Democratic and Republican lawmakers in the House appear to be closing in on finalizing the Russian sanctions bill that passed the Senate 98 - 2 last month. But the Trump administration is still fighting to give Donald Trump ultimate control over when and why to lift sanctions that have been imposed on Russia. The Hill writes:
The legislation establishes congressional oversight of the Trump administration’s implementation of sanctions to prevent the president from lifting them if lawmakers disagree.
The White House has pushed back on those provisions, but [Republican Sen. Bob] Corker denied that the measure would be watered down.
"Yeah, he's a good friend and I really love my relationship with him, but that's not likely to occur,” Corker said of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, saying the administration wants flexibility when it comes to Russia policy. “I mean, congressional review is going to stay in this bill and there's no attempt ... whatsoever to move away from congressional review."
Some U.S. companies have also objected to certain provisions in the bill, but the main hurdle seems to have been stonewalling by the White House. House lawmakers said they were optimistic about sending the bill back to the Senate and finally putting it on Trump's desk before representatives leave for August recess at the end of next week. Accomplishing that goal is one hurdle—but the other is getting Trump to sign it.