Blumenthal: Russia Sanctions Bill Already Has Had Impact
Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, the top Democrat on a Russian secondary sanctions bill, said he's not discouraged that Senate Majority Leader John Thune is putting off a vote on the bill again. The bill has 85 sponsors in the Senate, and would give the president the ability to put up to 500% tariffs on the goods of countries that buy Russian fossil fuels; it also would expand sanctions on Russian officials.
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Thune, of South Dakota, who had said last week that the bill's time had come, said on Oct. 20 that a vote should wait until a meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin happens in Budapest.
Blumenthal said in a hallway interview at the Capitol Oct. 21: "I think there are growing indications that Putin is not meeting in Budapest, which is going to force President Trump's hand."
He said Trump could show strength by increasing the pressure on Russia. He added, "Continued vacillating and equivocating is only going to encourage Putin, in a kind of slow-walking appeasement, and I think now is the time to bring the sledgehammer down with scorching sanctions."
He also said "the [vote] timing is still at issue, but I think Sen. Thune supports the sanctions bill, he has been a co-sponsor."
Blumenthal said the bill already has "had a significant impact," even though it hasn't passed. He pointed to the president's decision to add 25% tariffs on Indian goods because of that country's purchases of oil, and he said that Trump seems to be coming around to the idea that there need to be "some sanctions as a sledgehammer if Putin fails to come to the table."
However, Trump has been highly inconsistent in his view of bringing economic pressure to bear on Russia. In March, he said he was strongly considering it (see 2503070056). Last month, he said he was ready to go, but only if NATO countries stopped buying Russian oil (see 2509150008 and 2509180034). He later said it was understandable that Hungary keeps buying Russian fuel, since it's landlocked.