The Senate overwhelmingly approved a punishing Russian sanctions package Friday, the result of a year-long campaign by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham to reinforce U.S. support for Ukraine and try to force President Vladimir Putin’s hand as the grinding war drags on.
The bipartisan legislation, which passed the Senate 86-11, would penalize countries that continue to buy Russian oil, gas and other exports seeking to deprive Putin of revenues fueling the war. It comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the Capitol hours after Graham’s funeral, met with senators from both parties and watched from the gallery as the Senate took the first procedural votes last week on the sweeping legislation.
“Today, President Zelenskyy is watching from Ukraine — and Putin is watching from Moscow,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who had worked with the late South Carolina senator on the package.
“I would like to think Lindsey Graham is watching, too,” he said. “Today we say to the people of Ukraine: You are not alone. And today we say to Vladimir Putin: You will not conquer Ukraine.”
The sweeping show of force from the Senate is the most substantial move yet during President Donald Trump’s second term to shift the dynamic of the more than four-year war, which has now churned longer than World War I. Congress has struggled to ensure U.S. funding and munitions flows to Ukraine, but Trump has given a nod to the sanctions package, putting pressure for the House to take it up for a vote and send it to the White House for his signature.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
(Photo: AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Graham and Blumenthal had announced a deal with the White House on the sanctions legislation on July 10 after more than a year of negotiations with the White House. Graham, who had just returned from Ukraine, died suddenly the next day, likely from an aortic tear.
The bipartisan package that carries Graham’s name allows the president to impose tariffs on the world’s top five purchasers of Russian oil or natural gas, including China and India. It provides exceptions for countries that import less than 15% of their natural gas from Russia and are taking steps to reduce those imports.
The legislation also includes sanctions on Putin, senior Russian political and military leaders, Russian financial institutions and Russian energy projects. It would expand U.S. sanctions to target older, reflagged oil tankers that Russia uses to circumvent existing U.S. sanctions on Russian oil and energy revenues.
Russian President Vladimir Putin
(Photo: Mikhail Metzel/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Democrats and some Republicans have been wary of giving Trump broad authority to slap tariffs on imports that have spiked prices for goods, worried about inflation and high costs of living for Americans. Those voting against the final package were mostly progressive Democrats.
The negotiated bill also includes waiver authority for the president, allowing the White House to waive sanctions or restrictions if the president certifies to Congress that the waiver is in the national interest.
Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., who was appointed by the state’s governor to fill her brother’s seat, said he was determined to bring an end to the Ukraine war, and she was honored to carry on his work. “This legislation hits Putin where it hurts,” she said.