President Trump reluctantly signed a bill in August that required him to implement new sanctions on Russia as punishment for its interference in the 2016 U.S. election. A key deadline set up by the law has now come and gone, and Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) are expressing their frustration with the President.
“The delay calls into question the Trump administration’s commitment to the sanctions bill which was signed into law more than two months ago, following months of public debate and negotiations in Congress. They’ve had plenty of time to get their act together," the pair said in a joint statement on Wednesday.
The two lawmakers sent the President a letter on September 28th, reminding him he had an October 1st deadline to submit a list of Russians in the defense and intelligence sectors who will be subject to sanctions. Shortly afterwards, President Trump issued a memo delegating responsibility to identifying targets to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
McCain, Cardin scold Trump for missing Russian sanctions deadline (The Hill)
'They've had plenty of time to get their act together': Top senators slam Trump for failing to implement Russia sanctions (Business Insider)