在美国总统乔·拜登(Joe Biden)周四宣布对俄罗斯银行和精英阶层实施新制裁后不久——但没有对俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京本人实施制裁——一名资深参议院民主党人尖锐地呼吁他采取进一步行动。

“在我们寻求让普京付出最大代价的同时，我们能够也应该做更多的事情。强大的参议院外交关系委员会(Senate Foreign Relations Committee)主席鲍勃·梅嫩德斯(Bob Schmidt)在一份声明中敦促政府，国会和拜登政府不得回避任何选择，包括制裁俄罗斯央行，将俄罗斯银行从SWIFT(国际银行)系统中移除，削弱俄罗斯的关键行业，制裁普京个人，并采取一切措施剥夺普京及其核心集团的资产。

众议院情报特别委员会(House Select Committee on Intelligence)民主党主席、众议员亚当·希夫(Adam Schiff)周四对记者表示，随着紧张局势恶化，许多共和党人呼吁将俄罗斯从SWIFT银行系统中移除，他也将支持这一呼吁。

“我们必须向乌克兰提供支持来保卫自己。我认为，我们还需要大幅升级对俄国的制裁，因为这位克里姆林宫独裁者赤裸裸的侵略行为。我认为，我们需要采取行动，制裁俄罗斯最大的银行，我们必须切断俄罗斯与国际金融体系的联系，切断其获得西方资本的能力。我们需要打击它为其武器系统收集尖端技术的能力，”希夫周四在美国国会大厦对记者表示。

当被问及为什么SWIFT没有被包括在他的声明中时，拜登认为美国周四采取的行动更重要，但他说这是一个仍然摆在桌面上的选择，尽管盟友没有就采取行动达成一致。

拜登周四在白宫东厅对记者说:“这始终是一种选择，但目前这不是欧洲其他国家希望采取的立场。”。

Jeff Faughender/Courier Journal，通过《今日美国》网络

参议院少数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔谈论乌克兰局势，呼吁...

周四下午，拜登在电话中向众议院议长南希·佩洛西、众议院少数党领袖凯文·麦卡锡、参议院多数党领袖查克·舒默和参议院少数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔通报了乌克兰局势的发展。

麦康奈尔将其描述为“总统对我们四人今天的事件和前进方向的简报”，但拒绝透露更多细节。他指出，他公开和私下敦促总统“加大制裁力度”

佩洛西的一名发言人向美国广播公司新闻证实，这通电话是“机密”性质的。

众参两院的共和党人和民主党人普遍表示，随着乌克兰致命袭击的展开，政府必须采取大胆行动，以更大的紧迫感惩罚普京和俄罗斯寡头。

虽然许多共和党人一直批评拜登的措施，但实际的入侵袭击让许多人加入了民主党人的行列，呼吁以北约团结的名义停止党派纷争。

虽然同意这样做，犹他州共和党参议员米特·罗姆尼还是忍不住抓住了一个“我告诉过你”的机会。在一个声明在俄罗斯进军乌克兰的消息于周三晚间爆出后不久发布。罗姆尼回忆起他在2012年与巴拉克·奥巴马总统的总统辩论，奥巴马总统嘲笑罗姆尼将俄国称为美国的“头号地缘政治敌人”

当时，奥巴马在台上戏谑道，“80年代的人现在打电话来要回他们的外交政策。”

十年后，罗姆尼认为普京之前的侵略为他目前在乌克兰发动的冲突奠定了基础。“80年代打电话来，我们没有接，”他说。

尽管如此，声明以一种团结的基调结束，呼吁美国及其盟友通过协同努力对俄罗斯实施严厉制裁来“保护自由”。

许多共和党议员效仿罗姆尼的语气，呼吁团结，尽管与政府存在分歧。

在拜登讲话后，麦康奈尔在周四的一份声明中承认罗姆尼对乌克兰的一贯警告，但像罗姆尼一样，他向前看。

麦康奈尔说:“展望未来，我们的朋友、我们的对手和历史本身将仔细衡量美国如何领导所有热爱自由的国家做出回应。”。"这次考试我们经不起失败。"

