House Republicans took a stronger stance on Russia than most of their Senate counterparts Thursday by voting against the Trump administration's plan to lift sanctions on Oleg Deripaska's companies.
One hundred and thirty-six Republicans joined Democrats in a final vote of 362 to 53. The move is purely symbolic, however, because the Senate vote fell short of the needed 60-vote threshold.
But the House vote does mean that a majority of Republicans on Capitol Hill oppose President Trump’s efforts to soften punitive measures on a Russian oligarch — a rejection with potential implications for the administration’s continued stance on Russia, and for the GOP lawmakers who backed the plan to ease the sanctions.
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Treasury said it was prepared to lift the company sanctions because Deripaska agreed to reduce his ownership below 50 percent. His reduced stake would protect the companies “from the controlling influence of a Kremlin insider,” Treasury said, adding that the companies had been sanctioned "solely because they were majority-owned or controlled by Deripaska.”
Under a rules change Congress passed in 2017, lawmakers have a 30-day window to block any relaxation of Russia-related sanctions proposed by the Treasury Department. That window closes Friday ...
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House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) sent a letter to Mnuchin renewing the request to delay the easing of the sanctions, in light of the votes in the House and the Senate.
Washington’s sanctions on Rusal and En+ Group clobbered Deripaska financially, sinking the market value of his publicly traded companies. Rusal shares have rebounded somewhat on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since Treasury announced it would lift the sanctions, rising about 18 percent in a boost for Deripaska ...
The U.S. sanctioned Deripaska and his companies in April 2018, among a group of Russian elites the U.S. said had furthered “the Kremlin’s global malign activities, including its attempts to subvert Western democracy.”
In announcing those sanctions, Treasury also noted that Deripaska had been investigated for money laundering and accused of “threatening the lives of business rivals” and having ties to organized crime.
Rebuking Trump, over 130 House Republicans challenge plans to lift sanctions against Putin ally (WaPo)