House temporarily punts vote on Russia oil ban

The House now plans to vote on March 9 on a bill banning Russian oil imports to the US, delaying one day after eleventh-hour objections from Republicans, Report informs referring to the Politico newspaper.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her leadership team had planned to vote on March 8 on a bill that would ban Russia imports of oil and other energy products, as well as mandate a review of Russia’s status in the World Trade Organization.

Pelosi also said the bipartisan bill would allow the US to impose further sanctions on Russia by updating a human rights bill known as the Magnitsky Act.

But Republicans complained that the bill did not include a key trade provision, which would have revoked normal trading relations with Russia and Belarus after hesitancy from the White House about the policy’s effect on US allies.

Text of the bill has not yet been released, with senior Democrats still racing to finish drafting it on March 8.

Those rapid moves by both the House and Biden also reflect a major course correction for the White House, which has shifted its position on a ban on Russian oil imports to punish the country for its invasion of Ukraine.

Just days ago, the White House was rejecting the move out of fear that an import ban would send US gas prices skyrocketing. But bipartisan support for the action in both the House and the Senate in recent days has helped drive a shift in Biden’s stance.