Sanctions on Russia are long overdue, House Speaker Mike Johnson told CBS News’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday.
The Louisiana Republican backed the effort by fellow party members Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania to add such a sanctions package to legislation aimed at averting a government shutdown in two weeks.
“I do believe that desperate times call for desperate measures, and I think appropriate sanctions on Russia are far overdue,” Johnson said.
The speaker emphasized that “there’s a big appetite for that in Congress, so we’re willing to work with the White House and our Senate colleagues in the House to get that done, and I’m anxious to do it, personally.”
Johnson stressed, however, that “we have defer to the commander in chief,” President Donald Trump, on the issue, since “Congress really can’t do this on its own volition, because, of course, the president would need to sign whatever you do into law. So it has to be a partnership.”
The speaker added that “the president is a strong and bold leader on the world stage. He has brokered peace around the world in other conflicts in a way that no one before him has been able to do. And so we’re trusting that he can use that same force and that same approach to bring about finally an end to this war in Ukraine.”
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