A bipartisan deal to boost sanctions against Russia is taking shape despite the Trump administration’s mixed signals on engaging with Moscow.
The Senate is on the verge of a bipartisan deal to strengthen sanctions against Russia — throwing an elbow at President Donald Trump, who has dismissed Moscow’s meddling in the 2016 election.
Their biggest stumbling block is determining how hard a punch to throw at Russia.
Democrats are pushing a harsh plan to let Congress block Trump from easing current sanctions against Vladimir Putin’s government. But tying Trump’s hands on Russia may be too much of a rebuke for Republicans who have been loath to criticize the president even as he slams investigations into Russian electoral interference that threaten to derail their shared agenda.
A successful vote to punish Moscow would give a key win to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), a longtime Russia hawk who telegraphed his interest in a deal when he agreed to combine the issue with an Iran sanctions bill teed up for passage this week. If negotiators can’t agree on a strong Russia sanctions package, however, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has warned that Democrats would defect from an Iran bill that most of them otherwise support.
“Any member of the Congress who doesn’t want to punish Russia for what they have done is betraying democracy,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Sunday. “And if the president doesn’t sign the bill to punish Russia, he would be betraying democracy.”
Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker last week predicted the Senate is “going to end up with something really, really strong on Russia that can be supported in a very bipartisan way,” adding that “we understand all of the itches that are trying to be scratched” by senators furious about Russian cyberattacks during last year’s presidential election.
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A bipartisan deal to boost Russia sanctions is forming despite White House's mixed signals on engaging with Moscow https://t.co/4iQtqrt2H1 pic.twitter.com/lz20abOJmt
— POLITICO (@politico) June 12, 2017
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