WASHINGTON, D.C. - After Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a statement warning companies constructing Nord Stream 2 that they face devastating U.S. sanctions and must immediately abandon their work, reinforcing the United States' whole of government commitment to stopping Vladimir Putin's pipeline, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, announced he was following through on a commitment he made to the State Department to lift Nord Stream 2-related holds he had placed on two Biden administration nominees.

"I welcome today's statement by Secretary Blinken, which reinforces to the international community that there is a bicameral, bipartisan, and whole of government commitment in the United States to stopping Putin's Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Entities that are engaged in work on Nord Stream 2 today now understand that they will face devastating sanctions unless the work stops immediately.

"In light of the Secretary's strong declaration, I am following through on my commitment to the State Department to lift the Nord Stream 2-related holds that I have placed on William Burns and Brian McKeon, the president's nominees for director of the Central Intelligence Agency and Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, respectively. I will continue leading this fight until Putin realizes this pipeline will fail, and it will never be completed. I will maintain my hold on Wendy Sherman and will hold future State Department nominees until the full sanctions mandated by Congress are in fact broadly imposed against the ships and companies critical to completing the pipeline."

Last week, Sen. Cruz and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Jim Risch (R-Idaho) sent a letter to Secretary Blinken calling on the Biden administration to immediately impose Congressionally-mandated sanctions on the ships and entities involved in the project's construction.

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