Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has signaled that he will not support bipartisan legislation announced yesterday that would prevent President Donald Trump from rolling back sanctions on Russia.
“I don’t think that’s necessary at this point,” McConnell told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published Wednesday evening. He did add that he would “certainly encourage” Trump to leave sanctions in place.
The legislation announced yesterday would require Trump to wait 120 days before changing sanctions and would allow Congress to pass a resolution preventing the President from easing sanctions against Russia. The measure would also codify certain sanctions against Russia that are already in place.
The majority leader also emphasized to the Wall Street Journal that he still does not support forming a special committee to investigate the Trump administration’s communications with Russian officials in the wake of Michael Flynn’s resignation as national security adviser. McConnell has backed an investigation led by the Senate Intelligence Committee.
“You have a select committee when you think you can’t handle it with the existing structure,” he told the Wall Street Journal.
