House Republicans could pass a legislative package mandating broad new sanctions on Russia within “days,” according to Rep. Mark Meadows.
“I think you’ll see an overwhelming vote on the House floor in the coming days,” Meadows, chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, told Bloomberg on Tuesday.
An overwhelming majority of senators voted in favor of the legislation, which aims to punish Russia’s 2016 election interference as well as aggression in Syria and Ukraine. The bill hit a parliamentary snag in the House, however, and President Trump’s team is lobbying for lawmakers to expand his discretion over whether to impose or lift the sanctions. Trump’s effort has received a boost from American oil companies who stand to suffer under the proposal.
“You’ve got some U.S. businesses that are concerned, but the interests of our national sovereignty and national security, those trump any business interests,” Meadows, a North Carolina Republican and member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in the interview.
Meadows worked to maintain a good relationship with Trump, who is popular among the Republican primary voters that decide House races in deep-red districts, despite occasional policy clashes with the White House. That statement might disappoint Trump administration officials who have made the case against the legislation.
“I would urge Congress to ensure any legislation allows the president to have the flexibility to adjust sanctions to meet the needs of what is always an evolving diplomatic situation,” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told the House Foreign Affairs Committee in June. “Essentially, we would ask for the flexibility to turn the heat up when we need to, but also to ensure that we have the ability to maintain a constructive dialogue.”
