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Senate sanctions advance
The US Senate passed a sweeping sanctions package targeting Russia’s energy revenues on Friday, approving the “Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026” by a vote of 86–11 and sending it to the House of Representatives.
“The Senate voted 86–11 to pass the bill”
The legislation would impose tariffs of up to 500 percent on imports from Russia, including gas and oil, and it would also set up to 100 percent tariffs on major nations importing Russian oil and gas, including China and India.
Republican US Senator Jim Risch, who chairs the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the bill “It will cut off the flow of cash that powers Putin’s war machine,” as the measure advanced amid the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
The bill was named for the late US Republican senator Lindsey Graham, who died on July 11 and had strongly advocated for new sanctions against Moscow, and the day before his death he and other senators announced they had secured White House approval to pass new sanctions on Russian hydrocarbons.
Democratic US Senator Jeanne Shaheen said the bill sent “Vladimir Putin an unambiguous and bipartisan message in the only language he understands: pressure,” as the Senate moved the package forward.
Bipartisan praise, tariff fight
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the Senate action, saying “real, strong American pressure and sanctions against Russia are what will help the most” to bring “this insane Russian war against our independence and our people to an end.”
Zelenskyy also extended gratitude across political lines in an X post, while Democratic US Senator Raphael Warnock said the bill sent pressure and Democratic US Senator Jeanne Shaheen framed it as “Vladimir Putin an unambiguous and bipartisan message in the only language he understands: pressure.”
At the same time, the tariff authority drew opposition in the Senate, with Democratic and Republican lawmakers arguing it could be too broad, and the Senate defeated an amendment by Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon that would have removed the new tariff authority.
Wyden warned that the provisions could have broad economic consequences for Americans, calling the tariffs an “economic wrecking ball,” and the dispute highlighted a debate over relying on sanctions versus giving the president new tariff powers.
Republicans and Democrats also differed on how much discretion the president would have, with the House still set to vote no earlier than early September due to the congressional summer recess.
House path and what’s at stake
The measure now heads to the House of Representatives, where a vote would not take place until at least early September due to the congressional summer recess, and several House members have expressed reservations about the bill.
“calling the version adopted on Friday “unacceptable.””
Democratic Reps. Gregory Meeks and Don Beyer said in a joint statement that the version adopted on Friday was “unacceptable,” arguing that it would give President Trump “sweeping new tariff authorities that the president could weaponize with abandon.”
The bill’s tariff powers are tied to the top five purchasers of Russian oil and natural gas, and it also includes exceptions for countries that import less than 15% of their natural gas from Russia and are taking steps to reduce those imports.
Supporters framed the sanctions as a way to cut off Russia’s ability to sustain the war, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune saying, “Ukraine is now the largest conflict, literally, since World War II in Europe,” and adding that as long as Putin has Russian oil and gas revenue, “he's able to continue this war.”
The Russian Embassy in Washington, DC, condemned the legislation, warning that “with an impending energy crisis and rising gas prices on the eve of the [US] midterm elections, sanctioning Russia and its trading partners… would be extremely counterproductive for the United States.”
