Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Congress should be sending a stronger signal to Russian President Vladimir Putin as fears of an imminent invasion of Ukraine persist.
ABC “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos asked Graham on Sunday whether he is convinced Putin will invade the neighboring Baltic state.
“No, I’m not but I’m convinced that we could do more in Congress and should,” Graham answered.
The Senate’s prospects of passing a sweeping bipartisan sanctions bill have stalled, and Graham said the White House “keeps pushing back” against pre- and post-invasion sanctions being considered by Congress.
Stephanopoulos followed up: “You’re saying the president is pushing back against but you also have some pushback from your Republican colleagues in the Senate.”
“There’s 70 votes in the body for invasion sanctions, pre-invasion sanctions with a waiver, post-invasion sanctions,” Graham responded. “So the problem has been secondary sanctions. It’s not just enough to sanction a Russian bank. You want to sanction anybody that does business with that bank.”
“We got to convince the Russians that Congress will destroy Nord Stream 2 as a cash cow for Putin,” he added.
On Saturday, President Joe Biden spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin for a little more than an hour from Camp David, pledging to “impose swift and severe costs” if Russian forces invade Ukraine.
MORE: Biden, Putin speak for 3rd time as US warns Russia could invade Ukraine soon
Graham said the U.S.-Russia relationship “would be forever changed,” possibly harming the diplomatic process for decades if it came to an invasion of Ukraine.
“This is not the last president America will have. If Russia invades the Ukraine, you will destroy the U.S.-Russia relationship for decades and every president in the near-term will be put in a box when it comes to dealing with Russia, so I hope Putin understands that,” Graham said.
MORE: ‘Past time’ to leave: US evacuates diplomats, troops from Ukraine amid ‘war zone’ warnings
When asked about whether the Biden administration’s release of intelligence on a possible false flag operation has been effective in deterring a military advance into Ukraine, Graham said the U.S. government should be doing more.
“I don’t want to ring alarm bell, as much as take action. They’re telling us the invasion is imminent, but they’re not telling Putin with with clarity what if you invade,” Graham added. “He should be punished now.”
Recently, the South Carolina senator came under fire by the former president after disagreeing with Trump’s promise to pardon Jan. 6 rioters if ever reelected to office. Trump even called Graham a “RINO,” a republican in name only, during an interview with NewsMax.
Stephanopoulos pressed: “So where do things stand with you and President Trump right now? Do you support his comeback in 2024?”
“If he wants, wants to be the Republican nominee for the Republican Party, it’s his for the taking,” Graham responded.
Last Friday, the Republican National Conference voted to censure Republican Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois for their involvement on the Jan. 6 select committee. The RNC’s resolution said the infamous day should be remembered as “legitimate political discourse.”
Despite some Republicans still casting doubt on the legitimate results from the last presidential election, Graham said “the 2020 election is over for me” and that he’s no longer “contesting” the results.
He said he’s not worried about Republicans regaining control of the House “unless we really screw this thing up.”
His sights are set on the next race for the White House.
“Donald Trump is the most consequential Republican in the Republican Party today,” Graham added. “He has a great chance of being president again in 2024.”
The key GOP senator gave advice to the former president as well, suggesting “if he looks backward, I think he’s hurting his chances.”
Trump scrutinized the Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., earlier this week for criticizing the controversial RNC resolution.
“If you do take the Senate back will you vote for Mitch McConnell as Senate Republican Leader?” Stephanopoulos asked.
“A lot of us, a lot of us wish he would look forward not backward, but he’s very popular because he stands up to all the things that most Republicans believe need to be stood up to. And so Mitch McConnell, if I ran or anyone else, I think would have to show a working relationship with the president,” Graham answered.
MORE: McConnell rebukes RNC for breaking tradition as GOP divided over censure resolution
U.S. District Judge Michelle Childs, who sits on the federal court in South Carolina, is reported to be one of the Biden’s top contenders to replace Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, who announced his retirement earlier this year.
Stephanopoulos asked: “Is Judge Michelle Childs the only Biden nominee you could support?”
“I think she’s the one that would get the most Republican votes. I would be very inclined to support her because of her background,” Graham said. “She didn’t go to Harvard or Yale, which I think is a plus. She went to the University of South Carolina, but we’ll wait and see what President Biden does.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham says ‘we could do more in Congress and should’ to stop Russia originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
