UPDATE (9/26/18): Paul's the only Senator who voted for his own amendment, leaving his colleagues suspicious as to why he introduced it in the first place.
In recent weeks, Paul has also backed up President Donald Trump’s approach on Russia, which Republicans and Democrats alike have criticized as too conciliatory. Privately, members of the foreign relations committee express confusion about Paul’s push, leading them to question whether his Moscow trip left impressions on him that run contrary to current U.S. policies toward Moscow; publicly, they took victory laps and noted the amendment was “strongly” defeated.
“The sanctions were put in place because these members of the Duma voted to authorize [Vladimir] Putin to invade Ukraine and take Crimea. Nothing has changed there,” Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), the chairman of the foreign relations committee, told The Daily Beast. “There are over 600 members of the Russian parliament who are not sanctioned and we can meet with. Even the ones that are sanctioned—I go to the Munich Security Conference and can see them there, or in Israel or some other place. So it was soundly defeated for obvious reasons.”
When asked whether he thought Paul’s trip to Russia had anything to do with the amendment, Corker demurred: “I don’t know, but obviously it was not a very convincing amendment.”
Rand Paul’s Push to Lift Some Russia Sanctions Fizzles (Daily Beast)
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) is keeping up his recent pro-Russia crusade and planning to introduce an amendment Wednesday that would lift sanctions on Russian politicians if the Kremlin agreed to reciprocate.
The amendment, which will be introduced at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee meeting on Wednesday, stipulates that existing U.S. sanctions on members of the Russian Federal Assembly will be lifted if Moscow agrees to lift its own sanctions on certain American members of Congress.
Paul’s amendment is not likely to go anywhere on a foreign relations panel that is overwhelmingly skeptical of Russia and unwilling to lift sanctions in exchange for such a concession as the one Paul has outlined. At least one fellow senator—who herself is banned from traveling to Russia—is already objecting.
“Thanks, but no thanks. As a senator who has been sanctioned by the Kremlin, I see absolutely no need for this amendment and strongly believe that sanctions should continue to be enhanced for Russian leadership rather than weakened,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), who was denied a Russian visa last year, told The Daily Beast. “As the Kremlin continues to attack our institutions and democracy, this amendment would be a capitulation to Putin’s aggression.”
Paul has made sanctions relief a cause of his since returning from Moscow last month. During that trip, which he took without any of his colleagues, Paul met with Russian officials and delivered a letter from President Donald Trump to Russian President Vladimir Putin, which the White House later said was written at Paul’s request ...
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The Kentucky senator has long been a proponent of President Donald Trump’s strategy to establish a better working relationship with Russia and with Putin. He has criticized his colleagues for their tougher stances on Russia, arguing that the U.S. should be promoting dialogue with Russia. And upon his return from Moscow, he openly questioned the purpose of the NATO alliance during a foreign relations committee hearing.
Rand Paul Wants to Scrap Some U.S. Sanctions on Russia (Daily Beast)