This is the online version of From the Politics Desk, a daily newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.
In today’s edition, Kristen Welker lays out the stakes for President Donald Trump amid the ongoing talks to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. Plus, Ben Kamisar digs into the fallout from last night’s still-uncalled special election in New Jersey.
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— Adam Wollner
Trump's persistent foreign policy challenge
Analysis by Kristen Welker
The second round of trilateral peace talks this week among Russia, Ukraine and the United States underscore an ongoing challenge for President Donald Trump’s administration as it tries to broker a deal to end the war.
This month marks four years since Russia invaded Ukraine, and bringing an end to the conflict was one of Trump’s signature foreign policy promises. He initially said he could end the war on “Day One,” but has since acknowledged that brokering peace has been complicated.
This week, special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner met with Ukrainian and Russian officials in Abu Dhabi. In a post on X, Witkoff described the two days of talks as “constructive and focused on how to create the conditions for a durable peace.” Witkoff noted the two sides had agreed to release 157 prisoners of war each and open a new line of communication.
Witkoff also said the delegations “had wide-ranging discussions on the remaining open issues including methods to implement a ceasefire and monitor the cessation of military activities,” and that trilateral talks would continue in the coming weeks.
The talks are a major test for Witkoff and Kushner, as well as for Trump, as he aims to achieve one of his main foreign policy goals.
The president, for his part, sounded optimistic about the discussions when he addressed reporters on Monday, saying, “I think we’re doing very well with Ukraine and Russia. For the first time, I’m saying that. You know, we’re doing, I think we’re going to maybe have some good news.”
“I thought my relationship with President [Vladimir] Putin would give us a, you know, much easier road,” Trump later added. “But there’s tremendous hatred between [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy and Putin, tremendous hatred. I mean, it’s a shame, but it’s taken longer than we thought.”
Ukraine’s allies are putting the blame for the ongoing war squarely on Putin, as Russia attacked Ukraine’s power grid this week, depriving citizens of heat amid frigid temperatures.
“We all know why we don’t have the peace deal ‘til now. That’s because Putin doesn’t want it,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys told me this week on “Meet the Press NOW.” “He exploits the situation he’s playing with our time, delaying all the decisions and also extending the efforts of [the] United States.”
“In this line of course, we see what is happening with the big expectations that finally, there will be the breakthrough,” Budrys said. “But it’s not Ukraine that we have to break through all of it. That’s Russia and seeing now how they are targeting the civilian infrastructure, energy infrastructure, that is the war crime that they are committing right now.”
How a pro-Israel super PAC made a losing bet in New Jersey
By Ben Kamisar
The Democratic primary in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District remains too close to call, but one thing is certain after yesterday’s special election: the massive spending by a prominent pro-Israel PAC backfired.
The United Democracy Project, a super PAC that’s received tens of millions of dollars from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and has spent heavily in Democratic primaries over the years, spent more than $2 million to cut down former Rep. Tom Malinowski. He is narrowly trailing progressive activist Analilia Mejia in the special Democratic primary with more votes still left to count.
Whether it’s Malinowski or Mejia, who has been critical of Israel’s conduct in its war against Hamas in Gaza, one of them is likely to be the district’s next member of Congress, in a significant political blow to those pro-Israel groups.
Malinowski, who served two terms in Congress after a swing-seat victory in the 2018 election, jumped into the crowded race as a favorite. But the party establishment was fractured — Malinowski had the backing of Sen. Andy Kim, but former Gov. Phil Murphy and other prominent party leaders endorsed Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, while others backed former Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way.
Meanwhile, Mejia seized the progressive lane, backed by national leaders like Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as well as local progressive figures like Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and the Working Families Party.
Malinowski was largely seen as a supporter of Israel during his time in Congress, but United Democracy Project told media outlets it was targeting him because he had spoken of conditioning aid to Israel.
The group’s ads didn’t discuss Israel at all, instead criticizing Malinowski for approving funding to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency as part of a bipartisan budget deal during President Donald Trump’s first term. UDP also cast him as corrupt for “cashing in on COVID-related stocks while in Congress” during the pandemic.
The ads may have hurt Malinowski, but may have also had the unintended effect of further fracturing the establishment vote — with Mejia lying in wait.
“As good a race as Analilia ran, as good a candidate as Analilia is, let me be clear: AIPAC created this race for themselves,” said a longtime New Jersey Democratic strategist who was not involved in the special election and requested anonymity to speak candidly. “In a way only they can, they spent millions of dollars beating back a moderate Democrat to get themselves a progressive that is totally outside the frame that they would like.”
Patrick Dorton, a UDP spokesperson, brushed aside the New Jersey loss in a statement, calling the result “an anticipated possibility” and teasing more involvement to come in the regular primary for this seat in June.
“Our focus remains on who will serve the next full term in Congress. UDP will be closely monitoring dozens of primary races, including the June NJ-11 primary, to help ensure pro-Israel candidates are elected to Congress,” he said.
➡️ Related read: Democratic primary season kicks off with an anti-establishment earthquake, by Steve Kornacki
🗞️ Today's other top stories
- 📱Page not found: Trump removed a racist video he posted to social media last night that depicted Barack and Michelle Obama as apes. The White House initially defended the post before blaming it on a staffer. Read more →
- ⛔ Shutdown watch: Congress is struggling to make progress in negotiations to avoid a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security next week. Read more →
- 📝 Epstein saga: Members of Congress will be able to begin reviewing the unredacted version of the Justice Department’s files on Jeffrey Epstein on Monday morning. Read more →
- 📸 Smile, you’re on camera: Federal immigration agents flooding U.S. streets are using a new surveillance tool kit whose increasing use on observers and bystanders is alarming civil liberties advocates, lawmakers and activists. Read more →
- 🔎 I spy: Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s office says it obtained and examined electronic voting machines in Puerto Rico last year to look for possible security vulnerabilities. Read more →
- 🗳️ Vote watch: The FBI invited state election officials to an “unusual and unexpected” meeting to discuss “preparations” for the midterm elections. Read more →
- ➡️ Another strike: The U.S. struck another alleged drug boat in the eastern Pacific yesterday, killing two people. Read more →
- 💊 TrumpRx: Trump’s new self-pay prescription drug website launched yesterday, offering discounted cash prices on 43 brand-name medications. Read more →
- 💲 IRS lawsuit: Trump’s $10 billion suit against his own government seems a surefire path to a payout. But as Peter Nicholas explains, there are a number of ways it could go sideways. Read more →
- 🚆 What’s in a name?: The Trump administration asked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for the Washington region’s Dulles International Airport and New York City’s Penn Station to be named after the president in exchange for releasing the federal funds required to build a long-delayed tunnel between New York and New Jersey. Read more →
That’s all From the Politics Desk for now. Today’s newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner and Owen Auston-Babcock.
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