US Congress will not impose sanctions against Russia without consulting Trump, - Johnson
US House Speaker Mike Johnson believes that the time for imposing new sanctions against Russia has long since come. However, according to the lawmaker, the US Congress will not adopt them without consulting with President Donald Trump.
Johnson said this in an interview with CBS News, reports Censor.NET.
The journalist mentioned a statement by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who said that the US Congress is ready to adopt devastating sanctions against Russia, and asked Johnson for his position on this issue.
"I do believe that desperate times call for desperate measures, and I think appropriate sanctions on Russia are far overdue. I mean, I think there's a big appetite for that in Congress, so we're willing to work with the White House and our Senate colleagues in the House to get that done and I'm anxious to do it, personally," Johnson said.
When asked whether Congress would wait for the president to give the green light, the speaker replied that Congress could not act on its own initiative.
"Well, Congress really can't do this on its own volition because, of course, the President would need to sign whatever we do into law. So it has to be a partnership, but we defer to the commander in chief," said the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Earlier it was reported that US President Donald Trump told European leaders that he wanted them to reduce purchases of Russian oil. However, some European countries are unlikely to comply with this condition. Both Trump and his advisers are aware of this.
