WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Thursday released the following statement after the failure of a Republican measure that would have required the imposition of sanctions waived by President Biden last year as part of a diplomatic campaign to stop the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The bill required 60 votes to pass and failed by a vote of 55-44.

“It won’t shock people to learn that this bill was really about harming Joe Biden politically, not strengthening U.S. and Ukrainian security. This piece of legislation was designed to complicate President Biden’s foreign policy, plain and simple, and would have done so by tearing us apart from our European allies, right at a time that we’re working to deter Russia from further invasion into Ukraine. I look forward to working with my colleagues on Senator Menendez’s legislation that will complement—not undermine—the administration’s sound diplomatic strategy to counter Putin and protect our national security interests in the region,” said Murphy.

Earlier today, Murphy slammed Senate Republicans on the U.S. Senate floor for their efforts to undermine U.S. diplomatic efforts to deter further Russian aggression in Ukraine. Murphy explained why Senator Cruz’s sanctions bill would not stop the completed Nord Stream 2 pipeline from becoming operational, and instead, how it would divide us from our European partners and empower Russia. Murphy co-sponsored the Defending Ukraine Sovereignty Act of 2022, critical legislation to impose steep costs in the event of a renewed Kremlin invasion of Ukraine.

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