in Military Operations Act, aimed at preventing civilian harm during U.S. military operations and increasing transparency around such incidents. “We cannot continue to accept the deaths of innocent civilians as an unavoidable cost of war,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said in a statement.

· The Food and Drug Administration issued a proposal to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars. The plan still needs to be finalized and could take years to implement.

· By overwhelming majority, Congress passed the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022 — legislation that will make it easier to export military equipment to Ukraine.

Friday, April 29

· A federal judge sentenced Alexanda Kotey, a British-born former member of the ISIS cell known as “the Beatles,” to life in prison, months after the defendant pleaded guilty to several counts of lethal hostage-taking and other charges.

· Biden held a phone call with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador while the U.S. prepared to deal with a surge in migration at the southern border triggered by the lifting of a COVID-era immigration restriction. The White House said the call included a “plan to discuss cooperation on migration, joint development efforts in Central America, competitiveness and economic growth, security, energy, and economic cooperation.”

· The Defense Department accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of “brutality” and “depravity” in his country’s invasion of Ukraine. “It’s hard to look at what he’s doing in Ukraine,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said. “... I don’t think we fully appreciated the degree to which he would visit that kind of violence and cruelty and, as I said, depravity, on innocent people, on non-combatants, on civilians, with such utter disregard for the lives he was taking.”

· The FDA announced that it would set June 8 as the earliest date to present data to its advisors for a recommendation on whether to authorize a coronavirus vaccine for children under five.

Saturday, April 30

· No news to report.

Sunday, May 1

· House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Cali.) led a congressional delegation to Kyiv to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a show of support for the fight against Russia. This makes Pelosi the highest-ranking American leader to visit Ukraine since the start of the war.

· Biden headlined the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, the first time a president attended the annual dinner since former President Donald Trump refused in protest in 2016 and the first time the dinner was held at all since 2019.