The president is expected to sign a sanctions bill targeting Russia, Iran, and North Korea “very soon,” according to the chairman of the Senate’s foreign relations panel.
Trump administration officials had pushed back against certain parts of the bill, especially a provision that allows Congress to block the president from modifying sanctions on the Kremlin. Facing a likely veto-proof majority, however, the White House said Friday that the president would sign the bill.
“A signing ceremony should take place very soon,” Tennessee senator Bob Corker told TWS. “Obviously there’s no pushback at all from them.”
Speaking in Georgia Tuesday, Vice President Mike Pence also said that he expected the bill to be signed into law soon. Concerns from the administration that the legislation would hamstring the president in negotiations with the Kremlin have been alleviated, Pence said.
“The concern was that it did not include the traditional flexibility that is afforded to the State Department or any administration in the conduct of American foreign policy,” he said. “I’m pleased to report that the bill improved significantly as it moved through the House.”
The sanctions package punishes Russia over interference in the 2016 election, its 2014 annexation of Crimea and military moves in Ukraine, and support for Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, among other activities. It also targets North Korea and Iran.
The Kremlin fired back after the passage of the legislation and ordered the U.S. to cut 755 of its diplomatic staff across Russia—most of whom are not American.
During a foreign trip near Russia’s border this week, Pence said that the Trump administration would stand with its allies and affirmed its commitment to upholding its NATO vows.
“Be assured: The United States rejects any attempt to use force, threats, intimidation, or malign influence in the Baltic States or against any of our treaty allies,” he said in Estonia. “Under President Donald Trump, the United States of America will stand firmly behind our Article 5 pledge of mutual defense—and the presence of the U.S Armed Forces here today proves it.”
