The White House is purportedly pressing House Republicans to soften a measure imposing new sanctions on Russia after the Senate soundly passed the penalties last week, The New York Times reported Thursday.
The Trump administration has advised against toughening sanctions against Russia, arguing that it could upend efforts to ease tensions and promote cooperation between the two countries.
Administration officials are looking to strike a provision in the bill that gives Congress the power to review efforts by the president to lift sanctions against Russia. This language was added to make it more difficult to lift sanctions imposed by former President Obama.
The sanctions, which come in retaliation for the Kremlin’s efforts to meddle in the 2016 election, have significant bipartisan support in Congress. The Senate passed the measure last week in a 98-2 vote.
The pressure from the White House comes on the heels of the bill being stalled in the House by a procedural issue. That decision had Democrats sounding alarm bells that Republicans could be trying to delay the bill amid pushback from the Trump administration.
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) spoke out on the procedural hurdle, arguing the GOP was using it to cover for Trump, “who has been far too soft on Russia.”
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