House Democrats slam Trump over Russia sanctions

House Democrats are criticizing the Trump administration over its reluctance to impose new Russian sanctions, which were recently passed by Congress. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer declined to commit to enforcing these sanctions, leading Rep. Greg Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, to comment that this was unsurprising and reaffirmed his belief that the Trump administration would not hold Russia accountable. Rep. Don Beyer, the top House Democrat on the Joint Economic Committee, warned about the president's broad waiver authority under the legislation, suggesting that Trump might use it to avoid enforcing sanctions against Russia. Meeks also noted reports indicating that Trump is considering lifting existing Russian sanctions, expressing doubt over any substantive action targeting Putin's regime. The White House did not provide a comment in response to these criticisms.