Washington, July 28, 2017 – Senators are sending legislation slapping new sanctions on Iran and Moscow to President Trump’s desk.
Senators voted 98-2 on the bill, which would give Congress the ability to block Trump from lifting the Russia sanctions. It also includes new penalties against North Korea.
Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) voted against the bill.
The move marks congressional Republicans’ first significant rebuke of President Trump’s foreign policy, where the administration’s warmer stance toward Russia has drawn heavy skepticism from both parties.
Underscoring the bipartisan support for the bill, senators agreed to temporarily set aside their days-long fight on repealing ObamaCare so they could debate and pass the sanctions bill.
Communications director Anthony Scaramucci told CNN that “he may sign the sanctions exactly the way they are, or he may veto the sanctions and negotiate an even tougher deal against the Russians.”
But senators were quick to warn that vetoing a bill that passed the House 419-3 earlier this week would be a significant misstep for Trump. An earlier version of the bill, which did not include North Korea penalties, passed the Senate in a 98-2 vote.
Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) downplayed the chance that Trump would use his first veto on the bill, noting he had talked to the president and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson about the legislation during the last week.
“It’s just not a good way to start a presidency to veto something and then be soundly overridden,” the Foreign Relations chairman told reporters. “It’s not something I would do, but they might choose to do it.”
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), the No. 2 Senate Republican, added separately that vetoing the bill would be a “mistake.”
The Russia sanctions vote marks the GOP-controlled Congress’s biggest legislative victory to date.
Senators started trying to get a deal to fast-track the legislation on Wednesday night. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) noted earlier Thursday that Democrats had agreed to let the bill move quickly.
The New York Democrat cast skepticism on the Trump administration wanting to negotiate a tougher deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
It would also impose new sanctions in response to Iran’s basic missile program, and target North Korea’s shipping industry and people who use slave labor.
Thursdsay’s vote comes after Corker announced on Wednesday night that they had gotten a deal with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy after the House GOP push to include North Korea sanctions threatened to slow down the bill in the Senate.
Corker said that in addition to the Senate passing the Iran-North Korea-Russia sanctions bill, the House had agreed to move additional penalties against Pyongyang quickly.
Source: Extracted from a The Hill report