众议院外交事务委员会的共和党人也在周四早些时候发布了一份针对普京的声明。本周早些时候，他们对拜登的批评更多。

“过去的几个小时向世界展示了弗拉基米尔·普京的真正邪恶。今天，我们坚定地站在乌克兰人民一边，决心向他们提供抵御和击退这一无端袭击所需的工具。这场冲突中乌克兰和俄罗斯流下的每一滴血都是普京的责任，而且是他一个人的责任，”共和党成员说。

共和党在攻击拜登的问题上意见分歧

但一些共和党人选择了更具分裂性的措辞，这在以前的国际冲突中基本上是没有过的。

在新一代共和党人中，许多人发现自己与前总统唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)关系密切，批评正在从普京延伸到拜登本人。

众议院共和党第三号人物、众议员埃利斯·斯特凡尼克(Elise Stefanik)周四在一份声明中抨击拜登。

“在软弱、无能、不称职的美国总统兼总司令执政仅仅一年后，世界变得不那么安全了。我们看到的不是通过实力实现和平，而是乔·拜登通过软弱发动战争的外交政策。在过去的一年里，我们在世界各地的对手一直在评估和衡量乔·拜登在世界舞台上的领导能力，而他在每一项指标上都彻底失败了。

只是在她的声明中，Stefanik将她的愤怒转向普京，说“弗拉基米尔·普京是一个战犯和疯狂的暴徒。”

“乔·拜登除了软弱和优柔寡断什么都没表现出来，”密苏里州共和党参议员乔希·霍利说。，周三晚上在推特上说。“现在是展示强大目标的时候了。”

共和党众议员马乔里·泰勒·格林(Marjorie Taylor Greene)将俄罗斯入侵乌克兰完全归咎于拜登本人，同时称赞他的前任。

“发生在乌克兰穷人身上的一切都是乔·拜登领导下的软弱美国的直接结果。在特朗普总统的领导下，美国强大了，世界和平了，”格林周四在推特上写道。

参议院民主党人舒默说，共和党人在这个时候攻击拜登的这种政治言论，“削弱了我们团结一致反对普京的努力。”

舒默说:“现在不是夸夸其谈的时候。”“美国人应该像我们在9/11时那样团结，就像我们在过去那样团结。”

众议院共和党领袖麦卡锡周四发表声明，抨击普京——这一次没有选择对现任美国总统进行攻击，而他经常这样做。

“弗拉基米尔·普京入侵乌克兰是鲁莽和邪恶的。美国与乌克兰人民站在一起，为他们的安全和决心祈祷。普京的行为必须招致严重后果。这一战争行为旨在改写历史，更令人担忧的是，颠覆欧洲的力量平衡。普京必须为自己的行为负责，”麦卡锡在一份声明中说。

虽然共和党人谴责普京，但共和党内的一名主要人物拒绝这样做——美国前总统。

他在周二的一次电台采访中称普京的行为是“天才”。

“我说，‘这真是天才。’普京宣布乌克兰的很大一部分属于乌克兰。普京宣布其独立。哦，那太好了。所以普京现在说它是独立的，乌克兰的很大一部分。我说，‘这有多聪明?’特朗普在“克莱·特拉维斯和巴克·塞克斯顿秀”上说:“他会去做一名维和人员。"

在周三的Mar-a-Lago筹款会上，他继续称赞普京，称他在“以价值2美元的制裁接管一个国家”方面“相当聪明”。

国会将如何回应俄罗斯?

