‘We’re Going To Continue To Do What We’ve Done’: Kamala Harris Says The Plan To Stop Putin Is To Keep Doing What Hasn’t Stopped Putin

Vice President Kamala Harris made it clear Wednesday that President Joe Biden’s administration does not have any plans to change the strategy in dealing with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Harris spoke with NBC’s Savannah Guthrie the morning after Biden delivered his first formal State of the Union address, and Guthrie pressed her on whether or not the administration needed to change tactics since — despite heavy sanctions from the United States and other western nations and NATO allies — Putin continues to wage a full-scale assault on the neighboring nation of Ukraine.

“So what else do we have to throw at this when Putin so far is undeterred?” Guthrie asked.

“Well, we are going to continue to do what we’ve done,” Harris replied. “For example, in the sanctions, it’s been sanctions against their financial institutions, against their oligarchs, where we are targeting their mansions and their jets. What we’re going to continue to do is stand firm with our allies in terms of reassessing what we are doing with sanctions.”

WATCH:

.@VP Kamala Harris: “We are going to continue to do what we’ve done.” pic.twitter.com/nh7VAFywT3

— Chad Gilmartin (@ChadGilmartinCA) March 2, 2022

Guthrie continued to press Harris on the possibility that the United States might implement sanctions on Russia’s energy sector — or stop buying oil and gas from Russia altogether — in an effort to cut off any income from selling such products and further isolate the nation from the west.

Guthrie noted that the best way to hit Putin “where it hurts” was to target the oil and gas sector, adding, “Some senators agree, Republican and Democrat — Senator Joe Manchin mentioned for example that the U.S. is still currently buying approximately 600,000 barrels of crude and other petroleum products every single day. Is that on the table? Is that something that the administration would continue — would consider in terms of further sanctions, cutting off the oil and gas part of the economy for Russia?”

WATCH:

.@VP Harris on why Biden’s still buying oil from Russia: “Understanding that right now on the issue of energy, our allies have stood firm and unified in a way that many of the pundits didn’t predict would happen, to ensure that we are unified in our approach to this issue.” pic.twitter.com/vyiHauZOMm

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) March 2, 2022

“Well, as you know, on this issue, for example, we applaud Germany in terms of what it has done as it relates to Nord Stream 2,” Harris replied, praising Germany for refusing to certify the new pipeline but skipping over the fact that the pipeline was only able to be completed because President Biden had allowed the U.S. sanctions against Nord Stream 2 to expire just months after assuming the presidency.

“As it relates to what we need to do domestically as well as what we need to do in terms of  this issue generally, we have as the president said reevaluated what we’re doing in terms of the strategic oil reserve here in the United States to make sure that it will not have an impact or we can mitigate the impact on the American consumer,” Harris continued, adding, “But let’s take this one step at a time, understanding that right now on the issue of energy, our allies have stood firm and unified in a way that many of the pundits didn’t predict would happen, to ensure that we are unified in our approach to this issue.”

Manchin called it “ridiculous” that the United States was continuing to buy Russian oil amid the invasion, saying, “It’s ridiculous, totally ridiculous that we’re buying over 600,000 barrels a day of crude from Russia.”

“If President Biden was serious about pushing back on Russian aggression, he would completely cut off the import of oil from Russia and unleash the American energy industry,” Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) agreed.

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