Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham are setting up their next big cave to Donald Trump and their Republican leadership by calling for a bill requiring congressional approval before Trump could lift sanctions on Russia. This latest bit of “no, really, we’re getting tough” posturing comes just as McCain and Graham announced their support for Trump’s secretary of state nominee, Rex Tillerson, support about which McCain previously said “there’s also a realistic scenario that pigs fly.” So take the congressional-approval-for-lifting-sanctions move with several shakers of salt.
McCain and Graham are teaming up with Democrats Chuck Schumer and Ben Cardin on this.
“We need more sanctions against Russia. We should not relax them,” McCain said. “If we don’t keep those sanctions on and even increase them it will encourage Vladimir Putin, who is a war criminal.” [...]
“I’m deeply concerned about our relationship with Russia. I believe that the president has around him a national security team that is very concerned as well,” McCain said Sunday. “They have committed war crimes. They have. When you have airplanes with precision weapons striking hospitals in Aleppo [Syria] and slaughtering innocent men women and children, you are committing a war crime."
Great, John. Get back to us after you don’t give in for a change.