Politico

Attorneys for The Washington Post have been deposing ex-aides to Devin Nunes as the newspaper fends off the former GOP lawmaker’s libel suit connected to an unusual trip Nunes made to the Trump White House in 2017.

At a court hearing on Wednesday, a lawyer for the newspaper indicated that it had subpoenaed and spoken with several staffers in pursuit of new details about Nunes’ March 21, 2017, visit to the White House to review classified intelligence, as well as his decision to travel to the White House the next day and brief then-President Donald Trump.

Among those the attorneys have deposed: Michael Ellis, a former Nunes aide on the House Intelligence Committee, who later worked in the Trump White House, and Jennifer Morrow, Nunes’ longtime scheduler.

In late 2020, Nunes sued The Post. He alleges in his complaint that a Post story published earlier that year — that labeled Nunes’ visit to the White House a “midnight run” aimed at buttressing Trump’s baseless claims that he had his “wires tapped” while he was a candidate for president — was erroneous and intended to imply nefariousness. The Post report came amid escalating probes related to the Trump campaign’s contacts with Russia, and as Trump attacked intelligence agencies pursuing the matter.

After the story was published, The Post added a correction to the top of it, noting that Nunes had stated he did not believe the wiretapping claims and that his visit to the White House “took place during daylight hours.”

The litigation is one of a flurry of lawsuits Nunes filed against news outlets, and Post attorneys have accused him in court of wielding the litigation for political and fundraising purposes. They have told the judge in their case that they are seeking evidence from Nunes and his aides about both the circumstances of the 2017 White House trip, which could help prove the accuracy of the paper’s reporting, as well as evidence about how Nunes has sought to benefit from the litigation.

Among the evidence The Post has obtained is an official visitor log showing that Nunes arrived at the White House at 5:30 p.m. on March 21. Nunes estimates he remained for about 90 minutes before attending a Republican Party function and then an afterparty with constituents and a House colleague at the time, former Rep. George Holding (R-N.C.)

But during the nearly two-hour hearing on Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Carl Nichols chided Nunes and his attorney, Steven Biss, for what he described as incomplete responses to The Post’s demands for information about the 2017 White House trip. The Post had asked — and Nichols ordered — Nunes to produce a detailed itinerary about his whereabouts and actions on March 21, 2017, and received just three paragraphs in response, omitting key details about where he was and who he was with.

“That’s not a timeline — that could not be more general,” Nichols complained to Biss.

Biss filled in some of those details at Wednesday’s hearing, prompting Nichols to suggest the information should have been turned over to The Post.

“This isn’t about telling me orally what you think happened,” said the judge, who is a Trump appointee.

The Post contended that Nunes’ limited production of information about his White House visit defied credulity. He told the paper that only his former spokesman, Jack Langer, had relevant details about that trip and that he never emailed, texted or spoke to any other aides or colleagues about it. Biss indicated that Nunes couldn’t recall precisely how he arranged the visit but believed he coordinated it with Ellis on a “classified” phone line and treated even the logistical details about the visit as classified.

“Everything related to that meeting was classified,” Biss insisted.

But Nichols noted that Nunes discussed the visit publicly the next day. And Post attorney Nicholas Gamse said that Ellis’ own deposition contradicted aspects of that story. Ellis, he said, recalled stepping out of a secure room to reach Nunes on his personal phone, not a classified line. And Ellis told the paper that he might have texted with Nunes about it, as well. Yet Nunes produced no call records or texts in response to the court’s discovery order.

Gamse contended that Nunes’ claim to have so little to produce in response to the court’s order beggared belief. Ellis, he said, also recalled discussing the documents Nunes reviewed with other Nunes staffers on the House Intelligence Committee. And Nunes provided no details about when and how he departed from the White House to attend the GOP function, including whether he traveled with anyone or took a car, for which a receipt might be available.

“We have not gotten a straight answer,” Gamse complained.

Nichols said he intended to rule on The Post’s complaints quickly to keep the case moving forward.

