WASHINGTON — Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, expressed concern Thursday about President Donald Trump’s approach to Russia and urged him to take a harder line.
“We have to show strength against Vladimir Putin,” Ernst said during a conference call with reporters. “We need President Trump to step up and lead us in that endeavor.”
Capitol Hill this week has been dominated by continuing revelations about ties between members of the Trump camp and Russia, including fallout from the resignation of national security adviser Michael Flynn.
The Nebraska Democratic Party on Thursday urged the state’s congressional delegation to formally request an independent bipartisan investigation akin to the 9/11 Commission.
But there’s little evidence that Republicans are ready to go that far. Many of them have suggested that the matter can be ably handled by the Senate Intelligence Committee.
“The intelligence committee is going to have hearings, they’re going to be investigating it, they’re going to be doing their job of oversight,” said Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “I think that’s the way it needs to happen.”
Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., also a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he supports a congressional investigation.
“For more than a year, I’ve been clear on Russia — and frankly this has been conservative orthodoxy well before Mitt Romney identified Moscow as our ‘number one geopolitical foe’ — Putin and his thugs are fundamentally at odds with America’s interests,” Sasse said in a statement.
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This should not be viewed through partisan labels. Congress should investigate Russia’s influence campaign in the US https://t.co/B0utCny1sm
— Senator Ben Sasse (@SenSasse) February 17, 2017
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