DEMS/GOP/SANCTIONS/SENATE/TREASURY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Eleven Senate Republicans joined Democrats on Tuesday [1-15-19] to on a measure intended to stop the Treasury Department from easing sanctions on an oligarch close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The 57-42 vote, following a GOP lunch briefing by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, put a squeeze on Republicans torn between support for the Trump administration and concerns about going soft on Russia, in this case companies linked to Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska…Republican senators who voted to open debate on the resolution of disapproval drafted by Democrats included Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Cory Gardner of Colorado, Marco Rubio of Florida and Susan Collins of Maine. The Senate planned to hold another procedural vote Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. It will have a higher, 60-vote threshold…At issue are plans by Treasury to relax sanctions on Russian companies Rusal, EN+ and EuroSibEnergo, which had been targeted because of their ties to Deripaska. The firms produce aluminum and electricity. A congressional review period for lawmakers to intervene in the decision expires this week.”
–Zachary Warmbrodt, “Fractured Senate GOP opens debate on blocking Trump sanctions,” Politico, January 15, 2019 7:14 pm