Biss countered The Post’s concerns by suggesting that there simply wasn’t much for Nunes to produce. He didn’t discuss his White House visit with any staffers, never traded emails or texts with them about it, and asked his former aides to check for information, only to hear that they had none, the lawyer said.

Post attorneys, however, said they obtained at least one text message from Nunes’ former deputy chief of staff, Caitlin Shannon, and a detailed itinerary from Morrow, his scheduler, that Nunes hadn’t turned over in the case. The newspaper’s lawyers also raised concerns that some evidence that might have been relevant might have been destroyed when Nunes resigned his congressional seat at the end of 2021 and staffers returned their official devices.

Biss also disclosed on Wednesday that he and Nunes considered filing suit against at least one other news organization over its reporting on the disputed White House visit. The attorney did not identify which other outlet Nunes considered suing.

The Justice Department has taken possession of a “small number” of documents with classified markings that former Vice President Mike Pence found in his Indiana residence earlier this month, according to Greg Jacob, the custodian of Pence’s White House records.

In a Jan. 22 letter to the National Archives, Jacob indicated that FBI agents came to Pence’s Indiana home on the night of Jan. 19 to retrieve documents that the former vice president had located a few days earlier.

“The transfer was facilitated by the Vice President’s personal attorney, who has experience in handling classified documents,” wrote Jacob.

DOJ’s effort to obtain the documents came days after Pence notified the National Archives that he had discovered them at his residence on Jan. 16. Jacob indicated Pence was unaware of the existence of the documents and had enlisted an outside counsel after press reports of the discovery of documents at President Joe Biden’s own personal residence.

The sensitivity of the newly discovered documents is unclear. In his first letter to the Archives, Jacob indicated that Pence’s counsel did not review them “once an indicator of potential classification was identified.”

Pence’s revelation threatens to upend the political landscape on both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue. The Biden White House has similarly turned over classified documents to the National Archives that were found in the president’s personal home and an office he used following his stint as vice president. But it has endured withering criticism, including from fellow Democrats, over the existence of those items. And House Republicans have already begun the process of investigating why classified items were discovered in both Wilmington, Del., and the Penn-Biden Center in Washington, D.C.

Revelations that such mistakes are widespread provided Democrats with a sense of inoculation. It also gave them a talking point to contrast Biden’s situation with that of Donald Trump’s, who also had classified documents on his personal property but refused to turn all them over when asked.

“This discovery by Pence’s attorney is a very interesting reinforcement of the contrast between how Biden & Pence are properly cooperating and returning documents versus Trump stealing them, hiding them, and obstructing justice into their return,” said David Brock, president of the Biden-allied group Facts First USA.

The chair of the House Oversight Committee, Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), showed no immediate indication that he would back off his investigations in the aftermath of the Pence revelations.

“Former Vice President Mike Pence reached out today about classified documents found at his home in Indiana,” Comer said. “He has agreed to fully cooperate with congressional oversight and any questions we have about the matter. Former Vice President Pence’s transparency stands in stark contrast to Biden White House staff who continue to withhold information from Congress and the American people.”

The Biden White House declined to discuss the matter citing a policy of not commenting on ongoing investigations. And Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), the chair of the House Intelligence Committee, said he planned to “ask for the same intelligence review and damage assessment” that he had requested regarding Biden, “to see if there are any national security concerns.”

The discovery by Pence nevertheless underscores the haphazard process taken by senior officials in departing presidential administrations. And it left other lawmakers on the Hill befuddled.

“I would have thought over a year ago that the beginnings of this conversation between the archives and President Trump, that anyone who served in any of these roles as president and vice president that are still living would say: Go check your closets,” said Senate Intel Chair Mark Warner (D-Va.).

A request for comment made to Pence’s aides was not returned. Pence had previously said that he had not brought classified documents home with him after leaving the vice presidency.

In the Jan. 22 letter to the Archives, Jacob indicated that before DOJ intervened, Pence had been prepared to return four boxes of materials to the Archives for review. He noted that some of the records, while not classified, were likely to include “courtesy copies” of White House records from his tenure in office.

