The White House is in ongoing discussions with Capitol Hill to amend a proposed sanctions bill targeting Russia, Fox News Digital has learned, and prefers that route over sanctions led by the executive branch. <\/p>\n
Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., introduced the legislation months ago and garnered 82 co-sponsors, but the Senate has delayed a vote to give President Donald Trump room to pursue a diplomatic settlement between Russia and Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Now, with Trump increasingly skeptical of Vladimir Putin\u2019s intentions to end the war, the bill could soon come to the floor. According to three sources familiar with the matter, talks between lawmakers and the White House are active, though no firm timeline has been set.<\/p>\n
‘The House has appetite to move it, too,’ said one congressional source. <\/p>\n
Companion legislation has 70 House co-sponsors.<\/p>\n
State Department policy planner Michael Anton has privately indicated to allies that the White House isn\u2019t interested in imposing unilateral sanctions, but also won\u2019t stand in the way of the Graham\u2013Blumenthal legislation.<\/p>\n
Behind the scenes, the White House is pushing for revisions that would grant the president greater discretion in enforcement. Specifically, officials are seeking to replace any ‘shall’ with ‘may’ in the bill\u2019s text \u2014 a subtle but significant shift that would weaken mandatory enforcement.<\/p>\n
‘The White House, no matter who is there, always wants the bill watered down \u2014 it\u2019s normal,’ the source said. ‘Whenever any committee, congressman or senator wants to do a sanctions bill, career officials always email back and say, \u2018Change the \u2018shall\u2019 to \u2018may.\u2019’<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The legislation would impose sweeping economic penalties, including 500% tariffs on any country that does business with Moscow, and sanctions on key Russian officials and entities.<\/p>\n
Graham has acknowledged that revisions are likely, including potential carve-outs from the tariff provision for nations providing aid to Ukraine. The exception would offer relief to European allies that are still dependent on Russian energy.<\/p>\n
‘Why don\u2019t we carve out for countries who are helping Ukraine?’ Graham said in an interview with Semafor earlier in June. ‘If you\u2019re providing military economic assistance to Ukraine, you get a carve-out. So China, if you don\u2019t want to get sanctioned, help Ukraine.’<\/p>\n
Trump, speaking candidly on a podcast published Wednesday, questioned whether Putin has any interest in ending the conflict.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
‘I\u2019m starting to think maybe he doesn\u2019t,’ Trump said when asked whether the Russian president minds losing thousands of soldiers in Ukraine each week.<\/p>\n
On Capitol Hill, Trump\u2019s top military advisors were pressed Wednesday on whether they believe Putin intends to halt his offensive.<\/p>\n
‘I don\u2019t believe he is,’ said Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.<\/p>\n
‘Remains to be seen,’ added Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.<\/p>\n
The European Union unveiled a fresh sanctions package, that still needs to be voted on, which would ban transactions with the Nord Stream energy pipelines. <\/p>\n
Since Russia\u2019s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. has imposed sweeping sanctions: cutting Russian banks off from the U.S. financial system, freezing over $300 billion in Kremlin assets, banning key technology exports, and blocking imports of Russian fuel.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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