GOP pans Biden’s first taste of sanctions

— Markets were underwhelmed, per this tough piece from Bloomberg’s Justin Sink: “Instead of a sweeping package that crippled top Russian banks, cut its financial transactions off from the global economy, or personally singled out VLADIMIR PUTIN — the U.S. and its allies settled on a modest ‘first tranche’ of penalties. Markets responded with a shrug, underwhelmed by the tit-for-tat approach … [T]he sanctions hardly amounted to the precedent-shattering, economy-crippling measures the U.S. and its partners long telegraphed if Russian troops rolled across the border.”

— Republicans were unhappy: “Too little, too late,” said Sen. BEN SASSE (R-Neb.), who neatly captured the view of most GOP foreign policy talkers, at least the ones who haven’t defected to the Tuckerian view that Ukraine doesn’t matter and Putin isn’t so bad.

“President Biden promised a ‘swift and severe’ response,” said former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.NIKKI HALEY. “He did not deliver. Ukraine is a test of Western resolve. It’s not just about Putin. The Chinese communists and Iranian jihadists are watching too. It’s a major leadership moment for Biden. So far, he’s failing.”