Senators signaled on Monday that they were closing in on a deal on Russia sanctions.
Lawmakers have been locked in talks for roughy a week about adding new financial penalties on Russia, limiting President Trump’s ability to lift current sanctions or both. The Russia measure would be added to a separate Iran bill that is on the Senate floor.
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) predicted that lawmakers could announce an agreement as soon as Monday evening, though he acknowledged talks also could stretch into Tuesday.
“We hope that by tonight we might be able to have an agreement on an amendment. If we don’t, we’ll continue to work,” Cardin told reporters.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said at a White House event that he hopes lawmakers finalize their agreement on Monday,
according to Bloomberg.
{mosads}Senators are expected to pass the Iran sanctions bill, including any deal on Russia, this week. Lawmakers have been tightlipped about the details of their negotiations, which have sparked a frenzy of meetings around Capitol Hill.
Negotiators are using a handful of bills that would add new Russia sanctions, as well as allow Congress to block Trump from lifting current penalties, as a framework for the talks.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) gave the negotiators a shout out from the Senate floor on Monday afternoon, saying they are working to “craft much-needed additional sanctions on Russia.”
Cardin said he and Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, are “pretty close” but there are “different views out there.”
Several lawmakers are involved in the talks, including Cardin, Corker, Graham, top members of the Senate Banking Committee and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).
Cardin said he wants the bill to include “clear direction for the president on sanctions” and new tools to review and block Trump from lifting sanctions.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Monday that the bill “at the very least” should give Congress the ability to block Trump from lifting sanctions.
“Democrats feel strongly that Russia sanctions should move alongside Iran sanctions and we’re prepared to do what we can to make sure that we get a vote on a good amendment,” he said.
A bill from Cardin and McCain would impose financial penalties on Russia for its meddling in the 2016 presidential election, as well as its role in the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria. It would also codify sanctions implemented under the Obama administration by executive order.
Sens. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), the chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the Senate Banking Committee, outlined a Russia sanctions deal earlier this month that would “codify and strengthen” existing sanctions from former President Barack Obama’s executive orders.
Meanwhile, Graham has introduced legislation that would give Congress the chance to block Trump from lifting Russia sanctions unilaterally.
The Trump administration has sent mixed signals on Russia, and Trump’s warmer tone toward Moscow has drawn bipartisan backlash.
Gary Cohn, director of the White House National Economic Council, said last month that the administration wouldn’t weaken sanctions, adding “if anything we could probably look to get tougher.”
Cohn’s comments were a clarification of his earlier comments that the president didn’t have a position on Russia sanctions.
But the administration has also sparked concern over reports that it could hand back two diplomatic compounds in the United States to Russia.
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