Kamala Harris blames Putin's 'brutality' for Navalny's death three years after Biden warned of 'devastating' consequences if he dies in prison: VP and Blinken say 'Russia is responsible' as US anger grows

President Joe Biden previously said Russian President Vladimir Putin would face “devastating” consequences if opposition leader Alexei Navalny were to die in prison.

On Friday, Russian news media announced that 47-year-old Navalny had died while serving a sentence in a Siberian prison – something that has not been unilaterally confirmed by the US government.

The president did not immediately respond to the news, but members of his administration and Democratic members of Congress went after Russian President Vladimir Putin as they spoke about Navalny's death.

Vice President Kamala Harris addressed Navalny's death during her appearance Friday at the Munich Security Conference.

“If confirmed, it would be a further sign of Putin's brutality,” the vice president said. “Whatever story they tell, let's be clear: Russia is responsible.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Navalny's death in a Russian prison and one man's fixation and fear only underscored the weakness and decay at the core of the system Putin built.

“Russia is responsible for this,” Blinken said.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was interviewed on NPR Friday morning when the news broke.

“If it is confirmed, it will be a terrible tragedy. And given the Russian government's long and sordid history of harming its adversaries, this raises real and obvious questions about what happened here,” Sullivan said.

Senator Mark Warner of Virginia wrote on X Firiday that “Alexei Navalny's death is yet another heartbreaking reminder of who Vladimir Putin is: a bloodthirsty tyrant who thinks he can get away with anything.”

“It's one more reason why we must continue to stand with the cause of freedom in opposition to Putin's brutality,” the Virginia Democrat said.

Several congressional Democrats responded by also pressuring Republicans.

“Putin kills Navalny the same week that Donald Trump invites Russia to invade Europe and MAGA Mike Johnson blocks aid to Ukraine,” said Rep. Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat. “This is not a coincidence, it is the green light that Putin has been given.”

Former President Donald Trump, the likely Republican nominee, raised eyebrows when he said at a rally on Saturday that during his presidency he told NATO leaders he would “encourage” Russia “to do whatever they want” against members who didn't. I don't pay enough money to the alliance.

In addition, Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson has so far declined to bring to the House of Representatives a Senate-passed supplemental spending bill that would provide additional funding for Ukraine's war effort against Russia.

“More blood on Putin's hand with the tragic death of Aleksei Navalny in prison, all because of the 'crime' of wanting a free Russia,” Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin wrote to appease this Russian tyrant?' Durbin asked.

Rep. Bill Pascrell, a New Jersey Democrat, echoed his fellow Democrats' comments about Trump in an X-post about Navalny.

“Mass murder war criminal Vladimir Putin has murdered one of his most courageous critics,” Pascrell wrote Friday morning. “Reminder that Donald Trump openly encouraged Putin to attack America's allies and Republicans are blocking aid to Ukraine.”

Rep. David Trone, a Maryland Democrat, wrote to X that Navalny's death should motivate Congress to pass the Ukraine financing bill.

“Reports of Alexei Navalny's death in a Russian prison are a stark reminder of the brutal repression that Vladimir Putin is willing to use to suppress political opposition and treat millions of innocent people as pawns in his own chess game,” Trone said.

“Americans and our allies must immediately provide essential military and humanitarian assistance to enable Ukraine to successfully combat the Russian invasion, protect its citizens, and defend its democracy,” he added.

In a statement released Friday, Johnson, who became speaker of the House of Representatives in October, called Putin a “cruel dictator.”

“While Congress debates the best path forward to support Ukraine, the United States and our partners must use all available tools to cut off Putin's ability to stop his unprovoked war in Ukraine and his aggression against the Baltic states.” finance,” Johnson said.

Trump's latest rival in 2024 GOP primaries, former UN official. Nikki Haley also lashed out at the ex-president after learning of Navalny's death.

“Putin did this. The same Putin who praises and defends Donald Trump. The same Trump who said, “In fairness to Putin, you're saying he killed people. I didn't see that,” Haley wrote to X on Friday.

Former Vice President Mike Pence responded to the news by saying, “There is no room in the Republican Party for apologists for Putin.”

Sen. Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, praised Navalny and encouraged Biden to respond.

“Alexei Navalny died as he lived: a champion of the Russian people and a courageous voice of dissent in Vladimir Putin's Russia. President Biden promised 'devastating' consequences if Navalny died in prison; now he must move on,” Cotton wrote to X. “America cannot afford another erased red line.”

At a press conference in June 2021, after Biden met Putin at a summit in Geneva, the president was asked what he told Putin would happen if Navalny died in prison.

The 47-year-old opposition leader was serving a 19-year prison sentence on charges of extremism.

“I made it clear to him that I believe the consequences of that would be devastating for Russia,” Biden said at the time.