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Some GOP senators exasperated, despite Trump's damage control

WASHINGTON – President Trump’s efforts to walk back his comments supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin fell flat with several Senate Republicans, who seemed more exasperated than satisfied days after the firestorm erupted.

Trump has been doing damage control since publicly accepting Putin's denials on Monday that Moscow meddled in the 2016 election, but two key GOP senators said they wanted to hear more. On Tuesday, Trump tried to distance himself from his Monday comments, saying he accepts the U.S. intelligence community's assessment that Russians interfered, but that others could have been involved as well.

While Republicans have been willing in the past to quickly move on from Trump's public relations disasters, this latest imbroglio seems to have a lingering effect as lawmakers consider legislative responses to Russia.

“I need to hear the president, without any hedging, say that he believes that the Russians were and are meddling in our elections,” said Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., told a reporter Wednesday. “I haven’t heard that yet.

“You can only run from facts for so long,” he said.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said, “The president’s reinterpretation of his comments represents a very small step forward, but I’m still concerned about the impact on the intelligence community and I found the president’s explanation to be confusing.”

Trump set off a new round of questions on Wednesday when he responded "no" when asked if Russia was targeting the U.S., contrary to findings from Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats. The White House later said he was saying "no" to answering questions.

Asked earlier whether he was satisfied with Trump’s walkback, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., rolled his head.

“I guess it’s probably the best we’re going to be able to get,” said Thune, the Senate’s No. 3 Republican.

Other Republicans said they accepted Trump's clarification. Though the incident wasn't "helpful," Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, the Senate's most senior Republican, said it's time to move on. "We can't blow everything out of proportion."

Senate Republicans are weighing their own response to Russia.

Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said during a hearing Wednesday that he is looking at whether it would be appropriate to request the notes taken by a translator at the private meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki. Some Democrats have asked that the interpreter be called to testify before the committee.

Corker said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would come before the committee next Wednesday and members from both parties would have time to "grill him."

"I’ll take a back seat to no one in the United States Senate on challenging what happened at NATO, what happened in Helsinki," said Corker, who is retiring this year rather than seeking re-election. "I take a back seat to no one on pressing this administration for some of the worst things that I’ve seen happen in public as it relates to our country."

Support is building for bipartisan legislation by Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., mandating “severe sanctions” if Russia meddles in the next election.

Senate Republicans were also introducing other bills related to Russia and election security. Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado offered legislation that would require the State Department to decide if Russia is a state sponsor of terrorism. Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. – and a bipartisan group of co-sponsors, including the Intelligence Committee's chair and top Democrat – reintroduced legislation intended to strengthen cybersecurity.

Of course, even if the legislation were to pass Congress, it is unclear if the president would sign it.

“I’m not going to get into a hypothetical situation until we see, you know, a final piece of legislation and also a determination if there’s election meddling,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Tuesday when asked if the president would support the Rubio-Van Hollen bill.

Congress overwhelmingly passed sanctions on Russia last summer. Trump reluctantly signed the bill but blasted its content, saying at the time it "improperly encroaches on executive power, disadvantages American companies, and hurts the interests of our European allies."

On Wednesday, Sens. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., and Chris Coons, D-Del., both members of the Senate Judiciary and Foreign Relations committees, introduced a resolution to commend the Department of Justice for its investigation into the Russian Federation’s interference in the 2016 presidential election that led to the indictment of 12 Russian officials. The resolution also reaffirms the intelligence community’s assessment of Russian interference and asserts that Russia must be held accountable for its actions.

“This body must reaffirm that we stand with the men and women of the Department of Justice, who have brought these 12 indictments against individuals from the Russian Federation who interfered with our elections,” Flake said in a statement. “I hope the president will take the word of our intelligence agencies rather than the empty words of a dictator.”

Contributing: Herb Jackson, USA TODAY