Richard Blumenthal trying to push House colleagues to pass Russia sanctions bill

Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Wednesday he’s trying to work with his House colleagues to pass a Russian sanctions bill that’s currently being held up.

“The excuse is that it’s a revenue-raising measure — [meaning it] has to begin in the House. And this one began in the Senate. It was passed with overwhelming bipartisan support,” Mr. Blumenthal said on MSNBC.

The Connecticut Democrat said he doesn’t know why House Republicans are holding up the bill since it actually strengthens the president’s hand when dealing with Russia.

“It actually codifies and strengthens those sanctions, and authorizes the president to take additional sanctions against the mining, metal, shipping and rail interests of Russia. So it actually strengthens the president’s hand,” Mr. Blumenthal explained.

“It enables him to take action against interferences in democratic institutions, which obviously the Russians did in the United States and elsewhere,” he said.