15 July, 2017
Count the reputations of journalists as another byproduct of the fallout from Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting with a Russian lawyer to get dirty information on Hillary Clinton. Seeking to force Republican House leaders to allow a vote, Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee introduced legislation unchanged from what passed the Senate by 98-2 on June 15 but has been stalled ever since. "It certainly does not help the administration at this point", a senior Republican House aide said.
AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan, dismissed the Democrats' action as "grandstanding". Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 House Democrat, predicted that the matter would be cleared up quickly and brought to the floor for a vote this week.
Trump administration officials said they disagree with provisions in the bill requiring the president to get Congress' permission before easing any sanctions, and the fact that numerous new sanctions are mandatory, so that the president can not opt to waive them for national security reasons. Russian Federation denies meddling and Trump says there was no collusion.
President Donald Trump is "frustrated" by the Russian Federation controversy engulfing his eldest son and that it distracts from his administration's agenda, White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Tuesday.
House Republican leaders said they had not taken up the original Senate bill because it violated a constitutional requirement that all legislation affecting government revenues originate in the House, known as a "blue slip" issue.
Democrats, and some Republicans, scoffed. "That's just the way life is", said Senator Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The bill would require a congressional review if President Donald Trump attempts to ease or end penalties against Moscow.
"The president is, I would say, frustrated with the process of the fact that this continues to be an issue", Sanders told reporters, according to audio of the daily briefing. But he appeared to object to a key part that would give Capitol Hill a much stronger hand in determining Russian Federation sanctions policy. Cardin said the bill should have been passed because of Russian interference in last year's USA elections, occupation of parts of Ukraine and Georgia and support of the Syrian government.
