WASHINGTON _ Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is likely to force a Senate vote Tuesday on a measure to block the Treasury Department's plans to lift sanctions on three Russian companies linked to oligarch Oleg Deripaska, said a Senate Democratic leadership aide.
The Treasury Department's Dec. 19 decision sparked a backlash from Democratic lawmakers who are questioning the administration's motives in lifting sanctions against three companies Deripaska controls: United Co. Rusal, En Group Plc and EuroSibEnergo JSC. Deripaska was once a client of President Donald Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort, and their work together has come under scrutiny as part of special counsel Robert Mueller's probe.
Schumer's move would draw on a provision in a 2017 sanctions law that lets him force a full vote in the Senate disapproving of sanctions relief within 30 days after such an action. His effort will put Senate Republicans in the uncomfortable spot of having to take a stand against the administration or to side with the controversial decision to lift the sanctions.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky hasn't yet taken a position on the legislation, said his spokesman, David Popp. No Senate Republicans have said they would vote for the legislation, after Schumer revealed his plans for a vote over the weekend.
Democrats have just 47 seats in the Senate, so some Republican support would be needed. A full 60 votes are needed to prevent opponents from blocking a final vote, and a simple majority of 51 votes in the GOP-controlled chamber is needed to bring it up and to pass it in a final vote. The House also must act by a strict Jan. 17 deadline for sanctions to be retained.
House Democrats last week met in a classified session with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to discuss his decision to lift the sanctions, with some afterward saying they weren't satisfied with his answers. Mnuchin didn't indicate he might change his mind, but suggested he could extend a deadline for lifting the sanctions to give lawmakers more time to examine the matter.
A spokesman for House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland didn't immediately respond to a query about any plans for a House vote on the legislation blocking the Treasury decision.
