Republican calls for Russia sanctions intensify but want Trump's blessing be able to do it
Emergency workers in a residential area in Markhalivka, Ukraine, after a Russian rocket strike on Sunday. Last weekend saw Russia's most aggressive wave of attacks since the war began.
A group of G.O.P. senators has grown more vocal about urging penalties on Russia for its aggression against Ukraine, offering a counterpoint to President Trump's hands-off stance.
By
Robert Jimison
Updated 3:48 p.m. ET
A small but vocal group of Republicans in Congress is pushing to escalate pressure on Russia for its aggression against Ukraine, diverging sharply from President Trump's conciliatory stance after months of staying mostly quiet and deferring to his hands-off approach.
The shift intensified over the weekend in the wake of Russia's most aggressive wave of attacks since the war began. But it has been building for weeks as Senate Republicans and Democrats alike have signed on to
legislation that would impose sweeping sanctions on Moscow
. The bill now has 80 cosponsors, more than enough to override a veto in that chamber.
The same measure in the House has garnered little backing in either party, making a showdown with Mr. Trump on the issue unlikely, at least in the short term. But the movement in the Senate suggests an increasingly hawkish mood on Capitol Hill and a growing frustration with Russia's intransigence among Republicans, who are ramping up their calls for decisive action.
Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a close ally of Mr. Trump's, is leading the bipartisan push on the Russia sanctions bill. Last week, speaking from the Senate floor, Mr. Graham appeared to be aiming his remarks directly at the president in a bid to persuade him that any influence he may imagine he has over President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia does not appear to be having much impact.
'Putin, in my view, is playing us all,' Mr. Graham warned. He laid out missed opportunities for diplomacy that he said proved Russia was not serious about peace. 'President Trump called for a 30-day cease-fire. Ukraine said yes; Russia said no,' he said. 'President Trump urged Zelensky and Putin to go to Istanbul — I was over there — and meet to have direct talks. Zelensky went; Putin didn't.'
'We've given Russia plenty of opportunity to find an honorable and just end to this war,' Mr. Graham continued. 'They're not interested. And they're not going to change until we up the ante. So we need moral clarity here. Putin is dragging this out.'
Mr. Trump has in recent days hinted at a change in posture. After Russia's latest assault, he told reporters that he was 'not happy' with Mr. Putin and was 'considering more sanctions.' But it was not clear whether he had changed his broader view that it is time for the United States to wash its hands of involvement in the conflict.
In recent weeks, Mr. Trump has signaled a desire to move beyond the war, musing about a potential economic partnership with Russia after a peace deal. A White House adviser recently
told The New York Times
that additional sanctions could hinder business opportunities, adding that the president instead wants to focus on maximizing economic opportunities with the Kremlin.
That desire to look past the current state of war stands in stark contrast to the views of many Republicans in Congress, who maintain their party's longstanding view of Russia as a bitter adversary that deserves to be treated as such.
In a social media post on Monday, Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa declared that he had seen enough of Mr. Putin killing innocent civilians and publicly urged Mr. Trump to 'take action,' urging him to consider 'AT LEAST SANCTIONS.'
On Tuesday, Mr. Grassley wrote on social media that he thought Mr. Trump had been sincere in thinking his friendship with Mr. Putin would bring an end to the war, but that 'ITS TIME FOR SANCTIONS STRONG ENUF SO PUTIN KNOWS 'game over.'' And he suggested that Mr. Trump should be at least as harsh in trying to cut off Mr. Putin from the world financial system as he has been in seeking to cut off Harvard University from federal funds.
'Sanctions for Putin like no fed grants for Harvard,' he wrote in his post.
Even before the latest assault, other Republicans have called for a tougher stance against Mr. Putin.
'Obviously, he's not been serious about the negotiations,' Senator John Cornyn of Texas said last week when discussing the Russian president's reluctance to engage in peace talks. Mr. Cornyn praised Mr. Trump's efforts to bring both countries to the table for negotiations, but said the Russian president would first 'have to get serious.'
Both senators, like many Republicans on Capitol Hill, have tried to maintain deference to Mr. Trump's leadership.
