WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued a statement on President Trump's meeting with President Putin.
"President Trump appears to have been played yet again by Vladimir Putin. The President rolled out a red carpet and warmly greeted a murderous dictator on American soil and reports indicate he got nothing concrete in return. President Trump promised to end this war on Day One and instead he has let Putin cross one red line after another with impunity. No deal is better than a bad deal and I am encouraged that President Trump stated his commitment to debrief President Zelenskyy and our European allies. But President Trump's continued reluctance to hold Putin to account means that Ukrainians will continue to die, Putin continues to act without consequences and our deterrence against would-be aggressors in Beijing is weakened.
Enough is enough. If President Trump won’t act, Congress must do so decisively by passing crushing sanctions when we return in the coming weeks. I will also continue to press for my bipartisan legislation to bolster Ukraine’s defense and negotiating position with additional security assistance and my bipartisan bill to go after Russia’s enablers in China. There is no appetite in Congress to entertain a relationship with Russia while Putin continues to kidnap Ukrainian children and murder innocent civilians."
###