Bipartisan pressure is mounting on the Biden administration to end all Russian oil imports and sanction Russia’s energy sector as President Vladimir Putin continues to escalate the war in Ukraine, writes CNN.

While the administration moved quickly to put economic pressure on Russia - cutting it off from global financial markets in a matter of days – Putin’s military assault shows no signs of stopping. Heavy bombing and missile strikes targeting civilian infrastructure have created an alarming humanitarian crisis.

In response, angry US lawmakers from across the political spectrum are publicly urging the administration to hit Putin where it hurts the most: imposing sanctions on Russia’s massive energy sector. They also introduced several proposals in the last few days that would end Russian oil imports to the US during this crisis.

“If the current sanctions were enough, that 40-mile convoy of Russian tanks wouldn"t be headed to Kyiv as it is now. Time is short. We need to act now with more resistance”, - Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Wednesday at a crowded GOP news conference calling for energy sanctions.

In a sign of bipartisan appeal, the top House Democrat responded enthusiastically when asked about the idea by CNN’s Jessica Dean on Thursday.

“I’m all for that. Ban it”, - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said at her weekly policy news conference.