U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly Thursday lauded the announcement of new sanctions by President Trump and his administration on North Korea’s financial institutions and trade activities. Donnelly has called for increased sanctions to counter North Korea’s weapons program and crack down on those enabling the rogue regime—and the President’s latest actions are in line with the Senator’s push. As Ranking Member of the Banking Committee’s National Security and International Trade and Finance Subcommittee, Donnelly recently co-led a hearing with Subcommittee Chairman Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE) to assess U.S. and international sanctions against North Korea and China in relation to North Korea’s nuclear missile program, and to push the Administration on its options to expand sanctions. And Donnelly and Sasse recently continued their calls for increased sanctions on both North Korea and China, designed to crack down on North Korea’s weapons program.
Donnelly said, “Continuing to step up sanctions on North Korea is vitally important. Individuals, companies, and financial institutions that facilitate trade with North Korea must be held accountable to ensure that Kim Jong Un and his regime understand that their provocations are unacceptable and must stop. These sanctions from President Trump are in line with the bipartisan efforts Senator Sasse and I have been working on in the Senate Banking Committee, and I will continue pushing for efforts to ensure that our country and our allies are enforcing these sanctions and holding people accountable.”
Earlier this year, Donnelly helped shape increased sanctions on North Korea, Russia, and Iran, which the Senate passed andPresident Trump signed into law. This week, the Senate passed the bipartisan national defense bill, which included Donnelly’s amendment requiring a strategy from the Pentagon to confront the threat posed by North Korea.
As Ranking Member of the Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee, Donnelly has led efforts to increase funding for U.S. missile defense programs and supported provisions in this year’s national defense bill to significantly strengthen the U.S. homeland missile defense system against the threat of an intercontinental ballistic missile attack.
