Putin will not be welcome on Capitol Hill, say congressional leaders

The Russian President's meeting with Putin in Helsinki on July 16, in which he questioned US intelligence's conclusion that Moscow was interfering in the 2016 elections, was sharply criticized by Republican and Democratic lawmakers. Mr. Trump later said that he was poorly expressed.

The White House said last week that Mr. Trump had invited Mr. Putin to Washington for another summit in the fall, surprising lawmakers and senior administration officials. Mr. Putin did not accept the invitation.

Should he visit?

Paul Ryan

(R., Wis.) Stated that the Russian President would not be invited to address Congress, an extended offer over the past four years to the French President

Emmanuel Macron,

Indian Prime Minister

Narendra Modi,

Pope Francis,

Japanese Prime Minister

Shinzo Abe,

Afghan President

Ashraf Ghani

and the Israeli Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu.

"We certainly would not invite him to do a joint session – that's what we reserve for the allies," Ryan told reporters on Tuesday.

Senate and House GOP leaders did not say they would tolerate legislators' participation in a proposed meeting at the White House. According to a poll released Tuesday by Quinnipiac University, half of US voters said that the Helsinki summit was a failure for the United States. Fifty-two percent of voters said it was a failure for the United States, while 27% said it was a success for the United States. Separately, 73% said it was successful for Russia, compared with 8%

Lawmakers have not been informed of the content of the one-to-one meeting between MM. Trump and Putin. secretary of state

Mike Pompeo

is scheduled to testify at the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday, and lawmakers have planned to question him on the Helsinki summit and Russia 's interference in US politics.

Senator Cory Gardner

(R., Col.) said that the hearing with Mr. Pompeo would be "the opportunity for us to talk about our constant concern about the posture taken by Russia" in the presidential and forthcoming elections mid-term.

Ryan said that he did not oppose in principle that the President organize a meeting with Mr. Putin in Helsinki, nor that Mr. Putin come to Washington

"Listen, I I am comfortable having the president sit down and have a "with foreign leaders," Mr. Ryan said. "But what I think is the message. And if the message is, stop mingling with our country, stop violating our sovereignty, then I support that. "

Write to Natalie Andrews at [email protected]