Sen. Bob Corker told reporters the Russia deal would provide for congressional review of any future rollbacks of Russia sanctions. | AP Photo Senate strikes bipartisan deal to boost Russia sanctions Lawmakers reach a deal blocking the White House from rolling back penalties on Moscow.

Senior senators in both parties on Monday night reached a bipartisan deal to add new sanctions on Russia and allow Congress to disapprove of any attempt by President Donald Trump to ease penalties on Moscow, the most significant GOP-backed constraint on the White House so far this year.

The agreement negotiated by Foreign Relations and Banking Committee leaders in both parties, with the involvement of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), allows both parties to claim a measure of victory — delivering a legislative win for McConnell while fulfilling the three basic goals Schumer had outlined for a Russia sanctions measure.


The Russia deal, which McConnell teed up for a key vote on Wednesday, would allow for congressional review of any Trump attempt to waive or ease existing sanctions -- which the White House has floated as a possible incentive in order to win further cooperation on anti-terrorism efforts from Vladimir Putin's government.

The agreement, set for consideration as part of a bipartisan Iran sanctions bill, also would codify existing sanctions against Moscow into law, making their removal or rollback potentially more difficult for the Trump administration. The bipartisan deal also would impose new sanctions on multiple sectors of the Russian economy, including on "individuals conducting malicious cyber activity on behalf of the Russian government," according to a summary released Monday night by Senate negotiators in both parties.

A White House spokesman did not immediately return a request for comment Monday night on the prospect of a Russia sanctions deal, which would face an uncertain future in the House.

Before the deal emerged after a day of protracted talks, Schumer reiterated his longstanding conditions to lock in Democratic support for a Russia sanctions vote — all three of which were met by the Monday night agreement.

"Throughout these negotiations, Democrats have insisted that a Russia sanctions amendment accomplishes three things: codify the existing sanctions in law, impose tough new sanctions in response to Russian meddling in our elections, and give Congress a process to review whether they should be lifted," Schumer said in a statement.

Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) assured reporters earlier Monday that the Russia deal would provide for congressional review of any future rollbacks of Russia sanctions, a plan pushed by Schumer as well as Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). The review language would be structured "much like we did in other places," such as the 2015 legislation that required former President Barack Obama to submit his administration's nuclear pact with Iran to Congress, Corker said.

Sign up here for POLITICO Huddle A daily play-by-play of congressional news in your inbox. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Banking Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), a key player in the Russia sanctions talks, acknowledged that "I have had concerns with" the congressional review provisions but added that "if we can set it up adequately, then I'm open."

Asked about the prospects of a veto threat from Trump, the Foreign Relations panel's top Democrat, Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin, told reporters Monday that while "there's no administration that wants Congress interfering" with its sanctions policy, "I think we'll have the support of the administration" for any bipartisan Russia deal that might pass this week.