Congress has "great appetite" for sanctions against Russia, but relies on Trump, Johnson says

The US Congress wants to impose sanctions on Russia, but it cannot do so without the president's support Donald Trump, said Mike Johnson, the speaker of the House of Representatives, the lower house of the US parliament. The politician, who, like the head of state, belongs to the Republican Party, said in an interview with CBS News.

"Listen, I do believe that desperate times call for desperate measures, and I think appropriate sanctions on Russia are far overdue," the politician said.

According to Johnson, there is a "big appetite" in Congress to impose restrictions on Moscow, and the House of Representatives is ready to work with the White House and the Senate to make it happen: "And I'm anxious to do it, personally."

At the same time, the speaker noted that Congress cannot actually impose such sanctions on its own initiative, as "of course, the president would need to sign whatever we do into law."

"So it has to be a partnership, but we defer to the commander in chief," the speaker said.

According to him, the Congress believes that Trump will be able to use "that same force and that same approach" as he did with other conflicts to finally put an end to the Russian-Ukrainian war.

• Earlier, Johnson actually blocked adoption of $60.8 billion assistance to Ukraine from October 2023 to April 2024 due to the then-presidential candidate Trump's position.
• On September 13, 2025, the head of the US published "a letter sent to all NATO countries and the world", in which he stated that he was ready to impose "serious sanctions" against Russia when all the countries of the Alliance start doing the same and stop buying Russian oil.
• In addition, the US leader believes that NATO as a group should impose tariffs of 50-100% against China, which can be canceled only after the end of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
• Former foreign minister Klimkin said LIGA.net that with this letter Trump opens a "Pandora's box" for the European Union countries, given their economic relations with New Delhi and Beijing.