“I expressed to you my expectation that the substantial majority of the documents in the four boxes would, upon examination, be found to be personal copies of other records that were previously transmitted to the Archives,” Jacob noted.

Jacob indicated he intended to transport the boxes, absent the classified records recovered by DOJ, to the Archives on Jan. 23

“The boxes were sealed at the Vice President’s residence in Indiana, following a final review by the Vice President’s personal attorney during which attorney-client privileged materials related to personal capacity attorneys, and Article I legislative branch materials, were placed in sealed and clearly labeled envelopes,” he wrote.

“All of the documents within the boxes, and within the sealed envelopes, remain in the exact place and order in which they were discovered on January 16. The Vice President is not waiving any privileges pertaining to the clearly labeled materials.”

Jordain Carney and Burgess Everett contributed reporting.

When Joe Biden won the presidency, he promised that his first priority would be to end the Covid crisis responsible at the time for more than 3,000 deaths a day.

He then turned to Jeff Zients to make that pledge come true.

A longtime corporate executive, Zients had no public health experience and little in the way of expertise in fighting pandemics. But during more than a year as the White House’s Covid response czar, he led a sweeping governmental effort to rein in the virus, spearheaded a complex national campaign to vaccinate the vast majority of the nation, and ultimately charted a path for the nation out of a once-in-a-century health emergency.

It set Zients, who won internal praise for his managerial prowess, on course for his next high-profile job as Biden’s newest chief of staff.

As Biden’s top aide, Zients will now be expected to bring his logistical and organizational expertise to a West Wing facing another inflection point. As the president prepares for a likely reelection bid, he is also under intensifying scrutiny over his handling of classified documents. Republicans in control of the House are vowing a series of investigations, while the administration is trying to navigate an increasingly delicate set of economic dilemmas.

Zients’ appointment is also likely to magnify yet another inconvenient reality: That despite his extensive work to get Covid under control, the virus continues to spread and kill thousands of Americans each week.

His critics contend that the Covid team under his leadership did too little to limit the virus’ spread, prioritizing economic concerns like quickly reopening businesses ahead of the public health steps needed to give the U.S. a shot at eradicating the disease.

“Obviously, it’s pretty disappointing,” Jeff Hauser, director of the Revolving Door Project and a chief critic of Zients’ past as an investor in various health care corporations, said of his selection as chief of staff.

Detractors also charge that Zients allowed the administration to grow overconfident and complacent at critical junctures, allowing Covid to bounce back and deepening Americans’ distrust of the federal response.

But Zients also has plenty of supporters, public and private, who stress that he is a uniquely talented internal operator capable of solving the government’s toughest challenges, even if he lacks the lengthy political experience. They point to his leadership of the Covid response as evidence of it.

“Getting the right decision made and getting it made quickly, that was a hallmark,” Andy Slavitt, a former senior adviser for Biden’s Covid response, said in his praise of Zients’ communication and execution skills. “It’s the unsexy stuff, but he thrives at that.”

A former Obama administration official, Zients built a reputation in Democratic circles as the go-to Mr. Fix-It after turning around the HealthCare.gov website following its botched launch in 2013. He would go on to stints running the National Economic Council and Office of Management and Budget, developing a close relationship with Biden in the process.

Biden appointed him to run the Covid response shortly after winning the 2020 election, charging Zients with orchestrating a sprawling response that cut across several federal departments.

Zients led the development of a step-by-step process for tackling the pandemic, producing a nearly 100-page National Covid-19 Preparedness Plan in the administration’s first days.

The Covid team scored a string of initial successes, accelerating the manufacturing of vaccines that had only begun to roll out months earlier and securing enough shots for every American.

The resulting national vaccination campaign represented one of the largest public health mobilizations in decades — an undertaking that eventually hit its goal of vaccinating more than two-thirds of adults by that summer.

The widespread rollout won extensive praise and appeared at the time to put the U.S. on track to stamp out the virus. Instead, it set up Zients and his White House team for a setback that would dent the nation’s confidence in the Covid response.

