Biden administration chooses caution after earlier setbacks

WASHINGTON — If it’s Wednesday ... Biden administration prepares another military aid package for Ukraine as President Biden meets with top Defense and military officials at the White House. ... The Justice Department punts appeal of mask ruling to the CDC. ... Biden says it’s “up to” individual Americans if they continue wearing masks on planes. ... The Tennessee GOP boots Trump-backed Morgan Ortagus off of ballot in the Fifth District. ... And it’s 4/20.

But first: President Biden and his team made two risky decisions last summer — declaring independence from the coronavirus (or close to it), and sticking to the withdrawal timetable in Afghanistan.

Both of those decisions left a mark, and the administration since then has been reluctant to take risks.

Just look at the paralysis about what to do about that Trump-appointed federal judge overturning its mask mandate.

“The Biden administration remains at a loss in responding to a federal judge’s ruling striking down the pandemic mask requirement for plane and rail travel, with the White House and various agencies struggling to devise and coordinate a legal strategy more than a day later,” per Bloomberg News.

Or the second-guessing over Title 42.

“President Biden's inner circle has been discussing delaying the repeal of Title 42 border restrictions, now set to end May 23, according to a source with direct knowledge of the internal discussion,” Axios writes.

Now caution, being risk-averse and being deliberative was one of the reasons why Biden was elected — especially after the Trump presidency.

But have Biden and his team overcorrected?

Especially after what happened last summer?

That’s how much money has been put up in the Ohio GOP Senate race by just three individuals, per NBC’s Henry Gomez.

Politico reported Tuesday that billionaire Peter Thiel is donating $3.5 million to a super PAC to boost author J.D. Vance, who now has Trump’s endorsement, bringing Theil’s total investment in the PAC to $13.5 million. (The group just started running an ad touting the Trump endorsement.)

Businessman Mike Gibbons has spent at least $16.4 million in self-funding his campaign, while state Sen. Matt Dolan has spent just shy of $10.5 million of his own money on his campaign, too.

Other numbers you need to know today:

5,034,439: The number of refugees that have fled Ukraine since Feb. 24, per the latest numbers from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

$111 million: How much Senate candidates in the nine races the Cook Political Report calls competitive spent in the first three months of 2022.

$116 million: That’s at least how much former hedge fund manager and Pennsylvania GOP Senate hopeful David McCormick is worth, per the Philadelphia Inquirer.

80,945,736: The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States, per the most recent data from NBC News and health officials.

994,408: The number of deaths in the United States from the virus so far.

President Biden traveled yesterday to New Hampshire, where he was joined by two Democrats facing tough re-election fights: Sen. Maggie Hassan and Rep. Chris Pappas. Both lawmakers also got shoutouts from the president for their work on the bipartisan infrastructure package, per NBC News’ Mike Memoli.

Their appearances at Biden’s event shows that some vulnerable Democrats may not be skittish about appearing with Biden, even as his approval ratings hit new lows — and especially when they can tout new infrastructure spending.

Elsewhere on the campaign trail:

California Senate: A tech executive is defending his quixotic Senate bid amid allegations it’s a personal vendetta (Dan O’Dowd’s first ad dropped this week, which attacks Tesla over its self-driving cars).

Georgia Senate: In Sen. Raphael Warnock’s new ad, the Democrat tells viewers that he knew he couldn’t “fix Washington” in just one year because he’s not a magician, but touts the work he has done since taking office.

North Carolina Senate: The Club for Growth, which is backing Rep. Ted Budd, is running a new spot where Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson criticizes Budd’s Senate GOP primary rival, former Gov. Pat McCrory, calling him “a nice guy, but he’s no conservative.”

Pennsylvania Senate: Lt. Gov. John Fetterman has a new TV ad up in the Democratic primary responding to attack ads from a super PAC backing Rep. Conor Lamb. In the GOP primary, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is headlining a campaign rally for former hedge fund manager David McCormick.

Vermont Senate: Democratic Rep. Peter Welch is up with his first TV spot of his Senate campaign, touting his work as the state’s at-large congressman. Welch’s campaign reserved $69,000 worth of airtime, per AdImpact.

Florida Governor: Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has asked lawmakers to rescind a special carve-out for Disney that shields it from certain regulations and taxes amid conservatives’ anger at the company. Meanwhile, Democratic Agriculture Commissioner and gubernatorial hopeful Nikki Freid is suing the federal government over a statute that bans marijuana users from owning firearms or getting concealed-carry permits.

Maryland Governor: The family of the incarcerated man that Maryland Democrat Wes Moore partially based his best-selling book off is accusing the Democrat of exploiting their relative’s life story.

Nebraska Governor: Republican Charles Herbster, who was accused of groping by eight women, will speak at Trump’s April 29 rally in Nebraska.

Michigan 11: The Democratic primary between Reps. Haley Stevens and Andy Levin has become a proxy war for the party’s ideological divides, particularly on Israel, NBC News’ Jonathan Allen reports from the 11th District.

Tennessee 05: The Tennessee GOP kicked former State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus and two other candidates off the primary ballot for failing to vote in three recent GOP primaries and actively participating in the state or local parties. Ortagus, who has Trump’s endorsement in the 5th District race, said her team “is evaluating the options before us,” NBC News’ Allan Smith reports.

A new ad by the People Who Play By The Rules PAC is attacking former Aurora, Ill., Mayor Richard Irvin in the GOP primary for governor from the right.

The ad attacks Irvin, who is Black, over his past comments about Black Lives Matter. “Black Lives Matter promotes looting our cities, defunding the police and deconstructing the nuclear family,” a narrator in the ad alleges. “After Black Lives Matter riots destroyed cities and lives, Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin bragged he's a strong and passionate supporter of Black Lives Matter,” the narrator adds.

Irvin, a former prosecutor and Army veteran, has sought to portray himself as strong on crime, and in a recent ad, told viewers: “Defund the police? Ludicrous. All lives matter, it's not about color. Every family deserves to be safe.”

The PAC responsible for the ad is funded primarily by Richard Uihlein, the CEO at Uline, a shipping supplies company headquartered in the Midwest. Uihlein and his wife are major donors to Republican groups and candidates, recently giving $1 million to the campaign of Irvin’s primary opponent, Darren Bailey.

On Irvin’s side is billionaire Ken Griffin, the founder and CEO of Citadel, an investment firm. He donated $20 million to Irvin’s campaign, saying at the time, “Richard Irvin is self-made, and his life story epitomizes the American Dream.”

Gun safety activists are disappointed with Democrats, who they say have done little to address gun violence since taking power in Washington.

Politico reports that the Democratic Party is considering banning consultants they work with from engaging in any anti-union activity.

The New York Times examines Democratic candidates for federal office who are drawing in lots of national attention and big fundraising totals, but have little chance of actually getting elected.

And the Wall Street Journal does a deep dive into the U.S-Saudi relationship being at “its lowest point in decades.”