A bipartisan plan to impose sanctions on Russia in response to cyberattacks conducted during the 2016 elections could hit a snag among key Republicans, despite the lawmakers’ belief that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government interfered in the campaign.
The debate over Russian activity has been polarized since mid-summer, when the intelligence community publicly accused Russia of purloining and leaking documents that embarrassed the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton’s campaign. President-elect Trump refused to accept those findings and impeached the credibility of the CIA after a post-election briefing in which intelligence officials told Congress that Russia interfered for the purpose of boosting Trump’s election prospects.
But the hesitant Republicans don’t share Trump’s doubts about the intelligence assessments. By turns, they question the timing and effectiveness of a new sanctions regime. “We’re changing administrations right now, we’re 15 days away from that,” Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, told reporters Thursday. “I think everybody needs to stop, catch your breath, and see where this whole thing is going to go before we make specific plans.”
Those comments followed a closed-door Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, featuring State Department witnesses and one of the Treasury Department officials responsible for implementing U.S. sanctions. The hearing took place in the wake of President Obama’s announcement of economic sanctions on members of Russian military intelligence and the expulsion of 35 Russian spies operating in the United States under diplomatic cover.
Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, another member of the Foreign Relations Committee, also raised doubts about new sanctions, given that Putin can rally political support in his own country when the United States takes such actions. “So, if you can get sanctions to work, I’m all for them, but we also need to understand the unintended consequences of actually strengthening Putin’s position at home,” the Republican said.
Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, and Sen. Marco Rubio are working on a sanctions package that would go beyond Obama’s actions. That release would practically coincide with Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson’s confirmation hearings, which are scheduled for next week.
Tillerson’s history of working as Exxon Mobil CEO to negotiate energy deals with Putin’s Russia threatens to cost him votes even among Republicans. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham has set a litmus test for Tillerson, saying the incoming nominee must attest to Russia’s responsibility for the cyberattacks and endorse a new round of sanctions. “If you oppose sanctions in the future, then you’re letting Russia get away with it, you’re inviting more aggression by Iran and China and North Korea, and I don’t think you have the judgment to be secretary of state,” Graham said last month.
Rubio declined to draw the same line in the sand. “I’m not sure I would describe anything as a litmus test, but I have strong views on issues and hopefully they’ll be reflected in our next secretary of state,” he told reporters.
Risch thinks the broader effort premature. “We’re in a state of flux right now and that’s not a good time to be acting on something as serious as that,” he said. “Until the effort is completely done and I have a better sense of where I’m putting my foot down, I’m not going to be specifically involved in that effort.”
