Today in one sentence: Biden formally announced his 2024 re-election campaign; Biden threatened to veto a House Republican debt ceiling bill that would require spending cuts in order to raise the debt ceiling; the Senate will vote on the Equal Rights Amendment this week; Washington State banned the sale of assault-style weapons; 70% of Americans believe Biden should not run for re-election; 54% of Democrats "accept" that Biden is running for re-election; and 63% of Republicans want Trump to be president again, even if he's found guilty of a crime.

1/ Biden formally announced his 2024 re-election campaign. Biden, who once pitched himself as “the bridge” to a new generation of Democratic leaders during his 2020 campaign, argued that “the question we are facing is whether in the years ahead we have more freedom or less freedom, more rights or fewer,” adding: “I know what I want the answer to be. This is not a time to be complacent. That’s why I’m running for reelection.” In a three-minute video announcing his re-election, Biden cast Republicans as a danger to democracy who want to cut “Social Security that you’ve paid for your entire life while cutting taxes for the very wealthy. Dictating what health care decisions women can make, banning books, and telling people who they can love. All while making it more difficult for you to be able to vote.” Biden, who would be 86 at the end of a second term, concluded his announcement by saying: “It’s time to finish the job. Finish the job.” (New York Times / Washington Post / Associated Press / NBC News / ABC News / CNN / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal)

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  • [Analysis] Almost every recent poll shows a highly competitive presidential race. (New York Times)

  • [Analysis] Biden vs. Trump 2024 would be the rematch nobody wants. (NBC News)

  • [Analysis] What young Democrats want from a 2nd Biden campaign. “Just a quarter of people under 45 said they would definitely support Biden in a general election, compared with 56% of older Democrats.” (Axios)

2/ Biden threatened to veto a House Republican debt ceiling bill that would require spending cuts in order to raise the debt ceiling, calling it “a reckless attempt to extract extreme concessions as a condition for the United States simply paying the bills it has already incurred.” The Republican proposal would make cuts to discretionary spending, repeal the Inflation Reduction Act’s climate change tax credits, impose new welfare work requirements, and cancel Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan. The White House has insisted that Republicans “address the debt limit without demands and conditions, just as the Congress did three times during the prior Administration,” saying Biden “has been clear that he will not accept such attempts at hostage-taking.” Still, if the proposal were to pass the full House, Chuck Schumer has already declared it dead in the Democratic-controlled Senate. The U.S. risks defaulting on its national debt as soon as early summer without an increase to the debt ceiling. (Washington Post / Axios / NPR / CNBC / Politico)

3/ The Senate will vote on the Equal Rights Amendment this week – 100 years after the measure was first introduced. Chuck Schumer said “the Equal Rights Amendment has never been as necessary and urgent as it is today,” citing the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, efforts to limit access to the abortion pill mifepristone, and state-level actions to roll back women’s rights. The proposed amendment to the Constitution would prohibit discrimination based on sex and guarantee that women have equal rights as men. Congress initially passed the ERA in 1972 and sent it to the states with a seven-year deadline for 38 states to ratify it. However, only 35 states had ratified the ERA by 1979 and the deadline was extended until 1982. Virginia eventually became the 38th state to ratify the ERA in 2020, after Nevada (2017) and Illinois (2018). Meaning, the Senate vote is largely symbolic since the deadline for ratification expired in 1982. (NBC News / Washington Post / The Hill / Axios)

4/ Washington State banned the sale of assault-style weapons, becoming the 10th state to prohibit sales of AR-15s and dozens of other high-powered semiautomatic rifles. House Bill 1240 bans the sale, transfer, distribution, manufacture, and importation of 62 different “assault weapons,” imposes a 10-day waiting period on all firearms purchases, and allows consumers to sue gun makers and retailers for “irresponsible conduct.” Several gun groups, however, have sued, saying the law violates the constitutional right to keep and bear arms. (Seattle Times / Associated Press / CNN)

poll/ 70% of Americans believe Biden should not run for re-election. 60% of Americans, however, say Trump should not run for president. (Axios)

poll/ 54% of Democrats “accept” that Biden is running for re-election. 28% say they are “confident,” 27% are “nervous,” and 22% are “excited.” (CBS News)

poll/ 63% of Republicans want Trump to be president again, even if he’s found guilty of a crime. Overall, 71% of Republicans said they think Trump should be president again. (NPR)

Last year today: Day 461: "Get organized."
Four years ago today: Day 826: Inherent contempt.
Five years ago today: Day 461: Virtually unexplained.
Six years ago today: Day 96: Confident.