Shortly after Biden declared the pandemic in retreat at a July Fourth celebration, the Delta variant drove a fresh outbreak of cases — catching Zients’ team off guard and prompting a scramble to reorient a response effort that officials had believed they’d soon be able to wind down.

The outbreak contributed to falling approval ratings for Biden, and ratcheted up partisan opposition to the Covid response that would prove among the biggest obstacles to managing the pandemic threat. And while administration officials praised Zients’ calm management of the response to Delta, the administration took increasing heat from outside health experts over the perception it had no immediate plan to bring the virus back under control. That criticism intensified a few months later, when another Covid wave caught the White House unprepared to manage rising demand for tests.

The resurgence raised a fresh round of questions about Zients’ leadership, and whether he was exercising too much control over decision making that Biden had once vowed repeatedly would be guided by science and the opinions of his public health experts.

But even as he maintained influence, Zients also largely escaped the scrutiny that other top health officials like Anthony Fauci, Biden’s former chief medical adviser, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky received over their roles in the response.

Part of what helped Zients was his leadership style. He remained a low-key presence, rarely appearing on television or making himself the face of major initiatives even as he oversaw nearly every significant decision about the pandemic response. Within the White House, he also cultivated a close relationship with Biden and outgoing chief of staff Ron Klain — while also winning over staff with his ability to deftly manage the levers of government and avert internal conflicts.

By the time Zients announced his departure in March 2022, the virus was on the downswing once again. More importantly, officials said at the time, he had built out the infrastructure for an enduring response reliant on continued access to vaccines, treatments and tests.

That infrastructure is about to be put to the test, as the administration prepares to wind down its emergency response. And as Zients returns to the White House, it’s among the wide array of policy priorities and political imperatives that Biden is entrusting him with once again.

Jeff Zients, who’s developed a reputation as “Mr. Fix-It,” is expected to become President Joe Biden’s next chief of staff after holding a number of high-level positions across the Obama and Biden presidencies.

From a failed attempt to purchase the Washington Nationals to investing in the Call Your Mother bagel shop, here are five things to know about Biden’s next chief of staff.

Zients headed Biden’s Covid task force

Zients served as the White House’s Covid-19 coordinator until he left last April. While Zients is not a scientist, he came to the task force with a range of management experience and was charged with working across government agencies to curtail the coronavirus outbreak.

Zients won internal praise for his management skills and initial success in bringing the pandemic under control.

He was the first chief performance officer in the Office of Management and Budget

In 2009, then-President Barack Obama created a position for Zients in the Office of Management and Budget called chief performance officer. The role required Zients to head an effort to streamline government and cut costs.

Zients invested in Call Your Mother bagels

Zients was known to have invested in D.C.’s popular “Jew-ish” deli Call Your Mother. Zients also acted as “adviser and mentor” for the bagel shop, where a lot of the recipe tasting took place in his home.

He unsuccessfully competed for ownership of the Washington Nationals

In 2005, Zients was part of a group of investors that included Fred Malek and Colin Powell, who tried to buy the Washington Nationals the first time around but lost out to the Lerner family.

He made Fortune magazine’s 40 under 40 list

In 2002, Zients was ranked 25th on Fortune magazine’s list of the 40 richest Americans under age 40. At the time, the magazine estimated his wealth at $149 million, leaving him one place above Julia Roberts and two behind Elon Musk.

President Joe Biden is expected to tap Jeff Zients as his next chief of staff, three people familiar with the decision confirmed Sunday.

A former Obama administration official and close Biden confidant, Zients ran the White House’s Covid response, winning internal praise for his cross-government management skills and initial success in bringing the pandemic under control.

He’s held a number of high-level positions across the Obama and Biden presidencies — experience that allies argue makes him among the most well-prepared Biden advisers for the all-encompassing chief of staff job — but will take over amid a divided government, an increasingly contentious debt ceiling fight and a likely launch of a reelection campaign.

