Today, the leaders in both the House of Representatives and the Senate agreed to impose new sanctions on Russia, and to grant Congress a new veto power to prevent the President from easing those sanctions. CNN reports that this comes in the face of staunch and vocal opposition from President Donald Trump and his team in the White House. Congress wants to move fast on this new agreement, and legislation could be put in front of the President as soon as the end of the month.
This legislation is surprisingly bipartisan, as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said in a statement provided to CNN:
“Given the many transgressions of Russia, and President Trump’s seeming inability to deal with them, a strong sanctions bill such as the one Democrats and Republicans have just agreed to is essential. I expect the House and Senate will act on this legislation promptly, on a broad bipartisan basis and send the bill to the President’s desk.”
The bill would add new sanctions to Russia, Iran, and North Korea. However, the most important part would be Congress’s ability to prevent the President from easing those sanctions. This comes amid reports that Trump was considering allowing Russians to reclaim buildings that former President Barack Obama stripped them of in New York and Maryland. Obama’s actions were driven by Russian-sponsored hacking during the 2016 Presidential campaign.
The House will vote on the new legislation on Tuesday, with the Senate vote coming not long after. Despite Trump’s nebulous ties to Russia, congressional aides expect him to sign the bill, as it is expected to pass both chambers of congress with veto-proof majorities.
Maybe Congressional Republicans are starting to realize that they can get more done by working with Democrats instead of tying themselves to an uninformed, unpopular President Trump? Regardless, this is a blow to the Donald and his buddies in the Kremlin.
Watch coverage of the new legislation below:
Featured image via Flickr user Gage Skidmore / CC BY-SA 2.0.
