Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said he will end his hold on President Joe Biden’s nominees to the State Department in response to the reimposed sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
The Republican praised Biden for his decision to end waivers on Congress-approved sanctions on the company overseeing construction of the pipeline and said the United States needs to do more to assist Ukraine in the face of a Russian invasion.
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION ALLOWS SANCTIONS TO RESUME ON NORD STREAM 2
“President Biden made the right decision today. Allowing Putin’s Nord Stream 2 to come online would have created multiple, cascading, and acute security crises for the United States and our European allies for generations to come. Today’s announcement is critical to preventing such scenarios,” Cruz said in a statement.
Cruz, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, began his hold on State Department nominees last year when the Biden administration waived the sanctions against Nord Stream 2 AG, the company managing the pipeline. The sanctions came from the Protecting Europe’s Energy Security Act that Cruz co-authored with New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen in 2019.
In a statement Wednesday, Cruz said “much more is still needed” to counter Russian President Vladimir Putin and assist Ukraine. He said Putin’s aggressive actions are likely based on the assumption that the sanctions and halting of the pipeline are temporary.
“Our Ukrainian allies are on the front lines this very moment bravely facing down Russian forces. For months, they have been pleading with us to help them by, first, locking in exactly these sanctions on Nord Stream 2 and, second, providing them with the lethal aid they need to defend themselves. President Biden has now taken positive steps in both areas, but much more still needs to be done to deter and counter the threat that Putin poses to our allies in Ukraine and across Europe,” Cruz said.
The $11 billion pipeline is meant to carry natural gas from Russia to Germany. Biden said he was opposed to the pipeline but waived the sanctions to improve relations with Germany.
Cruz then penned an op-ed in the Washington Examiner arguing that Biden gave Putin a “multibillion-dollar gift.” Cruz tapped into Senate rules that allowed him to delay confirmation of Biden’s State Department nominees to protest the waivers. In some cases, the delays were essentially indefinite, and Cruz held up more than a dozen nominees, the Texas Tribune reported.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Biden reimposed the sanctions Wednesday as a punitive measure against Russia for authorizing troops to enter separatist-backed regions in Ukraine. Germany also suspended the certification of the pipeline in response to Russia’s hostile actions. Suspension of the pipeline comes at a time when Germany and other European nations are experiencing an energy crisis. An estimated 40% of Europe’s energy comes from Russian natural gas.
The sanctions against the pipeline coincided with other sanctions the U.S. and Europe imposed on Russia in response to Putin’s actions. This includes sanctions that target Putin’s inner circle.
