WASHINGTON—Today, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, joined CNN’s News Central to rebuke President Donald Trump’s pro-Russia rhetoric, discuss his proposed Ukraine mineral deal and condemn the administration’s decision to side with Russia at the United Nations earlier this week. Ranking Member Shaheen emphasized the need for U.S. security assurances to deter further Russian aggression in Ukraine and called on Congress to hold the administration accountable for its actions. She also highlighted her bipartisan resolution marking the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and underscored bipartisan support in the Senate for Ukraine. Click HERE to watch Ranking Member Shaheen’s full CNN interview.
Key quotes from Ranking Member Shaheen:
On President Donald Trump’s claims that he trusts Russia and has a good relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Shaheen said: “It's clear that Vladimir Putin is manipulating Donald Trump, and it shows what a weak position he's in that he doesn't understand that he's being manipulated. Vladimir Putin is a murderous dictator. He is a thug who understands one thing, and that is strength. And anytime he thinks he can get the better of Donald Trump, he is going to do that. So, it's unfortunate that we have a president who doesn't understand that.”
On what Congress is going to do, her bipartisan resolution supporting Ukraine and the U.S. refusal to sign a United Nations declaration condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Shaheen said: “I hope that our Republican colleagues will wake up and say, ‘This is not the direction that we should be heading in.’ They will put a check on the president, which is the responsibility of Congress. That's what we're supposed to do. We have three branches of government, so we have checks and balances, so we have oversight authority, and we need our Republican colleagues to step up and say in public what they've been willing to say privately, which is that the President has gone too far.”
###