Democrats are tackling Donald Trump’s relationship with Russia from multiple directions in the wake of Michael Flynn’s resignation as national security adviser. On Wednesday, Democrats renewed their call for an independent investigation of ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, and announced a bill that would require congressional approval before Trump could ease sanctions on Russia. “We want to have no doubt where we stand with these sanctions,” House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer said in introducing the bill:
Hoyer said that the bill, which would let Congress review any sanctions relief granted by the White House before it is enacted, does not yet have any GOP sponsors. But he said that some Republicans have expressed interest in the legislation, and that Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) plan to introduce a partner bill in the Senate. [...]
When asked on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" about potential efforts in Congress to codify sanctions against Russia, [House Speaker Paul] Ryan said he would "for sure support codifying them and making sure that they don’t get watered down."
Don’t hold your breath for Ryan to do anything extreme like following through or standing up to the White House, but the fact that he’s pretending it’s a possibility shows the pressure he’s under. Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is still refusing to consider a select committee to investigate, but Democrats are pushing on that front:
[Senate Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer urged the creation of two independent investigations: one by Congress and the other by the executive branch, where he urged newly sworn-in Attorney General Jeff Session to appoint an independent investigator. [...]
Republicans have taken a scattershot approach on how to respond to the latest revelations. And Democrats have attempted to fill that vacuum by raising up pressure on the Republicans leading existing investigations — and to launch a new, independent investigation. Nearly a dozen Senate Democrats called for an independent counsel to probe the matter Wednesday morning.
Republicans are going to do everything they can to protect Trump, since they see him as the key to enacting their agenda of kicking tens of millions of people off health insurance and cutting taxes for the wealthy. But it’s getting harder for them by the day, and these moves by Democrats help ratchet up the pressure.