It turned out that the vote ended with a result of 86 “for” and 12 “against”. The next step – the Senate leadership hopes to reach an agreement with all 100 senators so that the sanctions package is adopted before the start of the holidays, which will begin in August.
Read more Heat waves do not scare: 2 out of 5 Lithuanians would like a home in Southern Europe
The main problem is that any senator can raise an objection and slow down the process.
The vote on the procedural decision took place a few hours after L. Graham’s funeral and shortly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with the senators.
After the meeting, the senators invited V. Zelensky to observe part of the vote from the Senate gallery, after which he applauded and said: “Thank you.” Several senators responded with applause.
“Hellish sanctions” against Russia include tariffs of up to 100 percent for the five largest Russian oil and gas importers, including India and China.
Read more War engineers test innovations: for the first time, a trench digger is operated remotely
The day before, according to Bloomberg, a bipartisan group of senators reached an agreement on the final text of the “hellish sanctions” bill. Until then, the version was unacceptable to the Democrats, which would have given Donald Trump broad powers regarding these sanctions.
Although the initial version provided that decisions on imposing or lifting restrictions would be made by Congress, the US president demanded that the bill be rewritten according to his wishes: he wanted to have the ability to decide on these matters without Congress.
Moreover, some Democrats oppose it because they believe that these tariffs, in Trump’s hands, could cause economic harm to both American families and European allies.
Read more How much does buying a home really cost: explained what expenses must be considered
