Senate to Advance Russia Sanctions Bill With Trump’s Support, Graham Confirms
The Senate is preparing to move forward with a hard-hitting sanctions bill targeting Russia’s energy trade—and the green light came straight from President Donald Trump.
South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham announced Monday that the long-stalled bipartisan legislation is now back in motion, just one day after Trump voiced his support for stronger penalties against nations doing business with Moscow.
“I hear they’re doing that, and that’s OK with me,” Trump told reporters Sunday night before returning to Washington from Mar-a-Lago. “As you know, I suggested it. So any country that does business with Russia will be very severely sanctioned. We may add Iran to that formula.”
The bill—crafted by Graham and Democrat Sen. Richard Blumenthal—would hit Russia’s trading partners with a devastating 500% tariff on Russian energy imports. The move is designed to dry up revenue that fuels Vladimir Putin’s war machine in Ukraine. China and India, still among the largest buyers of Russian oil, would be forced to rethink their strategy—or face massive penalties.
“I am very pleased that with President Trump’s blessing, Congress will be moving on the overwhelmingly bipartisan Russia sanctions bill,” Graham posted Monday on X. “This legislation is designed to give President Trump more flexibility and power to push Putin to the peace table by going after both Putin and countries like Iran that support him.”
Though the legislation had been shelved for months, largely due to Trump’s earlier attempts to end the war diplomatically—including a high-profile August 15 meeting with Putin in Anchorage—it’s now gaining momentum. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has signaled a vote is imminent, calling it “a bill whose time has come.”
Trump’s patience appears to be running out. While announcing fresh sanctions on Russian energy giants Rosneft and Lukoil last week, the president acknowledged the challenges of ending the 33-month conflict.
“The Middle East was supposed to be the tough one, and we’ve solved that puzzle,” he said. “But this one will get solved also.”
The shift marks a significant escalation in Trump’s posture toward Russia, showing that diplomacy has limits—and that economic pain will now be used as leverage to force Putin to the table. The bill’s bipartisan backing also demonstrates how far the political climate has changed, with both parties now largely aligned on confronting Moscow’s aggression.
European nations like France, Belgium, and Spain, who collectively made up 85% of Russian LNG imports last year, could also be swept into the sanctions dragnet. Despite EU efforts to phase out Russian fuel, reports show they were still importing about 6% of Russia’s crude oil exports as of June.
If passed, the bill would mark one of the toughest economic crackdowns on Russian energy in history—and a signal that Trump is prepared to wield U.S. leverage with maximum pressure.
More than two years into the war, the message from Washington is unmistakable: the free ride is over.