Two new statements, one from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and the other from President Donald Trump, sum up the U.S. government’s take on Russian President Vladimir Putin and his continuing attacks against Ukraine.
First, here’s Johnson, talking to reporters on Wednesday:
Vladimir Putin has shown an unwillingness to be reasonable and to talk seriously about brokering a peace, and I think we have to send him a message — that’s my view.
And on Tuesday, Trump was even more to the point:
We get a lot of b******t thrown at us by Putin … He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.
Russia fired a record 728 drones at Ukraine overnight, along with 13 cruise and ballistic missiles, the Ukrainian air force said Wednesday. The city of Lutsk, which lies along Ukraine’s border with Poland and Belarus, was the hardest hit, although 10 other regions were also struck, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
With the Russia-Ukraine War in its third year and no end in sight — exacerbated by Putin’s intransigence — momentum has been building behind a bipartisan bill to impose sanctions on countries that buy Russian oil, with Republicans lawmakers continuing to work behind the scenes to win Trump’s support. Given Trump’s Tuesday comments, it appears that he’s getting closer to being on board, if he’s not already there.
As RedState reported last Thursday, Trump spoke with Putin that day. The call apparently didn’t go well, with the president telling the press he was “not happy” due to a lack of “any progress” toward a ceasefire in the war.
READ MORE: Trump Reveals How His Latest Phone Call With Putin Went, and It’s Not Good
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Here’s more:
Momentum has been building on Capitol Hill behind the measure, which is cosponsored by Senators Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, and Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, and has 83 supporters from both parties.
Mr. Trump’s statement on Tuesday that he was “very strongly” considering supporting it signaled that a deal could be near to move it through Congress.
Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota and the majority leader, said on Wednesday that “substantial progress” had been made on “overwhelmingly bipartisan Russia sanctions legislation to enhance President Trump’s leverage at the negotiating table and help end the bloodshed in Ukraine.”
He said the measure could come to a Senate vote “as early as this work period,” referring to the period between now and Aug. 1, when the chamber is set to depart for a monthlong recess.
A strong sanctions bill against Russia would likely have strong bipartisan support… at least in the Senate.
Sen. Graham told reporters on Tuesday that he has added provisions to the measure that would afford Trump greater flexibility to waive sanctions while pursuing a possible ceasefire and peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, in an effort to address White House concerns, although he didn’t provide details.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told reporters on Wednesday he’s hopefully that the Senate can pass legislation “in the next couple of weeks”:
I hope that we can get it on the floor before the August recess. We are working with the administration, with the House to try and get it in a form where it’s ready.
Obviously, there’s a tremendous amount of bipartisan support here in the Senate. I think that’s shared in the House of Representatives, at least I hope that it is.
The White House is very engaged in trying to get it in a form that we can transact and [get] across the floor of the Senate. Whether that happens in the next couple of weeks is a bit of an open question, but I’m hopeful that it can.
Speaker Johnson indicated that he hadn’t yet been briefed on the specifics of the bill, but noted there is “interest” in the House to proceed, saying, “so we’ll have to see.”
It’s beyond clear that talking with Putin and the Russian dictator actually taking steps to wind down the war with Ukraine are two different propositions. While, as Trump suggested, Putin says one thing and does another, Russia’s steadfast goal as been grabbing as much of Ukraine — and its rare earth minerals and other natural resources — as he can get away with.
It’s past time to end Putin’s game — on terms other than his.
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