Haley announced new Russia sanctions. The next day, the White House changed its mind
The day after U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley announced a new round of sanctions on Russia, the White House appeared to contradict Haley's planned timetable.
Haley told CBS News' "Face the Nation" Sunday that a new set of sanctions were set to be announced in reaction to Russia's support of the Syrian government, blamed for a chemical weapons attack that sparked missile strikes launched Friday by U.S., British and French forces.
The former SC governor made it seem the new round of sanctions were a done deal, saying Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin formally would announce them on Monday, "if he hasn't already," she said.
"They will go directly to any sort of companies that were dealing with equipment related to (Syrian President Bashar) Assad and chemical weapons use," Haley said.
"We wanted their friends Iran and Russia to know that we meant business and that they were going to be feeling the pain from this as well."
But the Washington Post reports Trump conferred with his national security advisers later Sunday and told them he was upset the sanctions were being officially rolled out because he was not yet comfortable executing them.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said it was contacted by the White House after Haley's appearance to let it know no new sanctions would be coming.
The White House characterized Haley's comment as a misstatement, with one official telling the Post it was “an error that needs to be mopped up.”
"The sanctions were always something that was just under consideration," an official told Politico after Haley's comments, adding, "We would not have rolled out sanctions through somebody saying them on a Sunday show."
Instead, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters on Monday that "a decision will be made in the near future."
Haley later pushed back against some of that criticism, when an interviewer on Fox News asked Haley about a comment from National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow. Kudlow had described Haley as "ahead of the curve" and "confused" on the administration's Russia policy.
“With all due respect, I don’t get confused,” Haley told Fox News.
Kudlow later apologized for the comment. “As it turns out, she was basically following what she thought was policy," he said. "The policy was changed and she wasn’t told about it, so she was in a box.”
Others criticized the Trump administration for not following through with the planned sanctions.
"This sends a message to governments around the world that they can support brutal, criminal behavior without serious consequences," said U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel, the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
This story was originally published April 17, 2018 at 10:13 AM with the headline "Haley announced new Russia sanctions. The next day, the White House changed its mind."