Section: POLITICO – U.S. Edition (USA)
Trump releases letter from Putin asking to ‘restore’ U.S.-Russia relationship
President-elect Donald Trump on Friday released a holiday letter he received from Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying he hopes the U.S. and Russia will be able to “live up to” the overtures expressed by Putin and that “we do not have to travel an alternate path.”Putin’s letter, dated Dec. 15, expresses desire for greater cooperation...
White House rebuffed pre-election plan to combat Russian influence
The White House opposed a Republican-led push earlier this year to create an executive-branch task force to battle Russia’s covert information operations, according to a document obtained by POLITICO.Sen. Tom Cotton, a leading GOP defense hawk who has long urged President Barack Obama to take a harder line on Russia, sought to force the...
Treasury sanctions more Russian individuals, companies in connection to Ukraine
The Obama administration on Tuesday took its latest action against Russia over the annexation of Crimea and the country’s continued support for Ukrainian separatists.In a fresh set of targeted sanctions, the Treasury Department identified seven individuals and four companies it claims are connected to Russia’s incursions into Ukraine....
ExxonMobil helped defeat Russia sanctions bill
ExxonMobil successfully lobbied against a bill that would have made it harder for the next president to lift sanctions against Russia, clearing the way for the oil giant to restart a program worth billions of dollars if Donald Trump eases those restrictions as president. The company’s effort could be helped by outgoing CEO Rex Tillerson,...
George W. Bush called Corker to lobby for Tillerson
President George W. Bush didn’t support Donald Trump in the election. But now that Trump has won the White House, the former president is helping him stock his cabinet. Bush called Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) this week to try and get Corker to support Trump’s nominee to be secretary of state, Rex Tillerson....
For Russia, more love
The GOP is warming to Russian President Vladimir Putin — even as evidence of his regime’s interference in the election intensifies. While some Republicans in Congress have slammed the Russian strongman and called for investigations into the Kremlin’s attempts to influence the election, the party’s voters are increasingly fond of...
Putin’s Revenge
Twenty years before Vladimir Putin began his ingenious campaign to influence the U.S. presidential election, his predecessor as Russia’s president stood on a dark street near the White House. In his underpants. Looking for a pizza.It was September 1994, and Boris Yeltsin was in Washington for a state visit with his new friend, President...
Lindsey Graham lays out path for Tillerson to win his vote
Lindsey Graham said he could vote against Rex Tillerson if he isn’t tough on Russia — but laid out a clear path for Donald Trump’s secretary of state nominee to win his vote if he endorses sanctions and criticizes Russian hacking.The South Carolina senator said on Fox News on Thursday that Tillerson can win his vote by endorsing new...
Democrats stake Pruitt fight on climate change denial
Senate Democrats are laying the groundwork to make the vote on Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Environmental Protection Agency into a referendum on whether Republicans believe humans are causing global warming.Scott Pruitt is high on Democrats’ list of no-go Trump nominees in large part thanks to his resistance to the scientific...
Trump can wipe out Russia sanctions with stroke of the pen
Senate Democrats are powerless to stop Donald Trump from easing sanctions against Russia after he takes office. But they’re determined to make Trump and the GOP pay a political price if he does.Trump’s appetite for warmer relations with Russia is drawing partisan fire in the Senate, even as a top adviser said the president-elect is...
