12 members of the US Senate Banking Committee from the Republican Party intend to block the approval of two White House candidates for high-ranking positions in the Treasury.

Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal reported this, citing a letter from congressmen to the head of department, Janet Yellen.

The congressmen justify their ultimatum with dissatisfaction with the position of the Joe Biden administration on Nord Stream 2.

“We urge you to change course towards Nord Stream 2 and join the decades-long efforts of Congress to protect European allies and partners from malicious Russian aggression,” the document says.

Republican Senators Pat Toomey, Richard Shelby, Mike Krapo, Tim Scott, Mike Rounds, Tom Tillis, John F. Kennedy, Bill Hagerty, Cynthia Lummis, Jerry Moran, Kevin Kramer and Steve Danes put their signatures on the appeal to the Treasury Minister.

Stream of accusations 

According to the Republicans, the implementation of Nord Stream 2 directly harms the "interests of US national security", as well as Washington's "allies and partners".

"If completed, this project will contribute to the strengthening of Vladimir Putin's malicious influence on Europe, the destabilization of fragile security in Ukraine, as well as further aggression from Russia," the letter emphasizes.

To influence the White House, Republicans are going to block the approval of Brian Nelson and Elizabeth Rosenberg - the Biden administration expects that these officials will soon take over the positions in charge of the US Treasury's sanctions policy.

As noted by Bloomberg, currently there is a split in the upper house of the United States: about half of the senators are in favor of approving the candidates proposed by the White House, half are against.

Thus, to disrupt the appointment of Nelson and Rosenberg, the Republicans may need only one Democrat's vote, who is against the completion of the construction of Nord Stream 2.

Earlier, several Democrats, including the chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bob Menendez, announced their disappointment with the SP-2 deal, which the United States concluded with Germany following Joe Biden's meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on July 15.

The congressmen who are opponents of the gas project believe that the launch of a pipeline in the Baltic Sea will provide Moscow with additional levers of influence on the situation in the Old World.

So, on July 22, Menendez wrote on his Twitter page that the completion of Nord Stream 2 would allegedly "negatively affect the security of Ukraine and Europe."

I remain opposed to the Nordstream 2 pipeline, which will negatively impact the security of Ukraine & Europe.

I still believe it should be stopped.

The agreement with Germany may mitigate some of these challenges posed by NS2, but it falls short.

https://t.co/mjdSldJLQM

- Senate Foreign Relations Committee (@SFRCdems) July 22, 2021

In a conversation with RT, American political scientist Malek Dudakov said that the situation around Nord Stream 2 is being extremely hotly discussed in Congress.

The expert did not rule out that the vote on Nelson and Rosenberg could be failed.

As Dudakov explained, the Republicans view the US-German deal on Nord Stream 2 as a manifestation of the White House's weakness and the surrender of positions to Moscow.

Opponents of the accords from among the congressmen believe that Biden's actions will entail the loss of the amount of geopolitical influence that the United States currently has.

“In this case, we are seeing a reaction from the core of the Republican hawk wing.

They accuse Biden of pursuing an overly soft policy towards Russia and, they say, that is why his activities deserve universal condemnation, "Dudakov explained.

  • German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Joe Biden following talks

  • Reuters

  • © Tom Brenner

On July 21, the US and FRG authorities spoke about the terms of the SP-2 deal.

According to the agreements reached, the United States recognized the impossibility of stopping the construction of the pipeline, but retained the right to impose sanctions on the organizations involved in the project. 

In addition, the parties announced their intention to facilitate the extension of the contract for the transit of Russian blue fuel through the Ukrainian gas transportation system (GTS).

Another condition of the deal is Berlin's commitment to create a $ 1 billion green fund to support Ukraine's energy security. 

Then, on the initiative of the German side, a telephone conversation took place between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The leaders discussed the possibility of gas transit to Europe through the Ukrainian GTS.

To date, it has not been officially announced that Moscow has agreed to extend the contract with Ukraine for pumping blue fuel after 2024.

Commenting on the terms of the US-German deal on the part of the GTS, Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Gazprom, noted that the decision to transit gas through Ukraine should be made based on the economic feasibility and technical capabilities of the GTS.

