Trump Poised To Approve 'hellacious' Sanctions Against Russia

But there's a nuance.

The President of the United States of America Donald Trump is ready to sign a bill on tough sanctions against Russia. At the same time, the head of state wants the opportunity to decide the future fate of these restrictions independently.

This is reported by Politico.

According to a senior US administration official, "in general there is openness" to the bill of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. At the same time, the White House insists that the document should preserve the president's exclusive authority over foreign policy issues.

The current version of the document provides that the president can postpone for up to 180 days the application of a 500 percent customs tariff for countries that buy Russian oil and uranium. Senator Graham said he agreed to revise the document to allow a second waiver subject to congressional oversight.

The changes the administration is pushing for would enshrine the president's authority to grant such waivers, barring congressional intervention if Trump decides to lift sanctions.

An administration official noted to Politico that the current version of the bill provides that the president's foreign policy decisions could be subject to congressional micromanagement through a joint resolution of disapproval.

"This is unacceptable to us. The administration will not allow congressional microcontrol over the president's foreign policy. The bill must contain full discretion (a discretionary decision. - ed.) regarding exemptions," the White House spokesman said.

The publication recalled that Trump's new stance on the sanctions bill, stems from his growing frustration with the policies of Vladimir Putin, who has rejected the US president's efforts to end the fighting in Ukraine.

"The president has personally invested his reputation in the belief that he can negotiate anything and anywhere, but Putin has made him look bad," said one Republican political adviser close to the White House.

Senate Republican Majority Leader John Thune is more cautious: He acknowledges "significant progress" in working with the White House on the bill, but also stresses the need for Trump's full support.

In a speech to the Senate on Wednesday, he noted that the document could theoretically come up for consideration this month, but offered no guarantees.

"At the same time, the president's remarks that any new sanctions against Russia should be 'at his discretion' underscore the administration's top priority to maintain maximum flexibility and full control over U.S. policy toward the Kremlin," notes Politico.

Negotiations are still ongoing

Two people familiar with closed-door discussions on Capitol Hill said that while the White House generally supports the bill, agreement on the scope of the president's waiver authority has not yet been finalized. Senator Thune confirmed that the issue remains under negotiation.

The White House, when asked about the progress of the negotiations, referred to Trump's recent statements.

The Republican-controlled Congress is generally supportive of the Trump administration - passing a large fiscal package last week, and backing White House action on trade, immigration and war powers. All of these issues also fall under the purview of Congress, according to the U.S. Constitution.

Based on this trend, the administration expects the final version of the sanctions bill to be crafted to meet Trump's demands, even if that means reducing Congress' role in its implementation.

This would represent a departure from the approach taken in Trump's first cadence, when sanctions legislation against Russia included a congressional review process.

Breakthrough talks with Putin

Besides a desire to limit Congress' power to influence foreign policy, the president's desire to maintain flexibility also stems from a desire to leave room for a possible breakthrough in talks with Putin, White House officials said.

On Wednesday, Lindsey Graham said the president supports his legislative initiative. The senator noted that "Trump wants an exception - he'll get it" and added that "he has control over how the sanctions are implemented."

"Trump thinks the bill is 'helpful.' We want to be a team. We want to help the president. This is an effort to give him leverage that he doesn't have right now," Graham added.

Republicans are waiting for a signal from Trump

The bill has already been signed by more than 80 senators from the Republican and Democratic parties, potentially overriding a presidential veto. However, many Republicans are not ready to move the document forward without clear support from Trump.

"The desire to move the bill forward is real, but the risk is that the president will ultimately decide he doesn't need it," one Republican said on condition of anonymity.

Senate consideration is tentatively scheduled for the week beginning July 21. In the meantime, some Republican lawmakers are skeptical of Graham's assurances that the parties are in full agreement. They want to hear the president's support for the bill in person.

This is especially true for members of the "America First" faction in the Republican Party, who have often criticized Graham's more traditional hard-line approach.

For example, Republican Senator Josh Gauley said he plans to call Trump personally to learn his position.

"I know Lindsey has already said he supports the bill.... But I want to understand what the president himself thinks about it. I just prefer to hear it directly from him," Gauley noted.

Another Republican senator noted on condition of anonymity that "if the president supports sanctions - I support them too" and emphasized that he trusts the president.

"He is the central figure in all the negotiations. Today he is disappointed with Putin, earlier he was disappointed with Zelensky. And he is the only leader in the world who can unite both sides," the senator summarized.

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