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will be the focus of a congressional trip to Russia after President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-California) has announced.
Rohrabacher, head of the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats, told the
Washington Post on Wednesday that his subcommittee would take an
"official trip" to meet with their Russian counterparts from the Duma "within a month of the inaugural." Rohrabacher's congressional office did not dispute the
Post's reporting, but it did say the trip is not yet confirmed. His subcommittee's travel plans would first have to be approved by Rep. Ed Royce (R-California), the chairman of the House committee on Foreign Affairs, who takes a hardline approach against Russia.
Rohrabacher, a former speechwriter to President Ronald Reagan before being elected to Congress in 1988, is referred to as "a longtime enthusiast" of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the
Post article. The 69-year-old Orange County, California native has recently written op-eds and appeared on television
making the case that US and Russia ought to work together to "eradicate the Islamic State."When asked if Putin would meet with his delegation, Rohrabacher reportedly paused before answering with a half-smile, "I really can't say that" and "It's possible." "We'll see who can come," Rohrabacher said.
"I'll bring some people with me who seem antagonistic toward having better relations.
We'll put them together, sit down with some people in Russia who can talk to them, person to person, and start to have a real dialogue instead of screaming epithets at each other."
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