"The fight has already been lost"

According to experts, the Republicans will continue to exert pressure on the White House regarding the implementation of the SP-2.

For example, now they are demanding that the Biden administration impose restrictions on the project in accordance with the Donald Trump law "On Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions."

However, the Biden administration proceeds from the premise that sanctions against Nord Stream 2 are counterproductive.

Moreover, in May, the head of the US State Department, Anthony Blinken, canceled the previously imposed restrictions on Nord Stream 2 AG, its head Matthias Warnig and other officials of the enterprise.

As Blinken explained, such a decision demonstrates the White House's commitment to the principles of European energy security and corresponds to Biden's promise to "restore" relations with allies and partners in the Old World.

At the same time, the Secretary of State stressed that Washington will continue to oppose the implementation of the SP-2.

According to Alexander Domrin, professor at the HSE Faculty of Law, the Biden administration is now taking a pragmatic position on Nord Stream 2.

In an interview with RT, the expert said that from the point of view of common sense, the White House is in vain being attacked by Republicans.

“The sober idea prevailed in the White House that when the gas pipeline is 99% completed and will inevitably be put into operation, there is no point in increasing pressure and quarreling with such an important partner in Europe as Germany.

However, Republicans are adamant in their view of the deal, ”Domrin said.

According to the expert, the Republicans will try to influence the White House, first of all, by blocking the consideration of candidates for various government departments.

“In fact, this is the only mechanism to influence Biden.

Yes, Democrats have a majority in the Senate, but nothing prevents the Republicans from delaying meetings, “pressing” candidates at hearings, using all the opportunities that are spelled out in the regulations, ”says Domrin.

According to CNN, about 60 candidates for positions in the State Department are expected to pass through the Senate today.

Journalists of the TV channel assess the prospects of their appointment as vague - during the six months of Biden's presidency, the upper house of the American parliament approved only six candidates for the State Department.

The main hawk in the Republican camp is Texas Senator Ted Cruz.

According to CNN, citing US officials, the actions of the Republicans can seriously harm the work of the Department of State, which is busy resolving problems related to the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, China's "aggressive" policy, the situation in Cuba and Iraq.

Meanwhile, the upper house of Congress should go on vacation in August.

  • Construction of Nord Stream 2

  • Reuters

  • © Maxim Shemetov

Sources of the TV channel said that the Republicans are delaying the consideration of candidates under the pretext of the need for a more thorough study of candidates' resumes.

They also complain about the inability to properly view some documents.

The deadlock with the approval of applicants for the position was the reason for a raised conversation between Menendez and Cruz at a meeting of the committee on international relations in late June.

The Democrat rebuked the Republican that blocking appointments to the State Department was counterproductive to the foreign policy of the United States.

In response, Cruz said that it was the course of the Biden administration that undermines the country's national security and "presents a gift to Putin and Russia."

Alexander Domrin believes that the situation with the approval of candidacies for the US government is overly politicized. 

“Republicans are lobbyists for American energy and industrial corporations.

This is exactly the industry that seeks to impose contracts on Europe for the supply of American gas, which is much more expensive and inferior in quality than Russian gas.

Naturally, Nord Stream 2 is destroying such plans in the bud, "Domrin emphasized.

At the same time, according to the interlocutor of RT, the Republicans realize that they will not be able to achieve the cancellation of the US-German deal on SP-2.

“There is such a concept - rearguard battles.

This is when the main battle is lost, and there are still reserve regiments in reserve.

They are thrown into battle, but they are no longer able to change the situation on the battlefield.

The fight has already been lost.

What the Republicans are doing now is exactly what it is, ”Domrin said.

Malek Dudakov is also confident that by blocking candidacies for the US state departments, the Republicans will not be able to achieve the cancellation of the SP-2 deal.

“Resistance from the Republicans is significant, but there are not many real opportunities to seriously influence Biden’s policy towards Russia.

Rather, it is a political show aimed at convincing as many voters as possible that Biden is a weak president and consistently surrenders American interests, "Dudakov summed up.