Both Democratic and Republican Senators are examining a myriad of options to push back against Trump's defense of Russia at the Helsinki summit, including hearings, briefings, possible sanctions, and of course, support for the US intelligence community's findings.
CNN:
Democratic leaders had a "far-ranging" discussion at a morning meeting about how the Senate should respond, according to Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the second-ranking Democrat in the chamber, following Trump's failure to support the US intelligence community's findings about election interference by the Russians while standing at a news conference with Putin.
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"There are many options," Durbin told CNN. "Many of us feel we need to go beyond a statement of the obvious -- that we stand behind the professionals at the Department of Justice and intelligence community and the Department of Defense. We think the Senate has to act immediately to do something. At a minimum to have a public hearing to get to the bottom of what happened in Helsinki."
Moments later, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, speaking on the floor, called on the Senate Republican leaders to compel Trump's national security team to appear before the Senate right away to explain exactly what was said at the summit.
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But the second-ranking GOP leader in the Senate appeared to reject that idea when he was asked if Republicans would call on Trump officials to brief the Senate.
"I'm sure we'll find out in due course," said Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, urging patience.
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A tough sanctions bill authored by Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio and Maryland Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen is also under consideration. That legislation would impose sanctions on any country that interferes in US elections.
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Senate Majority Mitch McConnell cited Rubio's legislation as one of the options Congress is considering as a response.
"There's a possibility that we may well take up legislation related to this," McConnell said on Capitol Hill after mentioning Rubio's proposal. "In the meantime, I think the Russians need to know that there are a lot of us who fully understand what happened in 2016, and it really better not happen again in 2018."
Cornyn said he supports more sanctions.
"I think what we ought to focus on is additional sanctions instead of just some messaging exercise," said Cornyn, who pointed to a bill being written by Colorado Republican Sen. Cory Gardner as a starting point. "That was one of the things Sen. Schumer mentioned where I think we could find some common ground to turn the screws on Russia."
Gardner's legislation, introduced a few months ago, would require the State Department to determine if Russia should be designated a state sponsor of terror. Gardner explained that because of Russia's repeated bad acts around the world -- including the downing of an airline, invading of its neighbors, poisoning of individuals on foreign soil and carrying out information warfare against other countries, they should earn that designation.
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Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona said he is working on a resolution to "reaffirm support for the intelligence community," following Trump's comments.
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Durbin said he hopes Democrats and Republicans can reach a bipartisan agreement, as they did previously when they voted to impose sanctions against Russia for election interference.
"We hope they will join us in a bipartisan effort," Durbin said. "They did on the imposition of sanctions despite reluctance from the White House. So, there is some sentiment on the Republican Senate side against Vladimir Putin and maybe we'll see it again."
Tennessee Republican Sen. Bob Corker, who chairs the Foreign Relations Committee, said he thinks the Senate should act first on an anti-tariffs measure to show Putin the chamber will defend European allies. Corker also warned Tuesday that Trump's actions wouldn't easily be fixed by congressional action.
"There is no question that the President's 15 minutes at a press conference can do more damage than it takes us months to overcome. I would say the first step we should take would be to pass this tariff legislation," Corker said.
Read more: Senators scramble to deal with fallout from Trump's news conference (CNN)
US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations:
“American citizens and the whole world watched the leader of the free world align with an authoritarian leader who orchestrated an attack on our own democracy. President Putin and his government are wasting no time capitalizing on yesterday’s meeting and using it to advance their national interests. We cannot afford to be blindsided or outmaneuvered,” wrote the Senators before listing 13 questions to be answered by the President. “Your cursory description of what was discussed at a two-and-a-half-hour meeting does little to assuage these concerns. To adequately protect America’s interests, we need to know what commitments you may have made to President Putin.”
The Senators also called on the Trump Administration to allow the U.S. Ambassador to Russia and the Secretary of Defense to testify before Congress about the repercussions of the Helsinki summit. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is already scheduled to appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday July 25th.
Read the letter: National Security Democratic Senate Leaders Pen Letter to Trump Demanding Details on Putin Summit
CNN:
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat from New Hampshire, is calling on President Donald Trump's interpreter from his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to testify before Congress.
"I'm calling for a hearing with the U.S. interpreter who was present during President Trump's meeting with Putin to uncover what they discussed privately. This interpreter can help determine what @POTUS shared/promised Putin on our behalf," Shaheen tweeted Tuesday.
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In an interview with CNN's John Berman on "New Day" Tuesday morning, Rep. Joe Kennedy of Massachusetts said Congress should take action to subpoena the translator to testify if the White House did not release what happened in the meeting.
"So what I'm asking is just that the White House tell the American public what was said, and if they won't do it, then the translator who was the only other American official in the room, that they come before Congress and explain what happened," Kennedy said. "And if they refused too, then Congress should subpoena."
Read more: Democrats want Trump's interpreter to testify before Congress (CNN Politics)