[The Hill] Former Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday knocked the Trump administration for its relationship with Russia, criticizing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's decision to visit Russia before a NATO meeting."The notion that there's still this romance with Putin ... I'm told [Tillerson] has decided he's going to go visit Putin before he goes to the NATO conference? What in the hell are we doing?" Biden told reporters at the Capitol.
On Monday, it was announced that Tillerson would not attend an April 5-6 meeting of NATO foreign ministers. He is instead staying in the U.S. for a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping. Tillerson will then travel to Russia for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Lawmakers from both parties have called for a thorough investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election after Russian-backed hackers were linked to a breach of the Democratic National Committee last year.
In December, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security released a joint report detailing how federal investigators linked the Russian government to hacks of Democratic Party organizations.