Johnson says he warned White House of ‘unintended consequences’ from Russia sanctions waiver

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Sunday that he warned the White House of “unintended consequences” that could stem from waiving sanctions on Russia .

President Trump signed an executive order last week waiving sanctions on Russia that were slated to take effect under a legislative package championed by former Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and passed by Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support. The move quickly sparked bipartisan backlash.

Asked whether he wants to waive the tariffs or forgo the move, Johnson told Fox News host Larry Kudlow, “Congress voted on this decisively just several weeks ago, and we understand that Putin cannot be trusted.”

“He demonstrates that over and over and over,” Johnson said. “So I did talk to several of my colleagues yesterday who had concerns about that. They’re on committees of jurisdiction, like intelligence and foreign affairs, and I didn’t talk to the president yesterday because he and I are both traveling nonstop and we’re on different schedules. But I told the White House team that we need to talk about it, and I think carefully consider the unintended consequences that may ensue from that.”

Johnson added that he knows the “president’s evaluating this as he does everything else.”

“Look, he has two major objectives, as you know, Larry. Every day he wants to keep America safe, and he wants to bring down the cost of living for every American. He thinks outside the box with creative ideas all the time, and he carefully evaluates those. So I think the right decision will be made here in the end,” Johnson said.

Several GOP lawmakers, meanwhile, were quick to bash Trump’s move.

“What part of enforcing a law passed 86-11 by the Senate does the President and his advisors not understand? It’s unconscionable that this administration is capitulating to a Russian dictator who illegally invaded Ukraine and butchers innocent civilians every single day,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) wrote on the social platform X.

Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) wrote on X that the president is “prolonging the war, not ending it.”

Trump has defended the move, writing in a Truth Social post that he is “in the process of negotiating Peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and don’t want to do anything that will drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table.”