In response to President Obama sanctioning some Russian officials, President Putin apparently plans to put sanctions on several U.S. officials, banning them from setting foot in Russia, among other things.
Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley disagrees with fellow Republican Senator John McCain after McCain reportedly said he’d be honored to be on Putin’s list. “I don’t think it’s a badge of honor, no, and I don’t think I’ll be on the list,” Grassley says. “I don’t have any reason to think Putin would love Chuck Grassley but he probably doesn’t even know Chuck Grassley exists. He might find me on a list but I don’t think that it means much.”
Grassley anticipates there would be no impact on anything he does if he makes Putin’s alleged list. “I don’t think it would hurt if he did that,” Grassley says. “It’s obviously not going to hurt the economy of the United States like our economists think that what we’re doing might hurt his. The obvious thing is, we’re going to have to expand our list, greatly, and maybe do other economic sanctions as well.”
The U.S. sanctions are reportedly the first steps, giving Putin the chance to back away from actions in Crimea before the U.S. takes bolder moves.