Senate Democrat Calls for Vote on Russia Sanctions Bill
Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., urged Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., June 2 to “immediately” schedule a vote on a bipartisan Russia sanctions bill.
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Such action is needed to pressure Moscow to end its war against Ukraine, Durbin asserted in a Senate floor speech. "We cannot wait any longer," he said. "Innocent people are dying because of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's aggression."
While Thune is co-sponsoring the bill, which Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., introduced in April (see 2505220052 and 2504020003), he hasn't indicated when the Senate will take up the legislation. However, Thune said in his own floor speech June 2 that the Senate stands ready to give President Donald Trump “any tools he needs to get Russia to finally come to the [negotiating] table in a real way.”
Trump said in late May that he hasn't yet decided to impose new sanctions on Russia because he believes it could still hurt the possibility of a peace deal (see 2505290049).