Zients has maintained close ties to departing chief of staff Ron Klain and other senior Biden aides dating back to the Obama administration, when he did stints atop the National Economic Council and Office of Management and Budget. In recent months, Klain had tasked Zients with overseeing a project to prepare for the expected staff transition that typically occurs following the midterms. The move underscored Zients’ status as an administration insider and broadened his familiarity with the staff he’ll soon lead. The president, a person familiar with the decision said, views Zients as a “master implementer.”

But what Zients has in organization acumen he lacks in extensive political experience. He will likely be relied on to manage the day-to-day workings of the White House, allowing other senior advisers to focus more on Biden’s expected reelection campaign, one person familiar with the matter said.

While he’s cultivated a wide array of relationships within Democratic circles, Zients has also been the subject of rising criticism from the party’s progressive wing over his background in management consulting and handling of the pandemic, which has persisted well beyond his exit as Covid czar.

Zients’ selection is also likely to disappoint some Democrats who saw Klain’s exit as a prime opportunity for Biden to appoint a woman or person of color as his top aide.

Ron Klain’s impending departure as President Joe Biden’s chief of staff creates a rare opening at the top echelons of a White House known for its lack of turnover and insularity.

It also sets in motion a classic D.C. parlor game: Who will take Klain’s place?

Here are some potential candidates for Biden’s next chief of staff:

ANITA DUNN

Why she’ll be the choice: Few people in the president’s inner circle can match her experience or have earned his trust in the same way as Dunn has. A former White House communications director under President Barack Obama, Dunn’s specific areas of focus — messaging, politics and campaign management — line up with what the president wants as he begins the second half of his term and a likely reelection bid. Biden’s new reliance on her husband Bob Bauer as his outside counsel amid a classified documents probe only raises Dunn’s centrality to the president. And the opportunity to make history as the first female White House chief of staff could make the opportunity, should it be offered, hard to pass up.

Why she won’t be the choice: Dunn doesn’t need the chief of staff title to have an outsized impact on Biden’s next two years. In fact, overseeing all West Wing personnel and day-to-day operations at the White House would limit her ability to mold Biden’s campaign operation and serve as a key go-between linking the administration and the reelect. If she is viewed as a co-equal of whoever winds up in Klain’s job, she’s better positioned to influence and integrate both operations in her current role.

STEVE RICCHETTI

Why he’ll be the choice: One of Biden’s longest-serving advisers and now a counselor to the president,  Ricchetti expressed interest in the job in 2020 before Klain was picked. He also has experience in the position: he served as chief of staff to Biden when he was vice president. Ricchetti earned the trust of Biden and is often one of the last people with whom the president speaks before making an important decision, and he has been empowered to steer some of the White House’s most significant legislative efforts. Ricchetti, who also worked in Bill Clinton’s White House, has deep ties to many establishment Democrats.

Why he won’t be the choice: Ricchetti has proven valuable in his current role and Biden may not want him shifting jobs. He also would be anything but a fresh voice for the West Wing, since he already has such a significant presence. Choosing him would also create fresh scrutiny on his ties to the lobbying world; in his many years as a lobbyist, his firms contracted with a long list of influential clients, including hospitals, drugmakers and telecom companies. His long Washington career has led to some accusations that he’s a corporate Democrat and no friend to progressives.

JEFF ZIENTS

Why he’ll be the choice: A former Obama administration official and close Biden confidant, Zients ran the White House’s Covid response, winning internal praise for his cross-government management skills and initial success in bringing the pandemic under control. He’s held a number of high-level positions across the Obama and Biden presidencies, giving him a broad understanding of the administration’s inner workings — experience that allies argue makes him among the most well-prepared Biden advisers for the all-encompassing chief of staff job. Zients also maintains close ties to Klain and other senior Biden aides dating back to the Obama administration, when he did stints atop the National Economic Council and Office of Management and Budget.

Why he won’t be the choice: While he’s cultivated a wide array of relationships within Democratic circles, Zients has also been the subject of rising criticism from the party’s progressive wing over his background in management consulting and handling of the pandemic, which has persisted well beyond his exit as Covid czar. He also doesn’t have extensive political experience which may be important for a chief of staff as the president they serve likely run for reelection.

