Joe Biden plans visit to New York to discuss gun crime with new mayor – live

Joe Biden will deliver remarks this afternoon on the retirement of supreme court Justice Stephen Breyer, the White House has just announced.

Breyer will be in attendance for the 12.30pm ET event, and the liberal justice is expected to confirm his planned retirement.

News of Breyer’s retirement broke yesterday, but neither he nor the White House would officially confirm his plans until now.

The Guardian’s Martin Farrer and Kate Connolly report:

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline between Russia and Germany will not move forward if Russia invades Ukraine, the US state department has said, in a significant strengthening of the west’s previous position on the strategically vital gas supply.

As tension ratcheted up over Russia’s military buildup on its neighbour’s eastern border, state department spokesperson Ned Price said on Wednesday night that the Biden administration was “working with Germany” to ensure it could withstand the loss of the pipeline.

“I want to be very clear: if Russia invades Ukraine one way or another, Nord Stream 2 will not move forward,” Price told National Public Radio. “I’m not going to get into the specifics. We will work with Germany to ensure it does not move forward.”

Germany’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, who has previously argued in favour of imposing energy sanctions in response to aggression from Moscow, said the future of Nord Stream 2 could be up for discussion as part of a “broad range” of possible responses to Russian aggression.

Joe Biden will speak to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at 2pm ET today, Zelenskiy’s office told CNN.

The call comes as the US and its allies continue diplomatic efforts to deescalate tensions at Ukraine’s border and avoid a Russian invasion of the country.

The US delivered its written response to Russian demands on Ukraine yesterday, and the White House made clear in its response that it still supports Ukraine’s right to pursue Nato membership.

Officials from Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany met in Paris yesterday to continue diplomatic negotiations, and they agreed to meet again in two weeks in Berlin.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will visit the White House next month to meet with Joe Biden and discuss Russian aggression toward Ukraine.

In a new statement, press secretary Jen Psaki said Scholz, who became chancellor last month, will visit the White House on Monday 7 February.

“Chancellor Scholz’s visit provides an opportunity to affirm the deep and enduring ties between the United States and Germany,” Psaki said.

“The leaders will discuss their shared commitment to both ongoing diplomacy and joint efforts to deter further Russian aggression against Ukraine.”

Psaki announced earlier this week that Scholz would soon visit the White House, but it had been unclear exactly when his trip would take place.

Once Stephen Breyer confirms his retirement, Joe Biden is expected to move quickly to name his replacement to the supreme court, although Breyer is likely to stay on the bench through the end of the term.

The Washington Post reports:

Biden, whose White House has been long prepared for a potential Supreme Court vacancy, plans to name a replacement in a shorter time frame than the month it took then-President Barack Obama to name Merrick Garland in 2016, according to the person, who requested anonymity to discuss strategy.

That would allow for a confirmation fight to play out in the Senate well before the final Supreme Court decisions come down in June and Breyer formally retires. [Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer] has pledged to move as fast as Republicans did to confirm Amy Coney Barrett in late 2020, a process that took just about a month, although the GOP has more power in a 50-50 Senate to slow down committee consideration, such as by denying a quorum.

Joe Biden has no events on his public schedule today, but he will likely be quite busy at the White House as he addresses a potential crisis in Ukraine and a likely supreme court nomination.

White House officials have been in constant contact with European allies as they attempt to find a diplomatic path to avoid a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Officials from France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia held talks in Paris yesterday, and they agreed to reconvene in two weeks, although the Kremlin has said it is not optimistic about the likelihood of success in the negotiations.

Meanwhile, news broke yesterday that Justice Stephen Breyer intends to retire, giving Biden his first supreme court seat to fill.

However, Breyer has not yet confirmed that he plans to retire, and he may do so today. Stay tuned for news on that front.

And for more updates on the situation in Ukraine, follow the Guardian’s live blog:

Greetings from Washington, live blog readers.

Joe Biden will travel to New York next week to meet with the city’s new mayor, Democrat Eric Adams, and discuss how his administration is working to tackle gun violence.

According to the White House’s travel advisory, Biden will highlight his administration’s “comprehensive strategy to combat gun crime, which includes historic levels of funding for cities and states to put more cops on the beat and invest in community violence prevention and intervention programs, as well as stepped up federal law enforcement efforts against illegal gun traffickers”.

The trip comes after last Friday’s shooting in Harlem that resulted in the death of two New York police officers, Wilbert Mora and Jason Rivera.

Biden called Adams on Monday night to express his condolences about the fatal shooting and emphasize his administration’s commitment to helping cities address gun violence.

“President Biden reiterated his admiration for the brave men and women of law enforcement who risk their lives on a daily basis to protect our communities,” press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday.

“And he expressed his firm support for Mayor Adams’s efforts to combat gun violence and violent crime.”

The blog will have more coming up, so stay tuned.