The Biden administration’s silence on adding new sanctions on Russia over its Nord Stream 2 project has generated pushback from lawmakers who argue the project is a “gift” to the Kremlin, with devastating implications for U.S. national security and for the energy security of its European allies.
A congressionally mandated report on the pipeline released by the State Department on Feb. 19 failed to mention new sanctions on Russia and also failed to mention Germany and other European entities that have been involved with the construction of the natural gas pipeline. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said of the report that it was “startling to see the Biden administration begin by handing Putin a victory he has been building towards for over a decade.”
