Brenda Shaffer in Politico
If Congress passes U.S. sanctions against Nord Stream 2, what will matter is whether they are binding on Trump, said Brenda Shaffer, adjunct professor at Georgetown University's Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies.
“Members of Congress love foreign policy related sanctions that are non-binding — it gives them the chance to come to their constituents and show them that they are tough ... without complicating U.S. foreign policy,” she said. “The current committee approval does increase the degree of uncertainty for the involved companies and will add to the list of issues of dispute between Berlin and Washington, but so far, is not a concrete change.”