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100-0
“The Senate voted 100-0 on separate bills Thursday stripping Russia of its most-favored-nation trade status and approving a ban on Russian oil imports to punish Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, several weeks after the House cleared both pieces of legislation,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
$80 billion
Foreign Affairs: “Our research suggests that Russia may have stashed tens of billions of dollars in reserve assets in opaque offshore accounts, where it holds dollar-denominated securities beyond the reach of international sanctions and asset freezes. We see indications, in fact, that across two different periods—one in mid-2018 and the other late last year, as Russia built up troops on the Ukrainian border—Russia may have secluded up to $80 billion in Treasury securities offshore. … Russia’s total offshore dollar holdings, of course, could be higher still. And there are signs, too, that Russia may have moved some of its dollars with help from a foreign government.”
81%
Monmouth: “About 8 in 10 Americans (81%) support economic sanctions imposed by the United States in response to the invasion of Ukraine, including a ban on Russian gas and oil imports (78%). At least three-quarters of Republicans, Democrats, and independents alike support these actions.”
79%
A new Wall Street Journal poll finds that 79% of Americans said they favored a ban on Russian oil imports even if the prohibition increased energy prices in the U.S. Just 13% said they opposed it.
“Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences. Today, I’m authorizing additional strong sanctions and new limitations on what can be imported to Russia.”
— President Biden, in a statement from the White House.
“Ratchet the sanctions all the way up. Don’t hold any back. Every single available tough sanction should be employed and should be employed now.”
— Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said that President Biden should increase sanctions against Russia “all the way up” after Moscow began a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, The Hill reports.
“I’ve been pretty upfront that the election interference — as serious as that was, and unacceptable — is not the greatest threat to our democracy. We’ve blown it way out of proportion.”
— Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), back from a trip to Moscow, saying that Congress “went too far in punishing Russia for meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election,” Roll Call reports.
“Trump’s administration has demonstrated total impotence by surrendering its executive authority to Congress in the most humiliating way.”
— Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, quoted by the Washington Post, after President Trump signed new Russian sanctions into law.
