Senate Democrats fear that the White House will defang the bill designed to punish Russia for election meddling.
The White House plans to work with House Republicans on administration-friendly changes to the Senates overwhelmingly bipartisan bill that slaps new sanctions on Russia and curbs President Donald Trumps power to ease penalties against Moscow, according to a senior administration official.
The White House is concerned that the legislation would tie its hands on U.S.-Russia relations, a sentiment publicly expressed by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. But Senate Democrats fear the White House may go overboard in preserving its power to talk to Russia and seek to defang the sanctions bill which passed 98-2 on Thursday in one of the years most significant displays of bipartisanship.
Im concerned about it, but I dont really have the ability to dictate what the White House says to the House, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said in an interview. I cant imagine the House would want to be apologists for Russian behavior after the combined weight of the intelligence communities all weighing in saying, Look, they attacked the United States.
The administration official emphasized that the White House supports sanctions on Russia and that the political ramifications of any veto have not been discussed yet. As the State Department actively engages with lawmakers, the White House is confident it has allies in the House who are also concerned about the prospect of breaking with precedent and limiting the executive branchs control over sanctions.
But Senate Democrats fret that the frenetic news cycle may make it easier for Trump who has repeatedly offered praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin and is mired in an FBI probe into possible collusion between his campaign and the Kremlin to undercut a sanctions deal designed to punish Moscow for meddling in last years election.
Im afraid that the level of awareness isnt where it should be, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said in an interview. And were going to come back and ask How could this accommodation to Russia have happened? if this bill is watered down.
Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, who helped negotiate the sanctions package as the Banking Committees top Democrat, told POLITICO he has heard the Trump administration is reaching out to House members to slow it, block it.
This is not something the administration is calling for us to do, Brown said. I applaud the courage of a number of my Republican colleagues who said no to the administration and did the right thing for the country to keep a foreign power out of our elections.
However, Tillerson earlier this week signaled his displeasure with any sanctions bill that would force the U.S. to close the channels off with Russia. While the White House has not taken an official position on the bill, deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Thursday tried to project toughness on Russia while appearing to express concerns about the Senate legislation.
Source: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/17/trump-white-house-russia-sanctions-deal-239636Asked if he feared that Trump's team could secure its preferred Russia changes with little public scrutiny, Durbin said only: "Yes."