White House facing scrutiny for Russia sanctions delay

Top Senate Republicans are pledging to find out if the White House is intentionally delaying new sanctions on Moscow as the Trump administration is several weeks past a congressionally-imposed deadline to identify top Russian officials involved in political cybermeddling.

"We're going to check into it," Republican Sen. Bob Corker, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told CNN Wednesday. "I will find out in the next 24 hours. I'm going to get on the phone with someone and find out."

Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the administration is acting "as if they are unilateral."

"We have to do what we need to assert our role," he told CNN.

Corker and McCain are among Trump's fiercest Republican critics in Congress.

The White House is under fire as the deadline to begin the process of slapping fresh sanctions on Russia passed three and a half weeks ago. Administration officials said Wednesday a review process was still underway to identify individuals connected to the Russian defense and intelligence services. The White House pinned the missed deadline on the State Department.