Texas Republicans defect en masse as Trump weakens Russia sanctions

Oleg Deripaska, right, an associate of Russia President Vladimir Putin has been ensnared in the ongoing investigation of Russian influence in the 2016 presidential elections. Oleg Deripaska, right, an associate of Russia President Vladimir Putin has been ensnared in the ongoing investigation of Russian influence in the 2016 presidential elections. Photo: Mikhail Klimentyev, POOL / Associated Press Photo: Mikhail Klimentyev, POOL / Associated Press Image 1 of / 6 Caption Close Texas Republicans defect en masse as Trump weakens Russia sanctions 1 / 6 Back to Gallery

WASHINGTON – Twenty Texas Republicans broke ranks with President Donald Trump on Thursday in a failing effort to block the administration from lifting sanctions against Russian companies controlled by an ally of Vladimir Putin.

The bipartisan 362-53 House vote came a day after the Democratic-led measure fell three votes short in the Senate. Both Texas U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz opposed a Democratic resolution aimed at companies tied to Putin associate Oleg Deripaska, who has been ensnared in the ongoing investigation of Russian influence in the 2016 presidential elections.

The 20 House Republicans from Texas who opposed the sanctions relief – only three supported it – joined 116 other GOP crossover votes in the House.

The votes came at a fraught time for an administration trying maintain party unity in a government shutdown battle with Democrats over a border wall, while heading off Special Counsel Robert Mueller's expanding investigation of Trump campaign ties to Russia.

Although 11 Senate Republicans had joined the Democrats' rebuke of the administration's sanctions move on Wednesday, the measure failed to clear a 60-vote procedural threshold, thereby rendering the House vote moot.

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Some Senate Republicans attributed the large number of GOP defections in the House to the largely symbolic nature of the vote, inoculating rank-and-file Republican lawmakers from the perception of being too close to Russia.

Although the House vote could not undo Trump's sanctions relief, the House and Senate votes together represented the biggest split in Republican ranks in Congress since Trump took office two years ago.

Cruz derides 'political gamesmanship'

Deripaska, who has strong links to the Kremlin, is reported to have lent money and funded consulting work done by former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort for a pro-Putin political party in Ukraine.

Among those voting against the administration's sanctions relief were San Antonio Republican Will Hurd, a former CIA officer, and newly-elected Houston Republican Dan Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL.

"Russia will stop at nothing to erode trust in our democratic institutions and threaten our allies," Hurd said. "We must continue to show Vladimir Putin and other bad actors across the globe that there are consequences for their actions. America cannot tolerate Moscow's aggressive behavior."

Lawmakers backing the administration move argued that it would leave in place sanctions against Deripaska while rewarding three Russian companies, including aluminum companies, for loosening their ties to him. They also cited the support of key European allies in the agreement.

"As Senate Democrats know well, this agreement weakens Deripaska, a very bad actor," Cruz said in a lengthy statement defending his vote. He called the resolution, led by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, "simply political gamesmanship."

Only three Republican House members from Texas stuck with the GOP caucus to uphold the sanctions relief: Kevin Brady of The Woodlands, Brian Babin of Woodville, and Randy Weber, a Friendswood Republican who made headlines in July for a meeting involving alleged Russian spy and gun-rights activist Maria Butina.

Weber said at the time that while Butina was scheduled to take part in a 2015 meeting he had with then-Russian Central Bank Deputy Governor Alexander Torshin, he did not recall whether she actually attended.

For subscribers: Texas Rep. Weber's foray into Russian politics may include meeting with alleged spy Maria Butina

Brady said the administration move would better target U.S. sanctions and is no favor to Putin. "The strongest Russia sanctions are the smart ones," he said. "Adjusting sanctions on companies that help us punish and isolate Russian bad actors like Oleg Deripaska will encourage more companies to cooperate with America to severely hobble Russia."

Supporters of sanctions relief also argued that it would allow aluminum conglomerate Rusal and other Russian companies Deripaska controlled to reenter the market, increasing competition and lowering the price of aluminum products for consumers in the U.S. They maintain that if the companies violate the terms of the agreement with the Treasury Department, the sanctions could be re-imposed.

Former Homeland Security chair McCaul joins Democrats

The House vote came at the end of a 30-day deadline for Congress to block the administration's decision to ease the Russian sanctions, which was announced December 19. Rusal stock shares soared on the news.

In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the Treasury Department said the three Deripaska-controlled companies, Rusal, En+ Group and JSC EuroSibEnergo, had agreed to corporate governance changes that would reduce Deripaska's shareholding stake to below 50 percent, "thereby untangling and protecting these companies from the controlling influence of a Kremlin insider."

The deadline to block a sanctions de-listing was set under bipartisan legislation passed by Congress in 2017 which targeted Russia and confronted Trump with the threat of a veto override.

Critics of the administration move argue that Deripaska's purported divestment is a paper fiction that belies his continued influence with Putin's inner-circle and his operational control of the companies.

"Because we cannot be sure that we have removed the heavy hand of this Russian oligarch, I cannot support the delisting of these sanctioned entities at this point in time," said Texas Republican Michael McCaul.

Much of the opposition was focused on Rusal, one of the largest aluminum producers in the world.

"If only President Trump were as eager to reopen our government as he is to reopen this sanctioned Russian company," said Texas Democrat Lloyd Doggett. "The sanctions law against Russians, enacted over President Trump's objection, was designed to deter Russian aggression against our democracy and beyond – to change Russian misconduct, not to yield right of way."

Doggett, who represents parts of San Antonio and Austin, was one of many Democrats who questioned a tariff exemption for Rusal affiliate Rusal USA granted last July, days after Trump met with Putin in Helsinki. The exemption was later withdrawn, he said.