Republican lawmakers are growing frustrated with President Donald Trump after he paused new sanctions on Russia’s economy, sidelining a measure he signed into law just a month ago.
Trump halted the sanctions by executive order Friday and set off growing GOP backlash, with lawmakers demanding answers about disruptions to Ukraine’s access to SpaceX’s Starlink satellite service and U.S. intelligence warnings of incoming Russian missiles. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) told MS NOW that Congress would punish the administration.
“There have not been sufficient answers forthcoming from the administration,” Fitzpatrick told MS NOW after joining a bipartisan call with Zelenskyy. “And you better well damn believe that we’re going to demand them. ... We’re going to take budgetary action — punitive budgetary action — until we get to the truth, until this is fixed.”
He also brushed off Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s claim that the U.S. government had nothing to do with the Starlink problems.
“It’s not enough to say you had nothing to do with it,” Fitzpatrick said. “You need to tell us who did, right? ... He’s the president. He can find out who did.”
Rubio also said Starlink was working, to his knowledge, but Zelenskyy told lawmakers Monday that the service remains degraded, according to a joint statement from Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT). Zelenskyy “also reported disruptions to U.S. intelligence sharing concerning early warning of Russian ballistic missile launches,” the senators said.
Other Republicans voiced displeasure but stopped short of threatening consequences.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), a member of Senate GOP leadership, said lawmakers had timed the sanctions to suit the White House.
“That’s why I think I was extremely surprised when he did it,” Capito said. Still, she didn’t commit to a response, adding, “It’s going to be difficult to say anything in the next two weeks that’s going to make any kind of difference.”
Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) called for a congressional investigation into the Starlink disruptions but saw no need for brinksmanship.
Rep. Craig Goldman (R-TX) opposed the waiver but said he would defer to Trump, who is “in discussions at a much higher level than I am.”
Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) said she plans to raise the issue with Trump when he campaigns in South Carolina. Her late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, negotiated the sanctions bill before his death in July.
“It’s up to him whether or not he chooses to use it,” she said.
Any punitive move would likely come during the lame-duck session, when Congress faces a Dec. 11 government funding deadline. No specific plan has taken shape yet.
