The Senate easily passed a bill placing new financial sanctions on Russia by a margin of 98 to 2, with only Senators Bernie Sanders and Rand Paul voting against it, but the bill is currently dead in the water in the House.
Republican in the House publicly claim they've objected to it on procedural grounds and it could be still be passed, but the bill will stay dead if Trump has his way.
According to an anonymous White House official who spoke to the Washington Post, the Trump regime will be begin lobbying against the bill because it would prohibit Trump from unilaterally lifting sanctions on Russia.
The White House opposes provisions that could be seen as preempting the president’s powers, the official said. Of particular concern is a congressional review process that would allow the House and Senate to block the president from lifting sanctions. [...]
The Trump administration has publicly warned against impeding presidential prerogatives to relieve sanctions. “We would ask for the flexibility to turn the heat up when we need to, but also to ensure that we have the ability to maintain a constructive dialogue,” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told the House Foreign Affairs Committee last week.
I don't think many people including Republicans in Congress actually believe the Trump regime intends to "turn the heat up" on Russia.
The regime just recently announced it would return control of several compounds to the Russia government which the Obama administration seized. They haven't "turned the heat up" so much as they've rewarded Russia for helping Trump win.
Republicans in Congress may have an interest in protecting Trump from the Russian inference investigation, but it's not because they personally love him or necessarily agree with his views on foreign policy. They're protecting him because they need him to sign all their shitty legislation. They're self-interested and cynical.
I'm rooting for this bill's passage and a Trump veto. He'll have no clothes on when he does it.