Costs of 'Putin's war' grow in US: The Note

The TAKE with Rick Klein

It's a war Americans won't fight -- but that Americans are already feeling and are bound to feel more.

Notwithstanding the seeming political inevitability of President Joe Biden's move to halt Russian energy imports, there is the truth he spoke in announcing it: "It's going to cost us as well in the United States."

"Putin's price hike," as the president labeled it, will be borne by American consumers. It's even possible that, with global prices rising and other markets available, President Vladimir Putin's Russia actually will make more from the same product than if U.S. imports were to continue.

Another piece of the price tag will be borne by U.S. taxpayers more broadly, in the form of an aid package for Ukraine that's growing to $14 billion in the Senate. Congressional action on that continues to move quickly this week.

There could be other kinds of costs as well. The questions around the arrangement in which Poland is ready to transfer Russian-made jets to a U.S. air base in Germany for delivery to Ukraine is just a taste of the difficult logistical, military and diplomatic maneuvering ahead.

As the humanitarian cost of Russia's invasion grows, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday that "there's a Holocaust going on" in Ukraine -- a situation he said is "below humanity" and "below dignity," ABC News' Allison Pecorin reports.

Assessments like that will only raise more questions about what else the United States could and should be doing -- and what that will mean both at home and abroad.

The RUNDOWN with Averi Harper

The proposed legislation critics have dubbed the "Don't say gay" bill is heading to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' desk for signage.

The bill passed Florida's Senate on Tuesday and would restrict discussions of gender identity and sexual orientation in the classroom -- a move many consider discriminatory and harmful. The bill also creates legal liability for schools and teachers by allowing parents to sue if LGBTQ issues are taught.

Florida's bill is a part of an onslaught of proposals put forth by Republican lawmakers in states across the country pertaining to the LGBTQ community. Proposed legislation runs the gamut from banning LGBTQ viewpoints in curricula to prohibiting participation of transgender youth in girls' and women's sports. In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott has even directed state agencies to investigate gender-affirming care for trans youth as child abuse.

Florida's bill, officially named the Parental Rights in Education Bill, has drawn criticism from Democrats and advocates. White House press secretary Jen Psaki called steps in Florida and Texas "deeply concerning." DeSantis, who is up for reelection, was also called out by his Democratic challenger, Charlie Crist, who wants the Florida Republican to veto the bill.

"Governor DeSantis, it's time for you to stand with Florida's LGBTQ+ community, not against it," said Crist. "Stop dividing our state, and work to bring us together."

A public rebuke from Democrats is unlikely to deter DeSantis, a potential Republican presidential contender, who has made similar efforts to quash the discussion of racial issues in the classroom. Both draw on a broader effort on the part of Republicans to energize their base with cultural issues.

The TIP with Alisa Wiersema

A week after Texans headed to the polls for the first primary election of the 2022 midterm election cycle, Harris County Elections Administrator Isabel Longoria announced she would resign from her post following a series of administrative hurdles.

Although voters did not encounter widespread issues when casting in-person ballots on Election Day, the state's largest county is now facing bipartisan pressure after announcing 10,000 mail-in ballots were left out of its vote tally. The discrepancy in the vote count was flagged by the secretary of state's office, and officials say 6,000 Democratic votes and 4,000 Republican votes were scanned but did not get added to the final election-night results.

In the aftermath, Harris County Democrats are calling for a review of the election, as Republicans file a lawsuit against Longoria that alleges various violations of the Texas election code. The diverging responses could further amplify existing partisan sentiments about the state's election administration -- including potential impacts of the state's revised election law, S.B. 1.

"The election is very legitimate, it's clean, it's above board, there's nothing going on, but if these types of errors occur, they feed conspiracy theories that there is something untoward occurring, and that undermines public confidence," Mark Jones, a Baker Institute fellow in political science at Rice University, told ABC News' Houston affiliate, KTRK.

As for voters -- their ballots will get counted. Election officials still have until Thursday to tabulate an official tally for last week's election.

NUMBER OF THE DAY, powered by FiveThirtyEight

79. That's the percentage of Americans who supported a U.S. military response to a hypothetical Russian attack on a NATO country in a recent Quinnipiac University poll, but as FiveThirtyEight's Nathaniel Rakich writes, that doesn't mean Americans think of all NATO allies equally. Americans are more likely to say they support defending Great Britain or France from a Russian attack than other Eastern European countries, including Ukraine.

THE PLAYLIST

ABC News' "Start Here" Podcast. Start Here begins Wednesday morning with ABC's Rebecca Jarvis on President Biden's announcement banning Russian oil imports. Then, ABC's Pierre Thomas breaks down the verdict in the first Jan. 6 case to go to trial. And, ABC's LZ Granderson joins us for a discussion on Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill. http://apple.co/2HPocUL

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