WASHINGTON — President Trump’s spokesman suggested Thursday that Trump may veto a bill designed to restrain his ability to roll back sanctions against Russia, despite the very strong likelihood that lawmakers will have the votes to override it.

White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci said on CNN that Trump ‘‘may sign the sanctions exactly the way they are, or he may veto the sanctions and negotiate an even tougher deal against the Russians,’’ citing Trump’s ‘‘counterintuitive, counterpunching personality’’ to explain why the president is considering a veto.

It is unlikely that promise will resonate well with members of Congress, many of whom have banded around the sanctions bill because they are concerned that Trump is fostering a too-warm relationship with Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, and because they fear Trump will scale back election-related sanctions against Moscow.

Congress has approved an unprecedented oversight role for itself in the Russia-focused portion of the sanctions bill, which also stiffens punitive measures against Iran and North Korea. Under the bill, the president is required to notify Congress before making any alterations to Russia sanctions policy, and lawmakers then have 30 days in which they can block the president from implementing those changes.

Such matters have traditionally been left to the executive branch once Congress authorizes the sanctions at the administration’s disposal. Even in the case of mandatory sanctions, Congress usually steers clear of the president on matters of national security.

But lawmakers are worried by hints that the Trump administration might make concessions to Russia, specifically sanctions that the Kremlin has sought to have lifted. The administration has considered handing back to Russia control of two US compounds the Obama administration seized at the end of last year, accusing Moscow of using them for intelligence purposes. And Trump and his surrogates have spoken to Putin and other Russian operatives about restoring the ability of US citizens to adopt children from Russia — which the Kremlin won’t allow until the United States repeals the Magnitsky Act and Global Magnitsky Act sanctioning human-rights violators.

washington post

Protection for MuellerWASHINGTON — Warning of ‘‘holy hell’’ to pay if the president fires Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a top Senate Republican is working to prevent the potential end result, the dismissal of special counsel Robert Mueller.

Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina is working on legislation that would block the firing of special counsels without judicial review. Democrats Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said Thursday they are among the senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee who are working with Graham on the effort.

Despite a drumbeat of criticism from Trump, congressional Republicans have expressed strong support for former FBI director Mueller, who was appointed earlier this year to investigate allegations of Russian meddling in the US election and possible links to the Trump campaign.

associated press

2 from Alaska get called out

WASHINGTON — Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke called Alaska’s two Republican senators to warn them of repercussions for the state if they failed to toe the Trump administration line on health care, according to a published report.

The Alaska Dispatch News reported Thursday that Zinke called Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan and complained that Murkowski’s vote against proceeding on legislation to repeal Obamacare had put Alaska’s future with the administration in jeopardy. Vice President Mike Pence broke a 50-50 tie to advance the measure this week.

associated press

First responders honored

WASHINGTON — Trump presented the Medal of Valor on Thursday to five of the first responders who were injured in a shooting on a congressional baseball practice last month that critically wounded Representative Steve Scalise.

The three Alexandria, Va., police officers and two US Capitol police officers received an ovation when they entered the White House’s East Room.

Last month, a heavily armed gunman opened fire on a baseball field in Alexandria, where a number of Republican lawmakers and their staff members were practicing for an annual charity baseball game against Democrats.

Scalise was critically wounded in the shooting. He was discharged from a Washington hospital on Wednesday.

ASSOCIATED PRESS