WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump has postponed his invitation for Russian President Vladimir Putin to come to Washington until next year, after Republican congressional leaders registered their opposition about a visit initially planned for this fall, around the time of the midterm elections.
Putin never responded to the administration's announcement last week that, at Trump's direction, "plans were underway" for a fall welcome; a Russian official pointed to the controversy in the United States to explain the hesitance. On Wednesday, the president's national security adviser, John Bolton, issued a statement about the change of plans, citing special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's ongoing Russia probe _ not political concerns _ as the reason.
"The president believes that the next bilateral meeting with President Putin should take place after the Russia witch hunt is over, so we've agreed that it will be after the first of the year," Bolton said.
The statement came just hours after Trump had met with House Speaker Paul D. Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, both of whom had told reporters Tuesday at the Capitol that Putin would not be welcome in Congress because Russia is not an ally.
