WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth resisted senators’ efforts to secure his support for a bipartisan bill that would sanction Russia for its war on Ukraine, telling an Appropriations subcommittee Wednesday that the US should not use “every tool at our disposal” to pressure Moscow to stop its assault.
Asked by Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) whether Washington “should use every tool it has at its disposal, including additional sanctions, to pressure Russia to come to the table to negotiate a just and lasting peace for the war in Ukraine,” Hegseth demurred.
“Senator, every tool at our disposal? No,” he said. “We have a lot of tools in a lot of places.”
“We should be pursuing a cease-fire and a negotiated resolution to the war in Ukraine at any cost,” Coons responded. “‘Peace through strength’ means actually using our strength, continuing to support Ukraine, and securing a lasting peace. [Vladimir] Putin will only stop when we stop him.”
Prior to questioning Hegseth, Coons had talked up Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s (D-Conn.) pending bill to further sanction Russia for its continued resistance to peace in Ukraine.
The legislation, backed by 80 senators, would impose sanctions on key Russian officials and economic sectors — and, critically, penalize foreign nations that do business with Moscow.
Graham later followed up, urging Hegseth and the administration “to use that tool to get the attention of China and India.”
“China buys — and India buys — 70% of Russia’s oil … If they stop buying cheap Russian oil tomorrow, would that grind Putin’s war machine to a halt?” Graham asked, later adding: “We have an ability, through legislation, to get China and India’s attention [and say] that if you keep buying cheap Russian oil to empower Putin to kill Ukrainian children, you’re going to lose access to our markets.
“We’re not going to evict every Russian from Ukraine, I’m a practical guy,” Graham added. “But we got to end this war so we don’t entice China to take Taiwan, and we don’t encourage Iran to think we’re just all talk [about] stopping their nuclear ambitions.”
On Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the White House was quietly pushing Graham to water down the bill by allowing waivers to exempt certain people and entities from sanctions and to “remove the mandatory nature” of the legislation.
A White House official told the outlet that the Constitution “vests the president with the authority to conduct diplomacy with foreign nations.”
“Any sanction package must provide complete flexibility for the president to continue to pursue his desired foreign policy,” they added.
Hegseth did admit Wednesday that Russia is the “aggressor” in Ukraine and that Chinese President Xi Jinping wants Moscow to “win” the conflict.
However, the secretary declined to answer Sen. Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) question about “which side” he wanted to win the war.
“As we’ve said time and time again, this president is committed to peace in that conflict,” Hegseth said. “Ultimately, peace serves our national interests, and we think the interests of both parties, even if that outcome will not be preferable to many in this room and many in our country.”
McConnell pushed further, noting that the Russians “don’t seem to be too interested” in peace talks.
The former Senate GOP leader also alleged that NATO partners increasing their defense spending at Trump’s behest are now wondering “whether we’re in the midst of brokering what appears to be allowing the Russians to define victory.”
“I think victory is defined by the people that have to live there, the Ukrainians,” he said. “And I don’t think they’re going to ever conclude that victory means basically adopting the Russian views on all this. “
Hegseth responded that “no one’s adopting views,” but added that the upcoming National Defense Authorization Act does not include funding of weapons for Ukraine because “the budget reflects the reality that Europe needs to step up more for the defense of its own continent, and President Trump deserves the credit for that.”
McConnell agreed, noting that he had “the same complaints” about the Biden administration not pushing hard enough for Europe to fund Ukraine’s defense.
Still, the Kentuckian insisted that by not standing foursquare behind the Kyiv government, “it seems to me pretty obvious that America’s reputation is on the line.”
“Will we defend democratic allies against authoritarian aggressors?” McConnell asked. “That’s the international concern that I have about this, and I think a number of my fellow members share that view.”
