Ryan Buckles-- Abandons Señor Trumpanzee On Russia Sanctions

You probably recall that back in mid-June the Senate voted 97-2 to impose sanctions of Russia and to prevent Trump from removing them without congressional approval. Congressional Toadie-in-Chief Paul Ryan has-- at least until now-- pleased Trump by preventing the Senate bill from being voted on in the House. Yesterday, Ryan couldn't take the intense pressure and pretty much gave up. Matt Flegenheimer and David Sanger reported for the NY Times that the House and the Senate have come up with a deal to allow the bill to move forward. This puts Señor Trumpanzee, who as everyone now knows, was put into office with the help of Putin, in a very awkward position. Will he veto the bill on behalf of his Kremlin masters-- and risk an override vote-- or will he show Putin, once again, how weak and completely ineffective he is?

Congressional leaders have reached an agreement on sweeping sanctions legislation to punish Russia for its election-meddling and aggression toward its neighbors, they said Saturday, defying the White House’s argument that President Trump needs flexibility to adjust the sanctions to fit his diplomatic initiatives with Moscow.

The new legislation sharply limits the president’s ability to suspend or terminate the sanctions. At a moment when investigations into the Trump campaign’s interactions with Russian officials have cast a shadow over his presidency, Mr. Trump could soon face a bleak decision: veto the bill-- and fuel accusations that he is doing the bidding of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia-- or sign legislation imposing sanctions his administration abhors.

...The House version of the bill includes a small number of changes, technical and substantive, from the Senate legislation, including some made in response to concerns raised by oil and gas companies.

But for the most part, the Republican leadership appears to have rejected most of the White House’s objections. The bill aims to punish Russia not only for interference in the election but also for its annexation of Crimea, continuing military activity in eastern Ukraine and human rights abuses. Proponents of the measure seek to impose sanctions on people involved in human rights abuses, suppliers of weapons to the government of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria and those undermining cybersecurity, among others.

Paired with the sanctions against Iran and North Korea, the House version of the bill was set for a vote on Tuesday, according to the office of Representative Kevin McCarthy, Republican of California and the chamber’s majority leader.

On Saturday, the agreement appeared destined for bipartisan, bicameral support.

Senator Ben. Cardin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that though he would have preferred full adoption of the Senate version, “I welcome the House bill, which was the product of intense negotiations.”

He said the legislation would “express solidarity with our closest allies in countering Russian aggression and holding the Kremlin accountable for their destabilizing activities.”

...The delays in the House became a source of deep frustration among some Russia hawks, including Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, before he left Washington for medical treatment for a brain tumor.

“Pass it, for Christ’s sake,” he said to his House colleagues, as the measure languished last week over technical concerns raised mostly by Republicans.

As House Republican leaders like Speaker Paul D. Ryan chafed at the suggestion that they were doing the White House’s bidding by not taking up the measure immediately, the administration sought to pressure members by insisting that the legislation would unduly hamstring the president.

Officials argued that Mr. Trump would be effectively handcuffed-- deprived of the power to ease or lift the sanctions as he saw fit. The White House pushed to remove language giving Congress the ability to block such actions.