Scalise signals no Russian sanctions bill in House before August recess – Washington Examiner
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) announced that there are no immediate plans for teh House to vote on new Russian sanctions before the August recess. Scalise appeared to support President Donald Trump’s approach of acting unilaterally on sanctions rather than waiting for congressional approval.He expressed confidence that Trump could persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a peace deal. Meanwhile, Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) had proposed a bill imposing steep tariffs on countries importing Russian energy, but this effort lost momentum after Trump proposed a 50-day deadline for a Russia-Ukraine peace deal, wiht escalating tariffs to follow if no agreement is reached. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) indicated that while the Senate is prepared to act if needed, they are currently awaiting the outcome of the president’s efforts.
Scalise signals no Russian sanctions bill in House before August recess
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) said there were no immediate plans to vote on Russian sanctions, indicating the matter would be postponed until after the August recess.
“Not right now,” he told Politico when asked if there were immediate plans. However, he also tacitly approved President Donald Trump circumventing a sanctions bill and acting unilaterally instead.
“If anybody’s going to be able to get Putin to the table to finally agree to peace, it’s President Trump,” he said.
Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) proposed a bill that would apply a 500% tariff on goods imported from countries that purchase Russian oil, gas, and uranium, such as Brazil, India, and China. Trump’s proposal, announced Monday, to place 100% secondary tariffs after 50 days of continued conflict in Ukraine appears to have taken the wind out of the proposal, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) suggesting it was no longer necessary.
However, he suggested that it could change based on Trump’s thinking.
“It sounds like right now the president is going to attempt to do some of this on his own,” Thune told reporters. “If at some point the president concludes that it makes sense and adds value and leverage that he needs in those negotiations to move the bill, then we’ll do it. We’ll be ready to go.”
TRUMP SETS 50-DAY DEADLINE FOR RUSSIA-UKRAINE DEAL, OR NEW TARIFFS WILL KICK IN
Trump’s U-turn on Russia came after months of frustration over deadlocked negotiations.
“I’m disappointed in President Putin because I thought we would have had a deal two months ago, but it doesn’t seem to get there,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday. “So, based on that, we’re going to be doing secondary tariffs. If we don’t have a deal in 50 days, it’s very simple, and they’ll be at 100%.”
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