Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s threat, made in a Wednesday statement, is the first time a member of Congress has raised the possibility of blocking the visit. | Zach Gibson/Getty Images Foreign Policy Senate Democrats threaten to block Trump administration invite to sanctioned Russian official

A pair of senior Senate Democrats are threatening to block the Trump administration’s invitation of a sanctioned Russian official to visit the U.S.

The threats — from Sens. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Robert Menendez of New Jersey — come in response to a recent POLITICO report about NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine’s invitation to his Russian counterpart to visit Houston and speak at Rice University some time early this year. Shaheen’s stance means the invitation may become the next flashpoint in fights between congressional leaders and President Donald Trump over relations with Russia.


The sanctioned official, Dmitry Rogozin, currently leads the Russian space agency, Roscosmos and previously served as deputy prime minister. He is among several Russian officials barred from entering the country under sanctions imposed by the Obama administration for their role in Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea. Rogozin is also an ultranationalist infamous at home and abroad for racist, homophobic and harsh anti-American rhetoric.

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“Administrator Bridenstine should withdraw this invitation immediately before Congress is forced to take action,” Shaheen said in a Jan 2 statement. Calling Rogozin “one of the leading architects of the Kremlin’s campaign of aggression towards its neighbors,” she said the invitation “undercuts our message and undermines the United States’ core national security objectives.”

The NASA invitation, which was extended last fall — and which would require the Trump administration to temporarily waive the sanctions on Rogozin — had already become a matter of bipartisan concern. Virginia Democrat Marker Warner, the ranking member on the Senate Intelligence committee, previously told POLITICO the invitation “absolutely sends the wrong message.” A spokesman for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee’s subpanel on space, also expressed reservations about the invitation, saying it highlighted the problems presented by NASA’s reliance on Russian cooperation in space, a dynamic that gives Russian President Vladimir Putin leverage over the U.S.

But the Democrats' threats, made in Wednesday statements, are the first instance in which members of Congress have raised the possibility of blocking the visit. Shaheen cited a 2017 law, Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, which gives Congress new oversight powers over presidential attempts to end or waive Russia-related sanctions. The law was passed amid investigations of possible improper ties between Trump’s campaign and the Kremlin.

In a Jan. 3 letter to Bridenstine, Menendez — the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee — said that granting Rogozin a waiver "would be a grave mistake" and that he expects a Senate resolution disapproving of a sanctions waiver "would pass with broad bipartisan support."

It is not clear whether Republicans, who control the Senate, would be willing to intervene to block the proposed visit. Enforcing sanctions on Russia has been a rare point of bipartisan cooperation in Congress.

"I am a supporter of NASA and understand the importance of maintaining a dialogue with the Russian Federation on issues related to space," Menendez added. "But that dialogue should not take place with a specially designated national on U.S. soil as it totally undermines our sanctions regime."

In her statement, Shaheen, the ranking member on the subcommittee that oversees NASA's funding, cited Russia’s arrest this week of a U.S. citizen for alleged espionage as the latest reason to maintain sanctions.

“America’s message to the Kremlin should be unequivocal,” she said. “Actions have consequences.”