Ryan: Putin not invited to Capitol Hill

politico.com

President Donald Trump might be planning to welcome Vladimir Putin to the White House this fall. But the Russian president won’t receive the red-carpet rollout on Capitol Hill.

Speaker Paul Ryan told reporters Tuesday that Putin will not be invited to give a joint-session of Congress, echoing comments Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office made Monday.

“We would certainly not be giving him an invitation to do a joint-session,” Ryan said, referring to foreign leaders’ ceremonial speech to Congress when they visit the nation’s capital. “That’s something we reserve for allies.”

McConnell’s top spokesman made a similar snub to the Russian leader Monday, telling POLITICO “there is no invitation from Congress” to Putin. Meanwhile, the White House is moving forward with its plans to hold a second summit between Trump and Putin.

Both men have long been considered Russia hawks and have struggled with Trump’s eagerness to strengthen ties with the Kremlin and his unwillingness to press Putin on Russian interference in the 2016 election. Trump was widely criticized for siding with Putin over the U.S. intelligence community at his press conference last week in Helsinki.

The Republican leaders want the president to be tougher on Russia, but they’re also wary of publicly blasting the head of their own party — a strategy both men feel doesn’t work.

Ryan said he was “comfortable having presidents sit down and have one-on-ones with foreign leaders, but what I think matters is the message.”

“And if the message is, ‘Stop meddling in our country, stop violating our sovereignty,’ then I support that,” the Wisconsin Republican said. “But it’s the message that counts.”