Lankford and Mullin Join Bipartisan Push
It’s called the Russia Sanctions bill and it has the support of Oklahoma U.S. Sens. James Lankford and Markwayne Mullin along with dozens of others on Capitol Hill. It is a weapon proposed by Trump supporters to end the war in Ukraine.
S. 1241, authored by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), but might take center stage soon in an effort by President Trump to apply more pressure on Russian leader Putin to end the war in Ukraine. It also targets those countries that continue to buy oil from the Communist country that launched another attack on Ukraine in 2022, 8 years after it started the war.
Trump Supporters Push for Stronger Pressure
What might bring it to the Senate floor this week is a recent call by Senate Majority Leader John Thune who indicated he is ready to hold a vote on the bill sanctioning buyers of Russian oil — one day after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters the administration would support a tariff smacking China for its reliance on Moscow for energy.
The bill has the support of a large number of Senators including the two from Oklahoma.
“A bill to impose sanctions and other measures with respect to the Russian Federation if the Government of the Russian Federation refuses to negotiate a peace agreement with Ukraine, violates any such agreement, or initiates another military invasion of Ukraine, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. By Mr. GRAHAM (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Durbin, Mrs. Britt, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Young, Mr. King, Mr. Ricketts, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Cramer, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Curtis, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Cotton, Ms. Hassan, Mrs. Fischer, Ms. Alsobrooks, Ms. Ernst, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Wicker, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Welch, Mr. Mullin, Mr. Coons, Mr. Sheehy, Mrs. Gillibrand, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. Kelly, Mr. Husted, Ms. Slotkin, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Hickenlooper, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Bennet, Mrs. Capito, Mr. Gallego, Mr. Hoeven, Mr. Fetterman, Mr. Boozman, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Lankford, Mr. Heinrich, Mr. Scott of Florida, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Justice, Ms. Warren, Mr. Daines, Mr. Reed, Mr. Kennedy, and Mr. Barrasso).”
Last week, the Treasury Secretary explained the White House wants a vote to apply more pressure on China, the largest buyer of Russian oil in the world. The administration wants a tariff on China and put the proceeds into a “victory fund” to purchase weapons for Ukraine.
SOURCE: New York Post-