US Senate slaps new sanctions on Russia, putting Trump in corner

WHAT WILL TRUMP DO?

The White House said it would comment on the sanctions bill when they get it and have a chance to review it. A White House official said it could take a couple of days before the legislation gets to Trump's desk.

On Thursday before the Senate vote, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said the Trump administration continues to support strong sanctions against Russia, adding "we're going to wait and see what that final legislation looks like and make a decision at that point."

Trump can impose new sanctions at any time through an executive order.

"This bill doesn't preclude him from issuing tougher sanctions. That doesn’t make any sense," said Edward Fishman, aformer State Department official during the Obama administrationwho worked on US sanctions policy.

Once Trump receives the bill, if he does not sign it, he has 10 days, excluding Sundays, before he must issue a veto and prevent the bill from becoming law automatically.

If he opts for a veto, the bill can become law anyway if two-thirds of both the House and Senate vote for an override.

Putin said on a visit to Finland on Thursday that Russia was "exercising restraint and patience, but at some moment we'll have to retaliate. It's impossible to endlessly tolerate this boorishness towards our country."

Putin, at a joint news conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, also spoke about Obama's order last December to seize Russian diplomatic property in the United States and to expel 35 Russian diplomats.

"This goes beyond all reasonable bounds," Putin said. "And now these sanctions - they are also absolutely unlawful from the point of view of international law."

Reuters