Both said that failing to act now could pull the U.S. deeper into conflict later. If Putin isn’t stopped in Ukraine, Blumenthal said, NATO treaty obligations could one day compel American troops into battle.
After a one-hour meeting with Macron in Paris, both Graham, of South Carolina, and Blumenthal, of Connecticut, said they left convinced Europe was ready to toughen its stance.
“This visit has been a breakthrough moment because President Macron has shown moral clarity in his conversations with us,” Blumenthal said. “Today, he is 100% aligned with that message that we are taking back to Washington.”
Blumenthal pointed to the rare bipartisan unity behind the sanctions bill. “There are very few causes that will take 41 Republicans and 41 Democrats and put them on record on a single piece of legislation,” he said. “The cause of Ukraine is doing it.”