In Washington, Representative Michael McCaul of Texas, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said that he had no doubt Russia “will use the Nord Stream 2 pipeline as a weapon

of coercion against Ukraine and transatlantic energy security as soon as it is operational. Promises to invest in future Ukrainian energy projects and ambiguous threats of consequences won’t change that reality.” In the Senate, John Barrasso, a Wyoming Republican, said that the pipeline puts a “stranglehold” on Europe. “Protecting this Russian trap is not in our national security interest.”