Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Wednesday that there is an “intensified interest” in passing Russia sanctions legislation in the wake of recent actions by Moscow.
“There’s a lot of, I would say, discussion around, ‘we need to move,’” Thune told reporters, adding that “our members are very interested” in possible legislative action.
His comments come after Russian drones entered Poland’s airspace Wednesday, and Russia targeted Kyiv in attacks over the weekend.
Thune called Russia’s recent actions a “provocative act” that was “an attempt to test the U.S. and our NATO allies.”
A bipartisan bill — spearheaded by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) — has been languishing in the Senate despite having enough support to override a hypothetical veto. That measure would impose tariffs on countries that import Russian energy and implement secondary sanctions on foreign firms that support Russian energy production.
Senate aides, including those for Graham and Thune, have been working with the White House to try to iron out what Thune called “technical” concerns with the legislation. Graham is supposed to speak with Trump this week about progress in those talks.
“Mr. President, Congress is with you. We stand ready to pass legislation authorizing bone crushing new sanctions and tariffs that can be deployed at your discretion. Our goal is to empower you as you deal with this mounting threat,” Graham wrote in a social media post Wednesday.
But Thune stopped short of saying he was ready to put the bill on the floor, noting that he needed to have a “couple of conversations” before that happens.
Thune has repeatedly said he needs a greenlight from Trump before moving the bill to the floor.
