Inhofe Blasts Senate Democrats for Failing to Stand Up To Russia with Nord Stream 2 Sanctions

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, today released the following statement after a bill imposing critical sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project failed to meet the 60-vote threshold needed to advance:

"The Senate had another chance to get it right on Nord Stream 2, but Democrats let this opportunity to stand up to Putin pass us by. For years, there has been wide bipartisan support to stop this pipeline from becoming another tool in Putin's arsenal to further bully his neighbors. This bill would have imposed the sanctions that President Biden left on the table last year, which are the only ones capable of stopping the pipeline from becoming operational. Most importantly, it would have imposed those sanctions within days-instead of waiting until after Russia further invades Ukraine. Meanwhile, the Biden administration is lobbying for separate legislation to provide political cover to Democrats to justify voting against their own records on this issue. This other legislation would give Putin yet another pass on this pipeline. It's not enough.

"As Putin weaponizes energy across Europe and Russia continues to surround Ukraine with an invasion force, we have two choices. We can affirm the Biden administration's handwringing and appeasement or we can take real action to hit Putin where it hurts.

"I am disappointed, but not surprised that Senate Democrats fell in line with the administration's do-nothing approach. I'm going to continue pushing for sanctions and other actions that will push back on Putin's bullying of our NATO allies and partners and show adversaries around the globe that the United States means what we say."