In an opinion essay published in The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday morning,
Mr. Graham wrote
: 'President Trump has asked Vladimir Putin to provide a term sheet outlining the requirements for a cease-fire, bringing the roadblocks to peace to a head. Depending on how Russia responds, we will know which course to take.'
But some in the party believe Russia's weekend assault was the response — just not the one they were hoping for.
'I think we need to put the hurt on Putin,' Senator Todd Young of Indiana said bluntly when asked about the sanctions package.
At the same time, many Republicans say it is Mr. Trump's call whether and how to punish Moscow.
'Somehow, some way, somebody has got to put pressure on Putin to come to the table,' Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama said last week. But he conceded that Mr. Graham was 'not going to be able to do it until you get to a blessing from the president.'
The New York Times
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Nahar Net
5 hours ago
- Nahar Net
US and Europe trade negotiators discuss tariffs in Paris
by Naharnet Newsdesk 04 June 2025, 13:50 Europe and the United States are meeting in Paris to negotiate a settlement of a tense tariff spat with global economic ramifications between two global economic powerhouses. The European Union's top trade negotiator, Maroš Šefčovič, met Wednesday with his American counterpart, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, on the sidelines of a meeting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. "We're advancing in the right direction at pace — and staying in close contact to maintain the momentum," Šefčovič posted on social media platform X alongside a photo of him shaking hands with Greer. Brussels and Washington are unlikely to reach a substantive trade agreement in Paris. The issues dividing them are too difficult to resolve quickly. President Donald Trump regularly fumes about America's persistent trade deficit with the European Union, which was a record $161 billion last year, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. Trump blames the gap between what the U.S. sells and what it buys from Europe on unfair trade practices and often singles out for criticism the EU's 10% tax on imported cars. America's was 2.5% until Trump raised it to 25% in April. The EU has argued its purchases of U.S. services, especially in the technology sector, all but overcome the deficit. After the Trump administration's surprise tariffs last week on steel rattled global markets and complicated the ongoing, wider tariff negotiations between Brussels and Washington, the EU on Monday said it is preparing "countermeasures" against the U.S. The EU has offered the U.S. a "zero for zero" deal in which both sides end tariffs on industrial goods, including autos. Trump has rejected that idea, but EU officials say it's still on the table. The EU could buy more liquefied natural gas and defense items from the U.S., and lower duties on cars, but it isn't likely to budge on calls to scrap the value added tax, which is akin to a sales tax, or open up the EU to American beef. "We still have a few weeks to have this discussion and negotiation," French trade minister Laurent Saint-Martin said in Paris on Wednesday ahead of the OECD meeting. "If the discussion and negotiation do not succeed, Europe is capable of having countermeasures on American products and services as well." Greta Peisch, who was general counsel for the U.S. trade representative in the Biden administration, said the zero-for-zero proposal could provide a way to make progress if the Trump administration "is looking for a reason not to impose tariffs on the EU.'' But Peisch, now a partner at the Wiley Rein law firm, wondered: "How motivated is the U.S. to come to a deal with the EU?'' Trump, after all, has longstanding grievances complaints about EU trade practices. One target of his ire is the value-added tax, similar to U.S. state sales taxes. Trump and his advisers consider VATs unfair protectionism because they are levied on U.S. products. But VATs are set at a national level, not by the EU, and apply to domestic and imported products alike, so they have not traditionally been considered a trade barrier. There is little chance governments will overhaul their tax systems to appease Trump. Likewise, the Europeans are likely to balk at U.S. demands to scrap food and safety regulations that Washington views as trade barriers. These include bans on hormone-raised beef, chlorinated chicken and genetically modified foods. "When you start talking about chickens or GMOs or automobile safety standards, you're talking about the ways countries choose to regulate their economies," Reinsch said. "We think that's protectionist. They think it's keeping their citizens healthy ... It's been a sore point for 60 years.''