MARTY WALSH

Why he’ll be the choice: Biden and the former mayor of Boston have strong personal ties, which is key to a chief of staff position. The president spoke at Walsh’s 2017 inauguration and both have ties and dedication to the labor movement. Indeed, union issues have brought the two together multiple times over the last two years. Walsh’s role in the negotiations between railroad unions and managers was lauded by Biden as successful and quick; keeping the administration from an embarrassing political moment before the midterms. Throughout the administration, Walsh is well liked and would be considered an approachable chief of staff.

Why he won’t be the choice: Walsh hasn’t been shy that he is interested in finding his way back home to Boston at some point, according to aides around him. His lack of ties to D.C. would make it hard for him to handle the day-to-day relationship building required for the job. And Walsh’s areas of focus — policy and labor — aren’t at the top of the list of requirements for a chief.

SUSAN RICE

Why she’ll be the choice: Rice, the domestic policy czar under Biden and U.N. ambassador under President Barack Obama, has seen her stock rise and portfolio grow in this White House. After a long career in foreign policy and stints in the Obama and Clinton White Houses, Rice has gotten much more experience on domestic policy as director of the Domestic Policy Council, working on issues like student loans and gun reform. Colleagues describe her as a savvy political operative who’s good at managing the White House policy process.

Why she won’t be the choice: She is a newcomer into Biden’s inner circle and doesn’t have a long-standing close relationship with Biden. She remains a bit of a lightning rod from her time in the Obama administration. But, most importantly, she also has told colleagues in recent months that she’s not interested in the job.

TOM VILSACK

Why he’ll be the choice: Vilsack, the current Agriculture Secretary, is a former presidential rival of Biden’s turned fiercely loyal ally. He’s now someone Biden leans on to bridge the divide with rural and conservative communities from his Cabinet perch — a skill set that could come in handy should Biden run for reelection.

Vilsack got behind Biden early in the 2020 race, and stuck by him even after a rough showing in Iowa ahead of the caucuses. He then returned to the administration to serve in the same role he held during Obama’s tenure, as a personal favor to Biden because he asked.

Vilsack has expressed an interest in the chief of staff role, according to a person familiar with the discussions. His allies tout his experience as a mayor and governor of the now bright-red Iowa, and describe other possible chief of staff picks, including Zients and Ricchetti, as “whisperers.”

“There’s a lot happening in the world right now,” said another person close to Biden. “Do you want a whisperer or do you want someone who can govern?”

Why he won’t be the choice: USDA officials have long expected Vilsack to step down before the end of Biden’s tenure. He had a bad back (which is much better after surgery this past year) and grandchildren back in Iowa he’d like to spend more time with. He has strong bipartisan ties, but has less sway in rural communities than he once did. He also spent 90 minutes with senior USDA staff this week talking through plans for upcoming farm bill negotiations, and didn’t give any indication he might leave his post. But rumors about his possible departure grew so hot in recent months that allies of Marcia Fudge, the current secretary of Housing and Urban Development, have put out feelers to USDA officials about her potentially succeeding Vilsack, according to two people familiar with the conversations.

Some progressives and civil rights groups have criticized Vilsack for pushing out a Black USDA official during Obama’s tenure, after right-wing media falsely accused her of being racist. Vilsack and the White House later apologized.

With reporting by Adam Cancryn, Chris Cadelago, Jonathan Lemire, Eli Stokols, Daniel Lippman and Meredith Lee Hill.

President Joe Biden said Friday that he would speak with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy about the debt ceiling, warning that failing to raise the nation’s borrowing limit would be a catastrophic mistake.

“We’re going to have a little discussion on that,” he said at a White House event with city mayors. “If we don’t meet our national debt and renege for the first time, we have a calamity that exceeds anything that’s ever happened financially in the United States.”

Biden did not say when he planned to meet with McCarthy. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said earlier in the day that a date had not yet been set.

But McCarthy shortly afterward tweeted that he had accepted an invitation to meet.

