{"id":1581,"date":"2022-02-24T19:41:03","date_gmt":"2022-02-24T19:41:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2022\/02\/24\/lawmakers-strike-bipartisan-note-to-condemn-putin-call-for-more-sanctions\/"},"modified":"2022-02-24T19:41:03","modified_gmt":"2022-02-24T19:41:03","slug":"lawmakers-strike-bipartisan-note-to-condemn-putin-call-for-more-sanctions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2022\/02\/24\/lawmakers-strike-bipartisan-note-to-condemn-putin-call-for-more-sanctions\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawmakers strike bipartisan note to condemn Putin, call for more sanctions"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In a show of unity, Republican and Democratic lawmakers swiftly condemned Russia\u2019s military attack against Ukraine and vowed to inflict economic pain on President Vladimir Putin by imposing a torrent of punishing new sanctions.<\/p>\n

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., said she wants Russia cut off from the SWIFT international banking system. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., called on international law enforcement to target Putin and his allies by seizing their \u201clavish apartments, fine art, yachts\u201d and other items.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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And Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said the U.S. must continue to send financial support and arms to Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cToday\u2019s invasion of Ukraine by Russia is a premeditated and flagrant act of war,\u201d said Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho, the top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee. \u201cThese are not the actions of a proud nation and people, but the actions of a desperate man whose only desire is to sow chaos in order to make himself look strong.\u201d<\/p>\n

His Democratic counterpart, Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Menendez of New Jersey, said Putin\u2019s \u201cunprovoked attack\u201d has underscored the need to blacklist the Russian president and \u201cexpel the current Kremlin leadership from the international community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cToday must mark a historical shift in how the world views and deals with the despot in Moscow,\u201d Menendez said.<\/p>\n

The flurry of statements and tweets from Capitol Hill came moments after Putin declared Thursday local time in a national televised address that Russia was launching a military operation to support the \u201cdemilitarization and denazification\u201d of eastern Ukraine. Explosions could be heard in cities across the country, including in the capital of Kyiv, where emergency sirens sounded.<\/p>\n

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For the most part, Democrats and Republicans struck a bipartisan note, pressing Biden to go further in sanctioning Russia but reserving their fury for Putin.<\/p>\n

\u201cFollowing news of Putin\u2019s further invasion of Ukraine with enormous concern and anger,\u201d tweeted Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, typically a vocal critic of Biden. \u201cThe US will stand with our Ukrainian allies, continue to provide them with arms to defend themselves, and work to counter Putin and hold accountable those responsible for this aggression.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., who tweeted that he was attending a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly, said he was “listening to Russian lies about their support of Ukrainian people.” He questioned how Putin could claim that he wants to “de-Nazify” Ukraine when the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is Jewish. <\/p>\n

“Putin is a wild dog and won\u2019t stop at Ukraine. Hitler didn\u2019t stop at the Sudetenland. Learn from history!” Cohen tweeted<\/a>. “The United States and all NATO must immediately provide as much military support as possible to the Baltic countries, to Poland, and other allies at risk.”<\/p>\n

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And the top Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs, Armed Services and Intelligence committees also took direct aim at Putin.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last few hours have laid bare for the world to witness the true evil that is Vladimir Putin. \u2026\u201d Reps. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, Mike Rogers, R-Ala., and Mike Turner, R-Ohio, said in a joint statement. \u201cEvery drop of Ukrainian and Russian blood spilled in this conflict is on Putin\u2019s hands, and his alone.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., tweeted<\/a>, “Russia has just become a pariah nation. Everything short of involving US forces should be done to punish this action. This should be unrelenting.”<\/p>\n

Yet there were a handful of Republicans who placed the blame for the Russian attack at Biden\u2019s feet.<\/p>\n

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\u201cJoe Biden has shown nothing but weakness and indecision,\u201d said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., who\u2019s considered a possible 2024 presidential candidate. \u201cNow is the time to show strong purpose. Sanction Russia\u2019s energy sector \u2014 the engine of its economy \u2014 to its knees and reopen American energy production full throttle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., a former ambassador to Japan, tweeted that Biden’s strategy to prevent a war had failed. “Despite Ukrainian President Zelensky\u2019s persistent call for pre-invasion sanctions, the Biden Administration chose to do nothing until it was too late and must now change course,” he wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In a statement, Biden said Putin had \u201cchosen a premeditated war\u201d and vowed to unilaterally impose another round of crippling sanctions on Russia on Thursday, just two days after he had targeted Putin with an initial tranche of sanctions.<\/p>\n

But any congressional action on sanctions will have to wait until at least next week when both House and Senate lawmakers return from their Presidents Day recess.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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In the meantime, top Biden administration officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, are planning to hold an unclassified phone briefing for senators Thursday on the developments in Ukraine.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That will be followed by a separate briefing for House lawmakers.<\/p>\n

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other top Democrats have been comparing Putin\u2019s military incursion to Adolf Hitler\u2019s military advance during World War II, the last time there was a major war in Europe.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n