WASHINGTON _ Conservatives are lining up behind Marco Rubio's plan to automatically sanction Russia for any future election meddling a day after President Donald Trump's meeting in Helsinki, Finland, with Russian President Vladimir Putin drew widespread derision from the entire political spectrum.
Trump supporters such as Fox News host Laura Ingraham, moderates such as Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., and Senate leaders such as Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., have all expressed support for Rubio's bill, signaling that Congress could pass substantive legislation that would swiftly punish Moscow if U.S. intelligence determines that the Kremlin tries to meddle in future U.S. elections.
"There are some possibilities, Senator Rubio, for example, has got a bill that targets the 2018 election cycle we're right in now which is, as I understand it, is potential penalties if the Russians do it again," McConnell, who controls the U.S. Senate, said on Tuesday. "So yeah, there's a possibility that we may well take up legislation related to this."
