A bipartisan collection of Senators are pushing new legislation aimed at imposing broad new sanctions on Russia, primarily over accusations of “cyber activities” related to the 2016 US presidential election, and also nominally for “Syria and Ukraine.”
10 Senators are already co-sponsoring the bill, and more are expected in the days to come, with a complimentary bill in the House ready to be introduced if and when the Senate one moves forward, given how popular hostility toward Russia is, the bills are likely to pass barring any committee stumbling blocks.
The vote could well set up a major early showdown with the incoming Trump Administration, as Trump and members of his transition team have complained Obama’s sanctions already imposed against Russia were “disproportionate,” and presumably they will resist going any farther on the matter.
This is expected to just be part of an ongoing battle over US-Russia relations, as Trump has already agree to a normalization of ties with Russia, a fact which has fueled criticism among Congressional hawks, who insist that it is virtually impossible for the US and Russia not to be at odds.
