President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Friday that paused a set of new sanctions Congress had directed at Russia. In the order, he said the move “is in the national interests of the United States.” According to NBC News, he defended the move when reporters asked him about it on Saturday, even though he faces bipartisan pushback for it.
The sanctions package, which Trump signed into law last month, carries the name of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican. It targets the largest buyers of Russian oil and gas and lets the president place tariffs on goods from those countries. China and India are among the nations that could face such measures.
