The News
One Republican’s new push to overhaul US sanctions on Syria is upending Washington’s entrenched partisan alliances, splitting both parties and raising questions about where the White House stands.
The House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday advanced a bill from Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., that would allow President Donald Trump to permanently lift key sanctions on Syria in two years as long as its new government meets a set of conditions, including the release of political prisoners held by deposed former leader Bashar al-Assad.
Trump has already ended many sanctions on Syria through an executive order designed to help its new leader, the former militant Ahmed al-Sharaa, pursue his stated goal of opening the country up to new trade opportunities. But Lawler’s proposal to handle the remaining US sanctions has prompted a unique alignment of conservatives and progressives who prefer full repeal to his set of conditions.
In another display of bipartisanship, two centrist Democrats — Reps. Ritchie Torres of New York and Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey — helped Republicans advance the Lawler plan. Trump-friendly Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., joined all other Democrats in voting “no.”
“The objective here is very straightforward, which is to actually allow for this government to start to take hold and be successful — and in order to do that, you need to have, obviously, economic cooperation, and you need the sanctions to begin to be eased,” Lawler told Semafor.
Still, he added, “I believe it is foolish to immediately remove all sanctions without a truly stable situation on the ground,” pointing to a possible “coup or a collapse of this fledgling government.”
Lawler said he’s “been in touch with members of the administration” about his legislation. A White House spokesperson declined to comment.
“I get what Mike’s trying to do, but in my view, let’s not get ahead of the White House,” Donalds told Semafor. “A lot of things have changed on the ground; let’s give the president a wide berth.”
Under current law, Trump can waive the remaining US sanctions on Syria, imposed under a law known as the Caesar Act, every 180 days. Lawler’s legislation would give the new administration two years to certify the new Syrian government had met its set of conditions before lifting the sanctions for good.
Among the lawmakers advocating for full repeal, rather than Lawler’s solution: Conservative Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., who urged the committee to “reconsider” the measure, and the Financial Services Committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Maxine Waters of California. Wilson said he supported the failed amendment Waters offered to Lawler’s bill on Tuesday.
“Well, hey, she’s correct,” Wilson said of Waters. “I’m very grateful that indeed, the president has indicated that he wants to give Syria a chance — and the way to do that is to fully repeal the sanctions, so that businesses know that they can invest.”
Some Democrats were torn ahead of the vote. Rep. Greg Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Semafor that “it’s a touchy situation.”
“You remove all the sanctions at one time — you know, what does that mean?” Meeks said on his way into the committee room. “At the same time, you want to make sure that there is progress going down the road.”
“Maybe by the time I get outside, I can tell you exactly what I believe,” Meeks added. He wound up voting against the bill.
Know More
The president cannot permanently lift sanctions imposed by the Caesar Act unless Congress repeals that law (or allows it to lapse in 2029).
While the Trump administration issued a new six-month waiver of the sanctions in May, lawmakers on both sides of the debate say the short-term relief makes it difficult to facilitate long-term economic growth in Syria because investors lack certainty needed to make long-term decisions.
“What Lawler is attempting to do [is say] ‘We want sanctions relief. We want money to flow back into the country,’” said Financial Services Chair French Hill, R-Ark.
“But how do we do that in the right way? Lawler’s not adding burden, in my judgment, in his proposal.”
“The president has these freedoms, but in this bill, he’s granted statutory relief that he doesn’t have,” Hill added. “The bill is a balanced bill.”
Lawler acknowledged that “the administration’s position is going to be vital” when it comes to building sufficient support in the full House and Senate.
Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., raised concerns over lifting sanctions after sectarian violence in Syria led to the death of a US citizen last week.
But he wound up opposing the bill, even after Lawler agreed to adopt his amendment that would add a new condition for lifting sanctions: “reasonable steps … to protect religious and ethnic minorities.”
As the Trump administration seeks to bring Syria into the Abraham Accords, Lawler expressed optimism that his proposal could be a helpful tool. The president in May promised Syria’s new president sanctions relief if Damascus agreed to pursue normalized relations with Israel.
“This, in implementation, can be used as a vehicle by which to help actually normalize economic ties with Israelis,” Lawler said.
Lawler said the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which also has jurisdiction over Syria sanctions, will also need to mark up the legislation. Meeks said that committee was his preferred venue for further discussion about the proposal.
Room for Disagreement
Those advocating to repeal the Caesar Act make two main arguments. Republicans say it would provide Trump with the most flexibility possible; Democrats say it would be the best bet for protecting Syrians.
“Sanctions are not effective in what the goal here is,” Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., said. “On the ground, it is the Syrian people that are hurting because of these sanctions.”
The Syrian Emergency Task Force said in a press release Tuesday that the bill “goes against President Trump’s agenda of ‘giving Syria a chance’ and allowing long-term investment.”
Eleanor’s View
A lot of the uncertainty surrounding the Syrian sanctions plan can be ascribed to the bill’s relatively short runway. Lawler only introduced his bill last week, which hasn’t left much time for members to decide how they want to proceed.
Either way, the New Yorker makes one indisputable point: The Trump administration’s approach is key here. If it endorses his idea, the proposal is on a glide path to enactment.
If the administration seeks to pump the brakes, it seems inevitable that other Republicans join Donalds and Wilson in dampening the bill’s new momentum.
Notable
-
Trump’s move to ease Syria sanctions is a “hopeful but calculated gamble,” his former Middle East envoy wrote for us back in May.
