ABC News March 15, 2022

White House getting boxed in by red lines on Ukraine: The Note

WATCH: What you need to know about the Russia-Ukraine conflict

The TAKE with Rick Klein

For all the U.S. has done to isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin, the list of what the Biden administration won't do continues to grow: There will be no no-fly zone, no U.S. troops defending Ukraine, no help in delivering planes that Poland wants to get to Ukrainians.

There's likely to be more that Ukraine wants that the U.S. won't give. That figures to be a theme out of the extraordinary virtual speech to Congress that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to deliver Wednesday.

The White House is bristling at questions about "red lines" and hypothetical situations. But defining the American reaction by what it is not and will not be has ramifications of its own.

Asked by ABC White House Correspondent Mary Bruce to detail the promised "severe consequences" Russia might face if it uses chemical weapons, press secretary Jen Psaki said that won't be outlined in advance: "There's no question if Russia were to decide to use chemical weapons there would be a severe reaction from the global community."

Patrick Semansky/AP
President Joe Biden speaks at the National League of Cities Congressional City Conference, on March 14, 2022, in Washington, D.C.

Other nations -- think North Korea, Iran and China -- are watching President Joe Biden's actions closely. And Putin himself, of course, has not so far been deterred by the unity and strong actions taken to date by the U.S. in conjunction with other nations.

In outlining midterm messaging for House Democrats on Friday, Biden talked up what he is doing, and also detoured into a revealing a few sentences about what this moment cannot bring:

"The idea that we're going to send in offensive equipment and have planes and tanks and trains going in with American pilots and American crews, just understand -- and don't kid yourself, no matter what you all say -- that's called World War III," the president said.

The RUNDOWN with Averi Harper

Controversial anti-abortion bills proposed by Republican lawmakers in Missouri include measures that, if enacted, would go even further than Texas' near-total abortion ban.

Missouri's H.B. 2810 would make it a felony to traffic "abortion-inducing devices or drugs" or perform an abortion after a woman is 10-weeks pregnant, punishable by 10 years to life in prison. The bill would also apply to women with potentially life-threatening ectopic pregnancies in which the fetus grows outside of the uterus. The bill's author, Republican state Rep. Brian Seitz, said during House debate that he didn't know what treatment for ectopic pregnancy entails.

Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images, FILE
In this May 30, 2019, file photo, the outside of the Planned Parenthood Reproductive Health Services Center is seen in St. Louis.

"HB 2810 is dangerous. This is what it looks like when uneducated politicians try and legislate our bodies," said Dr. Colleen McNicholas, the chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region and Southwest Missouri, in a statement. "Ectopic pregnancies, if not treated promptly, become life-threatening. Banning any provision of care related to ectopic pregnancies will put people's lives at risk."

Separately, an amendment to several abortion-related bills creates legal liability for those seeking abortions out of state. It would allow lawsuits against those who aid, abet, perform, or induce abortions "on a resident or citizen of Missouri, regardless of where the abortion is or will be performed."

"If your neighboring state doesn't have pro-life protections, it minimizes the ability to protect the unborn in your state," said Republican state Rep. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, who wrote the amendment.

Missouri Senate leadership has said H.B. 2810 has little chance of passage. The amendment that seeks to restrict out-of-state abortions is slated to be debated on the Missouri House floor.

The TIP with Alisa Wiersema

President Biden delivered remarks at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser Monday night in Washington, marking his first in-person fundraising event since taking office.

The event coincided with his party gearing up for a tough midterm election season that in some cases has Democrats navigating intraparty divisions and weighing whether the president's public backing will translate into favorability from constituents. That equation has been recently complicated by polls showing a majority of voters disapproving of Biden's handling of gas prices and inflation.

Aaron E. Martinez/American-Stateman via USA Today Network
Democratic candidate for Texas Governor Beto O'Rourke speaks at a featured session during South by Southwest, on March 12, 2022, in Austin.

Although the vast majority of primary contests are still on the horizon, one Democrat who easily clinched a victory in the first midterm primary of the year appears to want the president to steer clear of his race. During an SXSW discussion over the weekend, Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke said he doesn't want Biden to weigh in on the race.

"I don't want Joe Biden or anyone else from outside of Texas, coming into this state to campaign for me or anyone else. This one is on us, the people of Texas. We are going to decide our future, our fortune, our fate," O'Rourke said.

Although Biden has yet to acknowledge his former 2020 primary competitor's bid directly, the comment from O'Rourke is one of the first major efforts by a Democratic candidate to distance themselves from the White House this midterm cycle.

NUMBER OF THE DAY, powered by FiveThirtyEight

4. That's the number of GOP factions FiveThirtyEight contributor Julia Azari identified in her story on how different Republican leaders are reinventing -- or resisting -- Trumpism now that Trump is out of office. As Julia writes, some Republicans have tried to distance themselves from Trump's political style without really rejecting any of his views while others have rejected some of his views without completely severing ties with him. Some have decisively broken with him, while others are now trying to out-Trump Trump. It's still too early to know which faction will prevail in 2024, but read more from Julia to understand the different power centers within the GOP.

THE PLAYLIST

ABC News' "Start Here" Podcast. Start Here begins Tuesday morning with Dr. Mark Agness from the Christian relief group Samaritan's Purs on what he's seen from Lviv, Ukraine. Then, ABC's Kayna Whitworth details her exclusive look at how the U.S. Navy operates in the Arctic amid growing geopolitical tensions. And, ABC's Aaron Katersky breaks down the search for a suspect in homeless killings in New York City and Washington, D.C. http://apple.co/2HPocUL

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

  • The Senate Armed Service Committee holds a hearing to examine the United States Central Command and United States Africa Command at 10 a.m.
  • The Senate Foreign Relations Committee holds a hearing on combatting authoritarianism, focusing on U.S. tools and responses, at 10 a.m.
  • White House press secretary Jen Psaki holds a press briefing at 1 p.m.
  • The Senate Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship and Border Safety holds a hearing on removing barriers to legal migration at 2 p.m.
  • President Joe Biden will sign H.R. 2471, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, into law at 2:15 p.m. Vice President Kamala Harris and the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget will attend. In the evening, Biden, Harris and first lady Jill Biden will deliver remarks at an event on Equal Pay Day to celebrate Women’s History Month at 5:30 p.m.
  • First lady Jill Biden welcomes first lady of Iceland Eliza Jean Reid to the White House at 5:15 p.m.
  • Download the ABC News app and select "The Note" as an item of interest to receive the day's sharpest political analysis.

    The Note is a daily ABC News feature that highlights the day's top stories in politics. Please check back tomorrow for the latest.