House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday accused President Trump's administration of kowtowing to Russian President Vladimir Putin, rather than standing up for Ukraine, as the war between the countries stretches more than three years after Moscow's invasion.
"There's strong bipartisan support for sanctions against Vladimir Putin and Russia, and it's unfortunate that the Trump administration has spent months playing footsie with Vladimir Putin, and some would suggest bending the knee to an enemy of this country," Jeffries told CNN's Wolf Blitzer during a Wednesday appearance on "The Situation Room."
The Democratic leader argued that there should be no question about where the U.S. stands between Russia and Ukraine.
"This war of aggression that Russia has launched against Ukraine is clear," the Democratic leader continued. "It's not just about territorial integrity, it's a battle between democracy and autocracy between freedom and tyranny, between truth and propaganda."
He added, "The United States of America should always stand on the side of democracy and freedom and truth, and that means standing on the side of Ukraine until victory is won."
Jeffries also pressed Trump to fire Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after the Pentagon paused some weapons transfers to Ukraine last week amid reviews of U.S. military stockpiles. The block was later lifted at the direction of Trump, who said the deliveries were necessary for Kyiv to defend itself.
"Pete Hegseth is the most unqualified defense secretary in American history," the New York Democrat said. "He undermines the ability of the Department of the Defense to keep the American people safe."
Trump, who has previously praised Russia's leader, lashed out at Putin on Tuesday over what he described as disingenuous efforts to end the conflict with Ukraine. Trump campaigned on brokering a peace deal between the warring rivals last year.
"We get a lot of bulls--- thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth," the president said. "He's very nice to us all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless."
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Tuesday that he's pushing for a quick vote on a "tough" Russia sanctions package that would impose a 500 percent tariff on imports from any country that buys Russian gas, uranium and oil. The proposal has more than 80 Senate co-sponsors across both parties.
Jeffries said he would look at the specifics of the Senate's sanctions measure before taking a formal position on it.
"I am a strong supporter of continuing to escalate and intensify the sanctions that have been previously put into place relative to Russia until they back down and, you know, withdraw from Ukraine and create a situation where Ukraine's sovereignty can be restored and the killing of innocent civilians stops, including the killing of Ukrainian children that have been targeted by Russia and Vladimir Putin," he said.
A majority of Americans said in a poll last month that they support sanctions on Russia and its allies over the ongoing war with Ukraine.
Trump has frequently lamented the conflict, but he has stopped short of calling for harsher penalties for Moscow. He said Tuesday that he's "looking at" Graham's sanctions proposal.
“That is a war that it should have never happened," the president told reporters. "A lot of people are dying, and it should end."
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