Nahar Net
5 hours ago
- Nahar Net
Environmentalists criticize Trump push for new oil and gas drilling in Alaska
by Naharnet Newsdesk 04 June 2025, 15:04 Top Trump administration officials — fresh off touring one of the country's largest oil fields in the Alaska Arctic — headlined an energy conference led by the state's Republican governor on Tuesday that environmentalists criticized as promoting new oil and gas drilling and turning away from the climate crisis. Several dozen protesters were outside Gov. Mike Dunleavy's annual Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference in Anchorage, where U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin were featured speakers. The federal officials were continuing a multiday trip aimed at highlighting President Donald Trump's push to expand oil and gas drilling, mining and logging in the state. The trip has included meetings with pro-drilling groups and officials, including some Alaska Native leaders on the petroleum-rich North Slope, and a visit to the Prudhoe Bay oil field near the Arctic Ocean that featured selfies near the 800-mile (1,287-kilometer) trans-Alaska oil pipeline. Calls for additional oil and gas drilling — including Trump's renewed focus on getting a massive liquefied natural gas project built — are "false solutions" to energy needs and climate concerns, protester Sarah Furman said outside the Anchorage convention hall, as people carried signs with slogans such as "Alaska is Not for Sale" and "Protect our Public Lands." "We find it really disingenuous that they're hosting this conference and not talking about real solutions," she said. Topics at the conference, which runs through Thursday, also include mining, carbon management, nuclear energy, renewables and hydrogen. Oil has been Alaska's economic lifeblood for decades, and Dunleavy has continued to embrace fossil fuels even as he has touted other energy opportunities in the state. Another protester, Rochelle Adams, who is Gwich'in, raised concerns about the ongoing push to allow oil and gas drilling on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Gwich'in leaders have said they consider the coastal plain sacred, as caribou they rely on calve there. Leaders of the Iñupiaq community of Kaktovik, which is within the refuge, support drilling as economically vital and have joined Alaska political leaders in welcoming Trump's interest in reviving a leasing program there. "When these people come from outside to take and take and take, we are going to be left with the aftereffects," Adams said, adding later: "It's our health that will be impacted. It's our wellness, our ways of life." Zeldin, during a friendly question-and-answer period led by Dunleavy, said wildlife he saw while on the North Slope didn't appear "to be victims of their surroundings" and seemed "happy." Burgum, addressing a move toward additional drilling in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, said wildlife and development can coexist. His agency during the Alaska trip announced plans to repeal Biden-era restrictions on future leasing and industrial development in portions of the petroleum preserve that are designated as special for their wildlife, subsistence or other values. Wright bristled at the idea of policy "in the name of climate change" that he said would have no impact on climate change. Stopping oil production in Alaska doesn't change demand for oil, he said. "You know, we hear terms like clean energy and renewable energy. These are inaccurate marketing terms," he said. "There is no energy source that does not take significant materials, land and impact on the environment to produce. Zero." Officials court Asian countries to support gas project Joining for part of the U.S. officials' trip were representatives from Asian countries, including Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan and United Arab Emirates. Asian countries are being courted to sign onto the Alaska gas project, which has floundered for years to gain traction amid cost and other concerns. The project, as proposed, would include a nearly 810-mile (1,300-kilometer) pipeline that would funnel gas from the North Slope to port, with an eye largely on exports of liquefied natural gas. Wright told reporters a goal in inviting them to the Prudhoe Bay stop was for them to see the oil pipeline infrastructure and environment and meet with residents and business leaders. Glenfarne Alaska LNG LLC, which has taken a lead in advancing the project, on Tuesday announced expressions of interest from a number of "potential partners." Costs surrounding the project — which have been pegged around $44 billion for the pipeline and other infrastructure — are in the process of being refined before a decision is made on whether to move forward.
MTV Lebanon
5 hours ago
- MTV Lebanon
Aoun holds diplomatic, economic meetings at Baabda Palace
President of the Republic Joseph Aoun welcomed former US Ambassador to Lebanon David Hale for a wide-ranging discussion on current developments in Lebanon and the broader region. In a separate meeting, President Aoun met with Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris to discuss Lebanon's current economic landscape, particularly in light of ongoing financial and economic reform efforts. Later, President Aoun received Russian Ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Rudakov, who delivered a written message from Russian President Vladimir Putin. The letter included an official invitation for President Aoun to attend the first Arab–Russian Summit, scheduled to take place in Moscow on October 15. The summit aims to explore prospects for joint cooperation across political, economic, trade, scientific, technological, and humanitarian sectors.
