Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) suggested Thursday that “kicking every Russian student out of the United States” should be “on the table” as retaliation for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade neighboring Ukraine.
“Frankly, I think closing their embassy in the United States, kicking every Russian student out of the United States, those should all be on the table,” Swalwell said on “CNN Newsroom.” He continued, “And Vladimir Putin needs to know every day that he is in Ukraine, there are more severe options that could come.”
Swalwell also mentioned other retaliatory actions should include sanctioning Putin personally and “completely” removing Russians from the international SWIFT banking system, which is supported by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
CNN’s Alisyn Camerota said President Joe Biden has not spoken of Swalwell’s suggestions. “But I mean, President Biden isn’t talking about those things,” the CNN host told Swalwell. “He’s not doing SWIFT right now. [CNN chief White House correspondent] Kaitlan Collins asked him specifically, ‘Will you be sanctioning Putin, specifically?’ And [Biden] sort of dodged that question.”
Swalwell responded during the CNN segment: “I think this is the largest invasion in Europe since World War II, and these are the harshest sanctions that any country has experienced since World War II … There will be more to come.”
The Biden administration has imposed sanctions on Russian oligarchs and banks, while maintaining that the United States would not fight Russians on Ukrainian soil. “Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences,” Biden said at a Thursday press conference.
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