“I accept your invitation to sit down and discuss a responsible debt ceiling increase to address irresponsible government spending,” he wrote. “I look forward to our meeting.”

The development comes a day after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that the U.S. had reached its debt limit and would need to use special measures to avoid a default. Yellen has projected that Congress has until at least June to pass a debt ceiling increase.

Biden officials have insisted that the administration will not negotiate over increasing the debt limit, calling it one of Congress’ basic duties and one that shouldn’t come with any conditions attached. Failing to do so for the first time ever, Democrats and a wide swathe of economists have cautioned, would destroy the nation’s financial credibility and throw the global economy into chaos.

But Republicans have signaled that they plan to force a showdown over the debt ceiling, in a bid to secure a host of deep spending cuts. McCarthy earlier this week urged Biden and Democratic congressional leaders to begin discussions on a potential deal.

On Friday, Biden also said that he would address what he called a “fundamental disagreement” over how to control spending as part of his State of the Union address. The White House has hammered Republicans repeatedly over their suggestions that the government cut funding for Medicare and Social Security as part of a debt ceiling deal.

“Their way to deal with cutting that debt is to cut Social Security, cut Medicaid,” Biden said. “These are the kind of debates that we’re going to have.”

The White House on Friday announced new sanctions against the Wagner Group, Russia’s private military arm, and designated it as a significant transnational criminal organization.

“These actions recognize the transcontinental threat that Wagner poses, including through its ongoing pattern of serious criminal activity,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said at a White House press briefing.

The additional sanctions and new designation come as Wagner, owned by Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, has been working on expanding its military operation in Ukraine by raising funds to acquire new fighters and weapons. Russia has been increasingly relying on the military group amid heavy losses on the ground for its own troops in the country’s war on Ukraine, but the U.S. is seeing indications “that tensions between Wagner and the Russian Ministry of Defense are increasing,” Kirby said. Wagner and Prigozhin have been under U.S. sanctions for years.

The spokesperson added that Wagner “is becoming a rival power center to the Russian military and other Russian ministries,” with an estimated 50,000 personnel deployed to Ukraine, including 10,000 contractors and 40,000 convicts.

Kirby also revealed new imagery of Russian railcars traveling to North Korea and back, in what the U.S. believes was North Korea providing arms and ammunition to the Wagner Group. The arms transfer is in direct violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions, Kirby said, and the U.S. on Friday shared information on these violations with the council’s Democratic People’s Republic of Korea sanctions committee.

“With these actions, and there will be more to come, our message to any company that is considering providing support to Wagner is simply this: Wagner is a criminal organization that is committing widespread atrocities and human rights abuses, and we will work relentlessly to identify, disrupt, expose and target those who are assisting Wagner,” Kirby said.

President Joe Biden said on Thursday that he had no regrets regarding his handling of documents, following the discovery of Obama-era classified materials in multiple private locations associated with Biden.

“I think you’re going to find there’s nothing there. I have no regrets,” Biden said, speaking in Aptos, Calif. “I’m following what the lawyers have told me they want me to do.”

Biden’s administration has been criticized for a perceived lack of transparency since the documents were discovered in the president’s home in Wilmington, Del., and at a think tank associated with him. His lawyers have turned over the documents to the National Archives and the Justice Department.

Biden also addressed the news media’s ongoing interest in the documents, as he answered a reporter’s question following a survey of a community affected by recent extreme weather in California.

“Quite frankly, what bugs me is that we have a serious problem here we’re talking about … and the American people don’t quite understand why you don’t ask me questions about that,” Biden said, referring to his remarks on the storm and climate.

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed former U.S. Attorney Robert Hur last week as special counsel to investigate the storage of the documents.

Members of both parties havedecried what they call a double standard on the media reaction and legal handling of the document discovery, as classified documents were also found in an August FBI search of former President Donald Trump’s Florida estate.

The situations have notable differences: Biden has had fewer sensitive documents discovered than his predecessor, and unlike Trump, he appears to have cooperated with authorities in turning them over.