是否以及如何进一步惩罚俄罗斯并向乌克兰提供援助，将是国会周一结束为期一周的休会后必须应对的首批挑战之一。

他们说他们的决心是一致的。

“我们的国会是团结的，我们将对此做出回应，双方都坚定地支持北约继续向乌克兰人提供武器以进行自卫，”参议院情报委员会主席、弗吉尼亚州民主党议员马克·华纳(Mark Warner)周四表示。“我们将针对寡头、与普京关系密切的人、银行系统、让技术进入俄罗斯国防工业的能力，发起前所未有的经济制裁。”

但当议员们下周返回时，政策上的分歧将暴露无遗，目前尚不清楚国会是否会与政府分开采取行动，实施额外的制裁。

关于两党制裁法案的谈判上周陷入僵局，由外交关系委员会(Foreign Relations Committee)首席共和党人吉姆·里施(Jim Risch)领导的共和党人提出了一项单独的党派法案，他们仍然希望能够向前推进。

“外交已经失败。我们当中那些呼吁拜登政府和我们的盟友采取更明确行动的人不幸被证明是对的，”里施周四表示。"我们不能再等了，我们必须采取更果断的行动。"

Top Democrats and Republicans want stiffer sanctions, but GOP divided on Biden

Shortly after President Joe Biden on Thursday announced new sanctions on Russian banks and elites -- but not on Russian President Vladimir Putin himself -- a top Senate Democrat pointedly called on him to go further.

"As we seek to impose maximum costs on Putin, there is more that we can and should do. Congress and the Biden administration must not shy away from any options—including sanctioning the Russian Central Bank, removing Russian banks from the SWIFT [international banking] system, crippling Russia's key industries, sanctioning Putin personally, and taking all steps to deprive Putin and his inner circle of their assets," Sen. Bob Menendez, chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, urged the administration in a statement.

The Democratic chairman of the House Select Committee on Intelligence, Rep. Adam Schiff, told reporters Thursday that he, too, would support removing Russia from the SWIFT banking system as many Republicans have called for as tensions worsened.

"We must provide Ukraine with support to defend itself. We also are going to need to, I think, dramatically escalate the sanctions that we place on Russia for this act of naked aggression by the Kremlin dictator. We need to move, I think, to sanction the largest banks in Russia, we have to cut off Russia from the International financing system and its ability to access Western capital. We need to attack its ability to gather sophisticated technology for its weapons systems," Schiff told reporters at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday.

Asked why SWIFT was not included in his announcement, Biden argued the actions the U.S. had taken Thursday were more significant, but said it was an option that remained on the table, although allies hadn't agreed on making the move.

"It's always an option but right now that's not the position that the rest of Europe wishes to take," Biden told reporters Thursday during remarks in the East Room of the White House.

Biden briefed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on the evolving situation in Ukraine during a phone call Thursday afternoon.

McConnell described it as "a briefing from the president for the four of us on the events of today and the way forward" but declined to share further details. He noted that he urged the president, both publicly and privately, to "ratchet up the sanctions."

A spokesman to Pelosi confirmed to ABC News that the call was "classified" in nature.

Across the board, Republicans and Democrats in both chambers of Congress say the administration must act boldly and with more urgency to punish Putin and Russian oligarchs as the deadly attack in Ukraine unfolds.

And while many Republicans have been critical of Biden's steps up to this point, the actual invasion attack has seen many joining with Democrats in calls to sideline partisan squabbling in the name of NATO unity.

While agreeing to do so, Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, couldn't resist seizing an "I told you so" moment. In astatementreleased just moments after news of Russia's advancement into Ukraine broke Wednesday evening. Romney harkened back to his 2012 presidential debate with President Barack Obama, who mocked Romney for citing Russia as the United States' "number one geopolitical foe."

At the time, Obama quipped on stage that "the 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back."

Ten years later, Romney argued that Putin's prior aggression laid the groundwork for the current conflict he's waging in Ukraine. "The '80s called' and we didn't answer," he said.

Still, the statement ended on a unifying note, calling on America and its allies to "protect freedom" by working in tandem to impose harsh sanctions on Russia.

Many GOP lawmakers are modeling Romney's tone, calling for unity despite disagreement with the administration.

In a statement Thursday, following Biden's remarks, McConnell acknowledged Romney's consistent warnings about Ukraine, but like Romney, looked ahead.

"Moving forward, how America leads the response from all freedom-loving nations will be measured carefully by our friends, by our adversaries, and by history itself," McConnell said. "We cannot afford to fail this test."

