Sen. Toomey: Trump-Putin Meeting 'Big Disappointment'

The meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin did not meet expectations, Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Penn., said Monday.

"The meeting with Putin, I think, was a big disappointment . . . that meeting with Putin was a problem," Toomey told MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

"Vladimir Putin needed to come away from that meeting understanding that he is going to have to pay a price for his aggression in Crimea, for his aggression in Ukraine, for his aggression in the American elections, and that there's a president who let him know squarely, 'you're going to pay a price.'"

He added that the U.S. will continue to take action to help provide defense for people in Ukraine, "until your behavior changes, these things don't get reversed," Toomey said about Putin.

When asked if other senators agreed about sanctioning Russia, Toomey said, "I think the vote in the Senate on the Russian sanctions bill tells you something." That vote was 97-2.

"It significantly shifts power and authority from the White House and the presidency to the Congress. It takes away the president's unilateral ability to lift sanctions," Toomey said.

"I don't know the last time we did that, but it's in this bill," he continued, adding that he looks forward to signing the legislation.

The White House has not pushed back against the bill, which would strip some of the president's power away and "I've gotten zero on this, and I have a great deal of interaction with the White House." 

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