WASHINGTON (Axios) —The White House directed Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) to block an effort by Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Thursday, December 5, to pass a resolution via unanimous consent formally recognizing Turkey’s genocide of the Armenian people, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
This is the third time that the White House has directed a Republican senator to block the resolution, a symbolic measure already passed by the House that would infuriate Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Cramer said on the Senate floor that he doesn’t think this is “the right time” to pass the resolution, noting that President Trump has just returned from meeting with Erdogan at the NATO summit in London, and that the resolution could undermine the administration’s diplomatic efforts.
Cramer’s objection is especially noteworthy given that he was a co-sponsor of a similar resolution during the last Congress.
Cramer tweeted a picture in September 2017 thanking actor Dean Cain for visiting Capitol Hill to “raise awareness on the Armenian genocide.”
“Once a Superman, always a Superman. Thank you @RealDeanCain for coming in yesterday to raise awareness on the Armenian genocide,” he wrote under the picture of himself with Cain.