The White House is preparing to roll out new measures as soon as this month to protect tenants in the wake of post-pandemic price spikes, according to housing advocates and industry lobbyists who have met with administration officials.

The actions — which will come even as rents have started to fall around the country — could include promoting grace periods for late rents and the right to counsel for tenants facing eviction, among other steps, advocates say.

The housing industry, already facing a declining market, has mounted a preemptive counter-push, arguing that state and local regulations on leasing are sufficient and that federal intervention in the market could curtail desperately needed affordable housing investment.

The industry is bracing for “some pretty intense regulation,” said Jerry Howard, CEO of the National Association of Home Builders, whose members include landlords. “They need to be very cautious about what they’re doing,” said Howard, who was one of a handful of industry representatives at a November White House meeting on tenant protections. “There’s a real chance of creating a problem that doesn’t exist.”

With a possible recession looming, the Biden administration will be looking for ways to provide relief to cash-strapped Americans suffering from a higher cost of living. Since the U.S. House is now under Republican control, the kind of sweeping economic legislation enacted during the last two years is off the table.

Democratic lawmakers including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), are leaning on the administration to go big by curbing rent increases at millions of units in properties with government-backed mortgages – a long-shot move the White House is not seriously weighing, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions.

“People can’t afford to live,” said Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), who spearheaded a letter last week with Warren calling on President Joe Biden to issue an executive action limiting rent hikes in properties backed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development or Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-controlled mortgage financiers. “We want to push the president as far as possible to lighten the burden of rent on everyday people.”

Democrats want the administration to enact new restrictions on rent hikes and punish landlords they accuse of price-gouging — “not just principles, not just guidelines, but what can the president do through executive action to lighten the burden on people and put more money in their pockets,” Bowman said in an interview.

The White House declined to comment on the specifics of potential new regulations, pointing to a statement it released last week in response to the letter from Democrats.

“We are exploring a broad set of administrative actions that further our commitment to ensuring a fair and affordable market for renters across the nation,” spokesman Robyn Patterson said. “We look forward to continuing to work with lawmakers to strengthen tenant protections and improve rental affordability.”

While rent is still driving up overall inflation — thanks in part to a data lag in the official inflation gauge — the national median rent has fallen for four straight months, according to the latest data from Apartment List. New lease demand plummeted in the second half of 2022, when the net demand for apartments fell into negative territory for the first time since 2009, according to an analysis by RealPage Market Analytics.

“Complicating this process isn’t good at any time in the market cycle,” said Greg Brown, senior vice president of government affairs at the National Apartment Association. “But we’re in the fourth straight month of rent declines. I think things are adjusting again, so it does raise the question, are they responding to a situation of three to four months ago, not what is currently happening or will be happening in the near future?”

The association and 10 other industry groups urged Biden to resist pressure to lay new federal requirements on top of existing regulations and said that doing so would “further exacerbate affordability challenges,” in a letter last month.

Even as demand eases, the market is about to see a surge in supply – portending additional price cuts. More apartment units are currently under construction than at any point since 1970.

“A lot of rental supply is going to be completing in 2023 — we’re going to see more completions than we have in 40-plus years,” said Jay Parsons, chief economist at RealPage, a property management software provider. “The balance of power really has shifted toward renters — they’re going to have more options, more competitive pricing and better deals.”

Bowman and tenant advocates argue that modest declines in rents – the national median fell 0.8 percent in December – barely make a dent in tenants’ expenses after the eye-popping gains of the last few years.

Even after falling from its July peak, the median asking price in November was still 20.9 percent higher than it was at the same time in 2019, before the pandemic struck, according to the latest monthly rent report from Realtor.com. About 53 percent of tenants said their rent had increased by more than $100 per month over the last year, according to the latest Household Pulse survey by the Census Bureau.

Rent was increasing even before Covid, Bowman said, adding that many of his constituents spend over half their income on housing.

“The cooling effect in the market isn’t meaningfully changing conditions for tenants,” said Tara Raghuveer, director of the Homes Guarantee campaign at People’s Action. Raghuveer also attended the November White House meeting.

“The rent is still too damn high,” she said.