President Donald Trump signed legislation Wednesday morning that both brings new sanctions against Russia and limits the president’s power to lift those sanctions in the future.
The bill, a response from Congress to Russian interference in the November elections, takes aim at Russia’s energy and defense sectors, and was one of the first major pieces of legislation to make it to Trump’s desk. Until this morning, it was unclear whether or not the president would sign off on the legislation; even as Trump signed the bill “for the sake of national unity,” he called it “seriously flawed,” chiefly because it gives Congress the power to veto an easing of the sanctions and thus limits the executive branch’s “authority to negotiate.”
Trump, who has questioned the intelligence community’s findings on Russian interference in American elections, has called for improved relations with Moscow. An investigation into whether or not Trump campaign officials colluded with Moscow is still underway. The new bill passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate with overwhelming majorities.
