The Us President,Trump on fire over his comment on poll meddling
At a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Finland, Mr
Trump disproved US intelligence agencies, saying Russia had no reason
to meddle.
The top Republican in Congress, House Speaker Paul Ryan, said Mr Trump must see that "Russia is not our ally".
Republican Senator John McCain said it was a "disgraceful performance".
Mr Putin denied the interference claim.
The US and Russian presidents held nearly two hours of closed-door talks in the Finnish capital Helsinki on Monday.
At a news conference after the summit, he was asked if he believed his own intelligence agencies or the Russian president when it came to allegations of meddling in the election.
"President Putin says it's not Russia. I don't see any reason why it would be," he replied.
Mr Trump also blamed poor relations with Russia on past US administrations rather than Russian actions.
In a strongly-worded statement, Mr Ryan said: "There is no moral equivalence between the United States and Russia, which remains hostile to our most basic values and ideals.
He also said that there was "no question" Moscow had interfered in the 2016 election.
Sen McCain, a key member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said it was a "disgraceful performance" by a US president.
At the joint news conference, President Putin accepted to allow US investigators to visit Russia to question the officers.
He made it clear that, in return, Russia would want similar access to people in the US it suspects of criminal activity.
In a later interview with Fox News, Mr Putin said it was "utterly ridiculous" that some people thought Russia could have influenced the US elections.
He said US-Russian relations should not be "held hostage" to an internal political struggle in America.
The top Republican in Congress, House Speaker Paul Ryan, said Mr Trump must see that "Russia is not our ally".
Republican Senator John McCain said it was a "disgraceful performance".
Mr Putin denied the interference claim.
The US and Russian presidents held nearly two hours of closed-door talks in the Finnish capital Helsinki on Monday.
At a news conference after the summit, he was asked if he believed his own intelligence agencies or the Russian president when it came to allegations of meddling in the election.
"President Putin says it's not Russia. I don't see any reason why it would be," he replied.
Mr Trump also blamed poor relations with Russia on past US administrations rather than Russian actions.
In a strongly-worded statement, Mr Ryan said: "There is no moral equivalence between the United States and Russia, which remains hostile to our most basic values and ideals.
He also said that there was "no question" Moscow had interfered in the 2016 election.
Sen McCain, a key member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said it was a "disgraceful performance" by a US president.
At the joint news conference, President Putin accepted to allow US investigators to visit Russia to question the officers.
He made it clear that, in return, Russia would want similar access to people in the US it suspects of criminal activity.
In a later interview with Fox News, Mr Putin said it was "utterly ridiculous" that some people thought Russia could have influenced the US elections.
He said US-Russian relations should not be "held hostage" to an internal political struggle in America.