Republican congressional leadership was quick to acknowledge a bit of reality Monday following Russian asset Donald Trump's astounding press conference with Vladimir Putin. They mostly all said that they do indeed believe, unlike Trump, the nation's intelligence community's conclusion that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. That much they'd acknowledge, but when it comes to actually doing anything about it, they're all talk. In fact, what House Republicans have done in quiet is pretty astonishing.
The defense authorization bill passed out of the House this spring actually allows Russia an end run around the sanctions that were imposed on it in the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, which Congress overwhelmingly passed last year. The provision includes a "special rule," actually championed by Trump's Pentagon, to boost Russia's defense industry by allowing the administration to waive penalties on U.S. allies for buying Russian weapons. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer demanded that the House abandon this loophole (the Senate version does not have the rule).
Calling the Trump-Putin summit "an insult to all Americans: Democrats, Republicans, independents," Schumer said this is one of the four key actions that need to be taken immediately by Congress. "We have to stand up together to push back," he said. "If we wait much longer, our global alliances will fracture, the institutions we created in the wake of World War II will crumble, our allies will consider abandoning us to China and others—and Putin's Russia will emerge stronger," Schumer said.
Defense Secretary Mattis has argued that relaxing the sanctions would just benefit countries that still buy weapons from Russia, but intend to stop sometime in the future, citing India, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Democrats call bullshit on that, for good reason. It's broad enough for Trump to decide unilaterally to undo the sanctions for any nation. "His record doesn't necessarily suggest he'd feel confined to use the power just for that narrow purpose," as one House Democratic aide pointed out.
Here's one more opportunity for Republicans to clarify which side they're on—Trump's and Putin's, or the nation's.