'Long overdue': Pelosi affirms support for labeling Russia a sponsor of terrorism

Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that she's urging the State Department to label Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, just as a Senate-led effort on the subject gains momentum.

Every senator except for Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has agreed to quick consideration of a resolution calling on Secretary of State Antony Blinken to make the designation. All 100 senators must consent to a bill in order for it to be fast-tracked on the floor. Paul is still reviewing the measure, his office said.

Pelosi, meanwhile, declined to elaborate on whether the House would act if the Biden administration doesn’t. But she said in a brief interview that a state sponsor designation for Moscow is “long overdue," adding: “I’ve been advocating it for four months, at least."

The speaker’s comments come after POLITICO reported that she told Blinken earlier this week that Congress would make a formal declaration on the matter if he did not, as Russia’s war in Ukraine becomes more brutal by the day. Pelosi also declined to address her conversations with Blinken.

Authority to designate nations as sponsors of terrorism is typically reserved for the secretary of state, but many in Congress are now pushing for a more forceful pressure campaign aimed at Russia.

The Senate resolution, introduced by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), is non-binding but senators believe it will have an impact on Blinken. During a visit to Kyiv earlier this month, Graham and Blumenthal gifted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a framed copy of the resolution.

“President Zelenskyy's reception ... was so deeply emotional,” Blumenthal said. “We tend to take somewhat lightly at times the force of a Senate resolution, but for him and the people of Ukraine, it has enormous significance.”

“Showing congressional support for it is a powerful way to try to get us to where we want to be,” added Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Bob Menendez (D-N.J.).

Lawmakers have spoken out in larger numbers recently to call attention to what are being described as Russian war crimes in Ukraine. Earlier this week, a bipartisan group of senators introduced a resolution to declare Russia’s actions in Ukraine as a genocide.

During her weekly press conference on Thursday, Pelosi spoke about Russia’s efforts to “demoralize” the Ukrainian people, in particular women and children.

“These are not just the soldiers raping girls; this is an order — an attempt to demoralize the Ukrainian people,” Pelosi said.

Pelosi invited Olena Zalenska, Ukraine’s first lady, to address Congress on Wednesday. Zalenska displayed images of children and families who have been killed, injured or displaced by Russia war.

“Help us to stop this terror against Ukrainains,” Zalenska said.