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"It's extraordinary how frightened Putin is" of Navalny, Blinken says

Dave Lawler, author of World

Tony Blinken during his confirmation hearing. Photo: Alex Edelman/pool/AFP via Getty

Secretary of State nominee Tony Blinken said at a confirmation hearing on Tuesday that it was “extraordinary how frightened Vladimir Putin seems to be of one man” — Alexey Navalny.

Why it matters: Russia’s most prominent opposition figure, Navalny, returned to Russia on Sunday and was swiftly arrested. He spent the previous five months recovering in Germany after being poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok. His detention poses an early foreign policy challenge for the Biden administration.

What he’s saying: Blinken told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Navalny served as a voice for millions of Russians, “and their voice needs to be heard in Russia.”

  • “The attempts to silence that voice by silencing Mr. Navalny is something that we strongly condemn,” Blinken added, noting that Navalny's arrest and other points of tension with Russia would be “very high on the agenda for an incoming administration.”
  • Incoming national security adviser Jake Sullivan previously called for Navalny's immediate release.

The latest: Navalny was ordered to remain in pre-trial detention for 30 days. He was officially arrested for violating the conditions of a suspended prison term by missing an appointment in December.

Worth noting: Blinken praised Sen. Mitt Romney, who serves on the committee, for being “prescient” on Russia. Romney was mocked for referring to Russia as America’s “number one geopolitical foe” in a 2012 presidential debate with Barack Obama, including by Obama himself.

Go deeper: Bill Browder on Russia-U.S. relations after Alexei Navalny's arrest

Go deeper

Dave Lawler, author of World
20 hours ago - World

Biden's Russia challenge

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

The Biden administration has already proposed a five-year extension of the last treaty constraining the U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals, announced an urgent investigation into a massive Russia-linked cyberattack, and demanded the release of Russia’s leading opposition figure, Alexey Navalny.

Why it matters: Those three steps in Biden's first week underscore the challenge he faces from Vladimir Putin — an authoritarian intent on weakening the U.S. and its alliances, with whom he’ll nonetheless have to engage on critical issues.

Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow
Axios
20 hours ago - Podcasts

Biden's narrow path to COVID relief

President Joe Biden has called his $1.9 trillion COVID relief package his top priority. To that end, he had a key bipartisan group of senators meet with White House officials yesterday. So what will it take to get a bipartisan COVID relief bill passed in Congress?

  • Plus, the biggest Russian national uprising facing Putin in 20 years.
  • And, a historic year for the Super Bowl.
Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow
Alayna Treene, author of Sneak Peek
3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

McConnell drops filibuster demand, paving way for power-sharing deal

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (R) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell attend a joint session of Congress. Photo: Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has abandoned his demand that Democrats state, in writing, that they would not abandon the legislative filibuster.

Between the lines: McConnell was never going to agree to a 50-50 power sharing deal without putting up a fight over keeping the 60-vote threshold. But the minority leader ultimately caved after it became clear that delaying the organizing resolution was no longer feasible.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow