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The Senate may take up new Russia sanctions legislation this month, as Moscow’s war on Ukraine continues with no peace deal in sight.
With more than 80 senators’ support, Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters on Monday that he’s balancing coordination with President Donald Trump’s White House with huge pent-up interest in the Senate in imposing new sanctions.
“That would have a big impact. But obviously [we’re] working with the White House to try and ensure that what we do and when we do it works well with the negotiations that they’ve got underway,” Thune said.
Senators in both parties are increasingly frustrated with the delay, with several Republicans saying recently they do not want to wait for the White House’s green light at this point. The crippling secondary sanctions on Russia trading partners, they argue, could be used by Trump as negotiating leverage to force Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hand on ending the war on Ukraine.
The Trump administration, Thune added, is “still hopeful they’ll be able to strike some sort of a deal. But as you might expect, there’s a high level of interest here in the Senate, on both sides of the aisle, in moving on it. And it very well could be something that we would take up in this work period.”
Asked for a response to the possibility of Senate action on sanctions, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said,“President Trump has smartly kept sanctions on the table, and while he remains in constant communication with leaders on the Hill, the decision on whether to impose sanctions will come from the commander in chief.”
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There’s been no sign of the conflict coming to an end anytime soon. Ukraine wiped out dozens of Russian aircraft over the weekend, a day before talks in Istanbul between both sides failed to reach a breakthrough. Chief sanctions sponsor Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told the Associated Press that he believes Putin “is preparing for more war” after visiting Ukraine with the bill’s co-sponsor, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.
Meanwhile, patience is wearing thin in the halls of the Capitol. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schuner, D-N.Y., said senators in both parties are getting tired of Trump’s “wishy-washy approach to Putin.”
“Sooner the better. Over 80 co-sponsors in both parties, I think the appetite is strong,” said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the Democratic whip. “I’m told the White House keeps saying, ‘We expect a breakthrough.’ We’ve been expecting that for a long time.”
Of course, there are still more than a dozen senators who don’t support the legislation. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., recently told Semafor he strongly opposes it and called the 500% levies on Russian trading partners the “craziest thing I’ve ever heard.” That means Thune would probably have to burn significant floor time to get the bill through.
Notable
- Ukraine used dozens of drones to attack Russian aircraft, CNN reports.
- Kyiv is calling for Washington to impose more sanctions, according to ABC.
Shelby Talcott contributed reporting.