The Senate on Friday passed sweeping legislation to sanction Russia and impose tariffs on countries purchasing oil and gas from the Kremlin that are helping finance its war against Ukraine.
The 86-11 vote sends the measure to the House where its fate is less certain given right-wing opposition to American involvement in the war and Democratic opposition to the bill’s tariff provisions.
The bill also includes a renewal of Iran sanctions set to expire in December, per a request from President Trump.
The Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act is named after the late South Carolina Republican who authored the initial bill and struck a deal on the latest version with the White House the day before he died from sudden cardiac arrest.
His sister Sen. Darline Graham has spent her first few weeks in office working with the bill’s coauthor Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Democrat, to follow through on her brother’s vow to pass the bill.
The sanctions would hit wide swaths of the Russian economy, including its energy, financial and defense industries, as well as Russian oligarchs, businesses and even Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A key piece of the bill would give President Trump authority to impose up to 100% tariffs on the five major purchasers of Russian oil, which include China and India.
The bill also allows the president to impose tariffs on top purchasers of Russian gas, but includes exceptions to ensure European allies are not targeted.
The Senate vote might have been unanimous if it were not for the tariff provisions. Multiple Democrats demanded to remove or limit the authority the measure granted to Mr. Trump on that front, which slowed down consideration of the bill.
Leadership ultimately allowed a vote on an amendment from Sens. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican, and Ron Wyden, Oregon Democrat, to remove the tariff provisions, but it failed.
“We’ve been talking about cost of living issues nonstop for months and months. And this bill has enormous implications because every time you turn around, Trump’s raised another two, three tariffs,” Mr. Wyden said.
Mr. Paul estimates that imposing 100% tariffs on the top importers of Russian and oil and gas would result in a $500 billion tax increase on American consumers.
Some of the Democrats who supported the bill put their concerns about the tariff provisions aside in the interest of helping Ukraine win the war.
Mr. Blumenthal said the tariff authority in the final version of the bill is limited to far fewer countries than the initial version. He said it ensures European allies who have taken steps to reduce their dependence on Russian oil and gas are not impacted.
“There are other important features of the bill, but stopping countries from purchasing Russian oil and gas, or enabling evasion of those restrictions and sanctions, are very important,” Mr. Blumenthal said.
He also said removing those provisions would have contradicted a direct request from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who views the tariffs and sanctions as key tools to cut off Russia’s ability to finance the war.
Mr. Zelenskyy traveled to Washington last month to attend Graham’s funeral and met with lawmakers on the bill ahead of the Senate’s initial procedural vote.
He told them the measure may have more impact on ending the war than anything that’s done on the battlefield.
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