House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged Secretary of State Antony Blinken to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism — otherwise Congress will take action, according to a new report.
Two sources familiar with the conversation confirmed to Politico that the California Democrat made the warning during a phone call earlier this week.
The secretary of state is authorized to designate a foreign government for repeatedly providing support for acts of terrorism under three statues: section1754(c) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019, section 40 of the Arms Export Control Act, and section 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.
Currently, only Cuba, North Korea, Iran and Syria are designated under these authorities. Under this designation, the countries are subject to restrictions on US foreign assistance, a ban on defense exports and sales, certain controls over exports of dual use items, as well as other financial restrictions, according to the State Department.
While Congress is unable to make this designation on its own, the Democrat-led House and evenly split Senate could pass legislation effectively adding Russia to the list.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is also facing pressure from the other side of the aisle, including Sen. Lindsey Graham, to give Russia the designation. AP“There’s no legal reason Congress could not pass legislation to effectively designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism,” a Democratic aide told Politico.
“Congress passing legislation is obviously a more complicated route than the secretary making the designation, but it would give the administration the political cover it needs to escalate economic pressure and rhetoric against Putin.”
Pelosi’s office and the State Department did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
The idea of formally declaring that Russia has engaged in acts or terrorism throughout its brutal, months-long invasion of Ukraine has gained increasing popularity in Congress in recent months.
In May, Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) introduced a resolution urging Blinken to designated Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism. It would also put the Senate on the record for “viewing the actions of the Government of the Russian Federation, at the direction of President Vladmir Putin, as terrorism.”
“Putin is a terrorist, and one of the most disruptive forces on the planet is Putin’s Russia,” Graham said at the time. “Putin’s Russia deserves this designation. We should be all-in on making sure that Putin’s Russia is marginalized as long as they engage in this behavior.”
The two lawmakers touted the legislation alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky while visiting Kyiv earlier this month.
On Thursday, Graham boosted Pelosi’s reported demand to Blinken, writing on Twitter, “One of the rare times I agree with @SpeakerPelosi.”
“I appreciate her strong statement that Putin’s Russia should immediately be labeled a state sponsor of terrorism and agree that Congress should act on this matter if the Administration fails to do so,” the South Carolina Republican said. “There will be near-unanimous support in the Senate if we vote.”
“As to Secretary Blinken: what more does Russia have to do before they are labeled a terrorist state? Act now. It will matter.”
Since the invasion began on Feb. 24, the State Department has cautiously avoided officially declaring Russia a state sponsor of terrorism — despite slamming the country and its leaders with sanctions and accusing them of committing war crimes.
In April, State Department spokesman Ned Price said the department was taking a “close look at all potential authorities” including the state sponsor of terrorism designation, but said the sanctions were taking the “same steps.”
Meanwhile, then-Pentagon spokesman John Kirby hedged the idea, saying regarding the designation, “there’s not an active discussion about doing that.”
