Trump will likely sign Russia sanctions legislation

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Will Trump sign sanctions bill against Iran, Russia, NKorea?

Senate sanctions bill getting bipartisan support; insight from Gillian Turner, Fox News contributor and former White House national security staffer

The White House indicated Sunday that President Trump would sign a sweeping Russia sanctions measure, which the House could take up this week, that requires him to get Congress' permission before lifting or easing the economic penalties against Moscow.

Lawmakers are scheduled to consider the sanctions package as early as Tuesday, and the bill could be sent to Trump before Congress breaks for the August recess.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the newly appointed White House press secretary, said the administration is supportive of being tough on Russia and "particularly putting these sanctions in place."

"We support where the legislation is now, and will continue to work with the House and Senate to put those tough sanctions in place on Russia until the situation in Ukraine is fully resolved," Sanders said on ABC's "This Week."

The legislation is aimed at punishing Moscow for meddling in the presidential election and its military aggression in Ukraine and Syria.

Congressional Republicans and Democrats announced Saturday that they'd settled lingering issues with the bill, which also includes stiff economic penalties against Iran and North Korea.

The sanctions targeting Russia, however, have drawn the most attention due to Trump's persistent push for warmer relations with President Vladimir Putin and ongoing investigations into Russia's interference in the 2016 campaign.

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"North Korea, Iran and Russia have in different ways all threatened their neighbors and actively sought to undermine American interests," according to a joint statement by California Republicans Kevin McCarthy, the House majority leader, and Ed Royce of California, the Foreign Affairs Committee chairman. The bill the House will vote on, they said, "will now exclusively focus on these nations and hold them accountable for their dangerous actions."

Sen. John Thune on Sunday said Trump should sign the bill.

“This is a bill that will go to the president’s desk, and he should sign it into law,” Thune, R-S.D., a member of GOP Senate leadership, told “Fox News Sunday.” “The administration will come to the conclusion that Congress has: We need to sanction Russia for meddling in the election. It’s in the president’s best interest.”

Thune spoke after House and Senate negotiators said Saturday that they had agreed on a sanctions package, imposed because of Russia meddling in the 2016 White House race and for its military actions in Syria and neighboring Ukraine.

The Senate voted overwhelmingly this spring in support of its measure. The congressional negotiations agreed, despite the House making changes to the Senate bill, including rolling the Russian sanctions into a bill that includes sanctions on Iran and North Korea.

The House is set on Tuesday to formally introduce its measure.

Another major sticking point was the measure’s congressional review, which could be used if Trump attempted to veto or ease or end the sanctions against Moscow, considering the president’s push for warmer relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The negotiators from both parties opted to keep the sanctions review due to wariness over the relationship between Trump and Putin.

The Associated Press contributed to this report