McConnell to Trump: Do not lift sanctions on Russia
McConnell to Trump: Do not lift sanctions on Russia
The president's phone call with Vladimir Putin Saturday threatens to strain his relationship with congressional Republicans.
By Seung Min Kim, Burgess Everett and Austin Wright
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan are drawing a hard line against easing sanctions on Russia, issuing stern warnings ahead of President Donald Trump’s first official communication with Vladimir Putin since his inauguration last week.
“I’m against lifting any sanctions on the Russians. These sanctions were imposed because of their behavior in Crimea, eastern Ukraine and now we know they’ve been messing around in our elections as well,” McConnell said in an interview with POLITICO on Friday. “If there’s any country in the world that doesn’t deserve sanctions relief, it’s Russia.”
Trump’s phone call Saturday with his Russian counterpart could put the new strain on his uneasy truce with GOP congressional leaders.
The big question is whether McConnell and Ryan would be willing to go beyond words to stop Trump from relaxing sanctions imposed by the Obama administration as punishment for Russia’s meddling in November’s presidential election and for its 2014 annexation of Crimea.
READ MORE: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/mitc...
The president's phone call with Vladimir Putin Saturday threatens to strain his relationship with congressional Republicans.
By Seung Min Kim, Burgess Everett and Austin Wright
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan are drawing a hard line against easing sanctions on Russia, issuing stern warnings ahead of President Donald Trump’s first official communication with Vladimir Putin since his inauguration last week.
“I’m against lifting any sanctions on the Russians. These sanctions were imposed because of their behavior in Crimea, eastern Ukraine and now we know they’ve been messing around in our elections as well,” McConnell said in an interview with POLITICO on Friday. “If there’s any country in the world that doesn’t deserve sanctions relief, it’s Russia.”
Trump’s phone call Saturday with his Russian counterpart could put the new strain on his uneasy truce with GOP congressional leaders.
The big question is whether McConnell and Ryan would be willing to go beyond words to stop Trump from relaxing sanctions imposed by the Obama administration as punishment for Russia’s meddling in November’s presidential election and for its 2014 annexation of Crimea.
READ MORE: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/01/mitc...
If Trump does move to ease sanctions, Republicans could be forced to choose between the GOP’s longstanding hawkish stance toward Russia and Trump’s unorthodox embrace of Putin, whom he has repeatedly praised in Tweets.