House Democrats face divisions on Russian sanctions bill

House Democratic leadership is vocally opposing a Russia sanctions bill set to come to a vote this week, but not all of their members are comfortable taking that stance just yet.

Why it matters: Republicans will reportedly need some Democratic votes to make up for defections from their isolationist wing and pass the measure.

• At issue for many Democrats is that the bill, named in honor of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), would allow the Trump administration to impose up to 100% tariffs on the five top importers of Russian oil.
• That has forced Democrats to choose between two issues that have become shibboleths for their party: support for Ukraine and opposition to giving President Trump more power to set trade policy.

State of play: Reps. Greg Meeks (D-N.Y.), Don Beyer (D-Va.) and Richard Neal (D-Mass.) — the ranking members of the House Foreign Affairs, Joint Economic and Ways & Means committees, respectively — announced their opposition to the bill in a joint statement last week.

• "House Democrats are rock solid in our support for Ukraine, but the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia And Iran Act would do more harm than good," they said.
• "This bill would dramatically expand presidential tariff authorities while failing to mandate sanctions on Russia, both of which are unacceptable."

Yes, but: Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine), an arch-centrist who often breaks with party leadership, told Axios last week he is "almost certainly going to be a 'yes' on the bill.

• "I think the sanctions [are good] but I am also generally supportive of tariffs," said Golden.
• The Maine Democrat has been his party's lone cheerleader for many of Trump's more controversial protectionist trade measures.

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), the co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Ukraine Caucus, told Axios she is "reviewing [the bill] very carefully" and "working with our Ukraine Caucus."

• "I think it's important to send Russia a message that she needs to stand down," Kaptur added.
• Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), the other Democratic co-chair of the Ukraine Caucus, told Axios last week he is going to "see what it looks like" and that his vote "depends on exact wording."

Between the lines: Meeks and former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), another staunch Ukraine supporter, tried to get amendments to the bill to make the trade language more palatable.

• The Republican-controlled House Rules Committee rejected those proposed changes Monday and advanced the bill to a procedural vote on the House floor.
• The bill passed in an overwhelmingly bipartisan 86-11 Senate vote last month and is supported by the White House, but its momentum has slowed in the House.