Senator Darline Graham of South Carolina publicly broke with President Trump on Saturday over his decision to waive a new Russia sanctions law that was championed by her late brother, the former Senator Lindsey Graham.
Speaking to reporters at a campaign event, Graham said she would rather keep the pressure on Moscow. “Personally, I would choose to put the pressure on Russia to end the war and get gas prices down,” she said. “Because I don’t trust Putin, and I don’t trust Russia.”
The break came a day after Trump signed an executive order suspending the Graham Act’s new penalties, which were due to take effect on Sunday. Secretary of State Rubio said Trump wants up to 60 days to study the sanctions’ effect on the US and global economy, while Zelensky warned the waiver would embolden Putin. Graham said she plans to discuss the decision with Trump when he campaigns for her next week.
She was appointed to fill her late brother’s Senate seat and is now running for a full term. The sanctions law, signed in September and named for Lindsey Graham, included tariffs of up to 500 percent on Russian goods and penalties for countries buying Russian oil and gas. The order preserves earlier sanctions imposed before the law.
Source: The New York Times
