U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, an Ohio Republican who co-chairs the Senate Ukraine Caucus, said the United States did not go far enough when Russia invaded Crimea eight years ago and urged Biden to take decisive action.
“I encourage the Biden administration to impose devastating sanctions now to deter further Russian military operations against our ally Ukraine,” he said.
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, the top Republican on the House and Foreign Operations Appropriations subcommittee, said she is working with Democratic senators to craft an emergency spending bill that would allow the departments of defense, justice, state and treasury to “go after the oligarchs.” who enrich themselves on Putin’s misfortunes.”
“It’s time for this mob to lose their yachts, their luxury apartments and pay the price for being part of a group of thugs – a nation-state that is actually a mafia state,” Graham said.
The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Energy, Environment and Cybersecurity, Democrat Bill Keating of Massachusetts, and Ranking Member Fitzpatrick issued a joint statement condemning Putin for the attack on Ukraine and calling on Congress to “work to punish these actions and ensure that any “Further escalation will be extremely painful for the Kremlin.”
“At this time, we support swift, severe and damaging sanctions imposed on all those involved in (this) devastating decision to continue to invade Ukraine in order to consolidate Russia’s illegal occupation of Donbas,” they wrote.
U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat from New Hampshire who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Europe, he said Putin’s incursion into separatist regions was “illegal annexation.”
The move “must be met with fierce condemnation from the global community and a response that sends a clear signal that NATO, the West and democracies around the world will not stand by passively while Putin wages war on Ukraine,” Shaheen said. “The administration should use available tools and impose strict sanctions today.”
Shaheen issued a statement from Poland, where she traveled after an international security conference in Germany, to discuss the role NATO members should play in the conflict.
Colorado Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet, who serves on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said the president should immediately communicate with allied countries and continue imposing sanctions on Russia.
“Putin’s radical rejection of Ukraine’s sovereignty is a violation of international law,” he added. – he said in a statement. “We must hold Putin accountable for his aggression and support the Ukrainian people’s desire for an independent and democratic nation.”
The NYET Act—which Senator Risch and I introduced last week—would make Putin feel the consequences of his invasion of Ukraine by imposing secondary sanctions on Russian financial institutions. I urge the Senate to take up this legislation as soon as we return next week.
— Pat Toomey (US Sen. ret.) (@SenToomey) February 22, 2022
Arizona Democratic Senator Mark Kelly called for “substantial sanctions against Putin, his supporters and the Russian government for this incursion.”
Kelly, a member of the Armed Services Committee, said he “will continue to support providing Ukraine with weapons and equipment to defend against further Russian invasion and will continue to work with my colleagues and this administration to defend Ukraine’s sovereignty.”
GOP criticizes Biden
However, some Republicans attacked Biden for showing “weakness.”
Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on Europe, said in a press release that Biden’s actions to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline, withdraw from Afghanistan and escalate government spending showed weakness in the eyes of the rest world .
“All these actions have weakened America and our enemies have noticed,” he said. “They are taking advantage of the weakness of the Biden administration.”
A handful of House Republicans, led by leader Kevin McCarthy, criticized Biden for not doing more to punish Putin.
“Vladimir Putin’s decision to launch a renewed invasion of Ukraine is reprehensible,” McCarthy tweeted shortly after Biden’s remarks. “Unfortunately, President Biden has consistently chosen to make concessions, and his harsh speeches on Russia have never been followed by decisive action.”
Biden promised swift and severe sanctions against Russia if Putin chose to invade Ukraine.
He's failed to deliver that.
Biden’s continued weakness will further embolden our adversaries and invite aggression around the globe.
— Guy Reschenthaler (@GReschenthaler) February 22, 2022
“This is another failed issue on President Biden’s part,” tweeted Rep. Mark Green, a Republican from Tennessee who holds the top seat on the House Foreign Affairs Panel on Europe.
In other tweets, Green said Biden should operate sanctions to “cripple the heart of the Russian economy.”
“Joe Biden certainly knows how to show weakness in times that call for strength,” North Carolina Republican Virginia Foxx wrote on Twitter.
