Tyrannical Democrats Vote Down Ted Cruz Bill to Re-Sanction Russian Pipeline, Showing True Anti-American Colors

Although 55 senators voted on Thursday to block a bipartisan bill reimposing sanctions on the Russian pipeline Nord Stream 2, they failed to gather enough votes to block the bill from being sent to the House for consideration.

Even though they got a majority in a 55 to 44 vote in favor of the bill, they fell short to surpass the 60-vote threshold required for its passage.​

The legislation, Protecting Europe’s Energy Security Implementation Act, received a floor vote after its sponsor, Republican Texas Senator Ted Cruz, agreed to release several administration nominations he had blocked over the issue.

Cruz said on the Senate floor prior to the vote, “Thanks to President Biden’s catastrophic surrender and waiving of the mandatory sanctions passed by Congress, (Russian President Vladimir Putin) sees Nord Stream 2 as an alternate route to get his gas to Europe that Ukraine cannot touch.”

“For two years, this body has had bipartisan consensus and unanimity on standing up to Russia on stopping Nord Stream 2,” Cruz said. “It is only with a Democrat in the White House that suddenly scores of Democrats have decided partisan loyalty is more important than standing up to Russia.”

Cruz also noted that the European parliament voted 525 to 50 to condemn and shut down the pipeline.

Last May, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. would waive sanctions placed on the pipeline by former President Donald Trump. President Joe Biden gave a stamp of approval to the $11 billion project, operated by the Russian state-run Gazprom, in July after a meeting with former German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

In 2019, the Senate overwhelmingly approved similar sanctions. One of the 2019 sanctions bill’s co-sponsors, Democratic New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen voted against Cruz’s bill Thursday.

On Monday, Shaheen said, “At this point it’s very important, as we’re looking at potential Russian action in Ukraine, for us to work very closely with our allies, and Germany is one of those very important allies.”

She wasn’t the only Democratic lawmaker to oppose it this week. Senate Foreign Relations Chair Bob Menendez, who previously supported the bill, came out in opposition this week. Menendez said, “passing the bill would work against ongoing talks between the U.S. and Russian diplomats during a speech before the vote.

The only Republican to vote against Cruz’s legislation was Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, who opposed sanctions in 2019. In an op-ed Paul wrote, and published by the American Conservative on Monday read, “Acknowledging that this debate is only superficially about national security and really more about provincial protectionism helps us better understand the dynamics.”

But several Democrats voted with the Republicans, including Senators Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Mark Kelly of Arizona and Raphael Warnock of Georgia.

Ted Cruz said in a statement Thursday, “Today, the Senate rebuked Joe Biden’s surrender to Vladimir Putin on Nord Stream 2. Despite furious White House lobbying, a large bipartisan majority of senators once again voted for immediate sanctions on Putin’s pipeline.”

Cruz’s statement continued, “President Biden should listen to the Senate and to the people and government of Ukraine, and reverse his catastrophic decision to grant Russia waivers from congressionally mandated sanctions. Only immediately imposing sanctions can change Putin’s calculation, stop a Ukrainian invasion, and lift the existential threat posed by Nord Stream 2.”

The pipeline travels directly from Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea and was completed in September 2021. But the German government has yet to give the final green light for the project to come online.

Julio Cahn

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