House Democrats face divisions on Russian sanctions bill

House Democratic leadership is vocally opposing a Russia sanctions bill set to come to a vote this week, but not all of their members are comfortable taking that stance just yet. Why it matters: Republicans will reportedly need some Democratic votes to make up for defections from their isolationist wing and pass the measure. At issue for many Democrats is that the bill, named in honor of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), would allow the Trump administration to impose up to 100% tariffs on the five top importers of Russian oil. That has forced Democrats to choose between two issues that have become shibboleths for their party: support for Ukraine and opposition to giving President Trump more power to set trade policy. State of play: Reps. Greg Meeks (D-N.Y.), Don Beyer (D-Va.) and Richard Neal (D-Mass.) — the ranking members of the House Foreign Affairs, Joint Economic and Ways & Means committees, respectively — announced their opposition to the bill in a joint statement last week. "House Democrats are rock solid in our support for Ukraine, but the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia And Iran Act would do more harm than good," they said. "This bill would dramatically expand presidential tariff authorities while failing to mandate sanctions on Russia, both of which are unacceptable." Yes, but: Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine), an arch-centrist who often breaks with party leadership, told Axios last week he is "almost certainly going to be a 'yes' on the bill. "I think the sanctions [are good] but I am also generally supportive of tariffs," said Golden. The Maine Democrat has been his party's lone cheerleader for many of Trump's more controversial protectionist trade measures. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), the co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Ukraine Caucus, told Axios she is "reviewing [the bill] very carefully" and "working with our Ukraine Caucus." "I think it's important to send Russia a message that she needs to stand down," Kaptur added. Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), the other Democratic co-chair of the Ukraine Caucus, told Axios last week he is going to "see what it looks like" and that his vote "depends on exact wording." Between the lines: Meeks and former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), another staunch Ukraine supporter, tried to get amendments to the bill to make the trade language more palatable. The Republican-controlled House Rules Committee rejected those proposed changes Monday and advanced the bill to a procedural vote on the House floor. The bill passed in an overwhelmingly bipartisan 86-11 Senate vote last month and is supported by the White House, but its momentum has slowed in the House.

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