Republicans on the House Foreign Affairs Committee also released a statement early Thursday going after Putin. Earlier in the week, they had been more critical of Biden.

"The last few hours have laid bare for the world to witness the true evil that is Vladimir Putin. Today, we stand resolute with the Ukrainian people and resolve to provide them with the tools they need to withstand and repel this unprovoked attack. Every drop of Ukrainian and Russian blood spilled in this conflict is on Putin's hands, and his alone," the Republican members said.

GOP divided on attacking Biden

But some Republicans are choosing a more divisive rhetoric, largely unseen in previous international conflicts.

Among a newer breed of Republicans, many of whom have found themselves closely aligned with former President Donald Trump, criticism is extending beyond Putin and to Biden himself.

The third-ranking House Republican, Rep. Elise Stefanik, slammed Biden in a statement Thursday.

"After just one year of a weak, feckless, and unfit President of the United States and Commander-in-Chief, the world is less safe. Rather than peace through strength, we are witnessing Joe Biden's foreign policy of war through weakness. For the past year, our adversaries around the world have been assessing and measuring Joe Biden's leadership on the world stage, and he has abysmally failed on every metric," Stefanik said.

It was only later in her statement, Stefanik turned her ire to Putin, saying "Vladimir Putin is a war criminal and deranged thug."

"Joe Biden has shown nothing but weakness and indecision," Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said in a tweet Wednesday night. "Now is the time to show strong purpose."

GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene blamed the Russian invasion of Ukraine entirely on Biden himself, while giving kudos to his predecessor.

"Everything happening to the poor people of Ukraine is a direct result of a WEAK America under the WEAK leadership of Joe Biden. Under President Trump, America was STRONG and the world was at PEACE," Greene tweeted Thursday.

Top Senate Democrat Schumer said that this sort of political rhetoric from Republicans attacking Biden at this moment in time, "weakens the attempts we are making to be unified against Putin."

"That is not the time for this rhetoric," Schumer said. "Americans should be united as we were united at 9/11, as we have been united in the past."

House Republican Leader McCarthy released a statement Thursday going after Putin -- this time not choosing to level his attacks at the sitting U.S. president, which he often does.

"Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine is reckless and evil. The United States stands with the people of Ukraine and prays for their safety and resolve. Putin's actions must be met with serious consequence. This act of war is intended to rewrite history and more concerning, upend the balance of power in Europe. Putin must be held accountable for his actions," McCarthy said in a statement.

While Republicans have condemned Putin, one major player in the Republican Party has refused to do so -- the former president of the United States.

He called Putin's actions "genius" during a radio interview Tuesday.

"I said, 'This is genius.' Putin declares a big portion of the Ukraine of Ukraine. Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that's wonderful. So Putin is now saying it's independent, a large section of Ukraine. I said, 'How smart is that?' And he's going to go in and be a peacekeeper," Trump said on the "The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show."

At a Mar-a-Lago fundraiser Wednesday, he continued his praise of Putin, calling him "pretty smart" in "taking over a country for $2 worth of sanctions."

How will Congress respond to Russia?

Whether and how to further punish Russia and supply aid for Ukraine will be some of the first challenges Congress will have to attend to when it returns from its week-long recess on Monday.

They say they are united in their resolve.

"Our Congress is united that we will reply to this with both standing firm by NATO continuing to provide armaments to the Ukrainians to defend itself," Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., said Thursday. "We will launch the most unprecedented level of economic sanctions targeting oligarchs, people close to Putin, the banking system, the ability to get technology into the Russian defense industry."

But differences in policy will be laid bare when members return next week and it's not yet clear if Congress will act separately from the administration to impose additional sanctions.

Negotiations on a bipartisan sanctions bill stalled last week, and Republicans, led by the Foreign Relations Committee top Republican Jim Risch, proposed a separate partisan bill they still hope will go forward.

"Diplomacy has failed. Those of us who called for more definitive action from the Biden Administration and our allies have unfortunately been proven right," Risch said Thursday. "We cannot afford to wait any longer, we must take more decisive action."