136 Republicans join Dems in vote against Russia sanctions relief

But the effort failed in Senate

WASHINGTON — In what is expected to be a largely symbolic vote, 136 House Republicans joined with Democrats on Thursday in an overwhelming show of disapproval of the Trump administration’s policy toward three Kremlin-aligned companies.

The House voted 362-53 to block the Treasury Department from lifting sanctions against the companies, which are controlled by the Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska.

Had a similar resolution also passed the Republicancontrolled Senate, it would have blocked the Treasury Department’s move and led to the enforcement of the sanctions against the aluminum giant Rusal and two linked firms.

But an effort by Senate Democrats failed Wednesday to clear the 60-vote threshold required for passage, despite winning support from 11 Republicans.

Thursday’s House vote, in which nearly 70 percent of House Republicans sided with Democrats and against the Trump administration, represented an even more dramatic display of Republican opposition to the move, signaling concerns within President Donald Trump’s own party about his administration’s handling of a key aspect of its Russia policy.

The congressional showdown over Russia sanctions comes at a time when Mr. Trump’s allies have increasingly struggled to address questions about the investigation by the special counsel, Robert Mueller, into Russian interference in the 2016 election on behalf of Mr. Trump, and whether Mr. Trump’s team coordinated with the effort.

Last April, the Treasury Department announced sanctions on Mr. Deripaska, his companies and those of other Russian oligarchs in retaliation for the Russian meddling, casting the penalties as evidence that the administration was taking a tough stance against Moscow.

While the sanctions went into effect against Mr. Deripaska personally, the sanctions against three of his companies was repeatedly delayed amid an aggressive lobbying and legal campaign by his companies and their allies. They argued that the corporate sanctions would have unintended economic ripple effects that would damage companies in the United States, Europe, Jamaica, Guinea and elsewhere by disrupting the supply of aluminum.

The Treasury Department announced last month that it had negotiated a deal with Mr. Deripaska’s companies to lift the sanctions in exchange for him reducing his control and ownership.

But Democrats argued that the deal failed to do that, and merely shifted ownership and control to proxies of Mr. Deripaska and the Kremlin, including Mr. Deripaska’s charitable foundation, his former wife and the Russian bank VTB, which has also been put under sanctions.

Unless the Senate revisits the measure, the Treasury Department is expected to lift the sanctions this month.

The department quietly extended the deadline for carrying out the sanctions late Wednesday night, in a move that was seen as providing more time for Mr. Deripaska to sell his shares of the companies.