After UK slaps penalties on Russia, attention turns to Trump

WASHINGTON — After the brazen poisoning of a former spy, British Prime Minister Theresa May quickly pinned the blame on Russia. So did U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, in what ultimately became one of his last public statements before being fired.

But at the White House, President Donald Trump’s initial response was more circumspect, with his spokeswoman pointedly avoiding naming Russia as the likely perpetrator of the attack.

For U.S. allies and some congressional lawmakers, it was another befuddling example of the president appearing to soft-pedal in the face of Moscow’s provocations. Though the White House toughened its rhetoric in the following days, some Russia watchers said the fact that the U.S. had to play catch-up to align itself with the British was glaring, particularly at a time of uncertainty over the trajectory of American foreign policy.

“It’s striking the contrast between what the Brits have done and what the U.S. has not done,” said Angela Stent, director of Georgetown University’s Center for Eurasian, Russian, and East European Studies. Stent said that while it’s unlikely the U.S. would levy new sanctions on Russia over an incident on British soil, “you would still expect solidarity” from Washington.

The pressure on Trump to forcefully respond to the poisoning of Sergei Skripal, a former Russian agent convicted of spying for Britain, and his daughter Yulia escalated Wednesday when May announced the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats and severed high-level contacts with Moscow. May also vowed both open and covert action against Russia, which denies being behind the nerve agent attack.

The White House has said Trump agrees with May on “the need for consequences” following the attack, but has not specified whether the U.S. planned any punishment of its own.

Some congressional lawmakers have nudged Trump to bolster the U.S. response, including Republican Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska, who said, “Americans ought to be leading a conversation with our NATO allies about a collective response to this act and future acts of aggression.”