Senate passes sweeping Russia sanctions bill negotiated by the late Sen.
Lindsey Graham
[August 08, 2026]
By MARY CLARE JALONICK and LISA MASCARO
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate overwhelmingly approved a punishing Russian
sanctions package Friday, the result of a yearlong 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 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 last week following
Graham’s funeral, met with senators from both parties and watched from
the gallery as the Senate took the first procedural votes.
“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 four-year war, which has now churned longer than World War I.
Congress has struggled to ensure the flow of U.S. funding and munitions
to Ukraine, but Trump has given a nod to the package, which includes his
push for sanctions on Iran, pressuring the House to pass and send it for
his signature.
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 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. The bill also allows the
White House to waive sanctions or restrictions if the president
certifies to Congress that it's in the national interest.
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 inflationary costs for Americans. Those voting against the
final package were mostly progressive Democrats.
Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., who was appointed by the state’s governor
to fill her brother’s seat, said she was honored to carry on his work.
“This legislation hits Putin where it hurts,” she said.
Bill sends ‘a moral signal’ to Ukraine and its allies
Zelenskyy told senators during last week’s private meeting at the
Capitol that Ukraine is making gains in the war, but still needs more
help from the U.S. He publicly thanked them for the sanctions package.
Republican Sen. Todd Young of Indiana, who attended the meeting, said
the sanctions legislation “is important as a moral signal to a country
that is weary and tired, though holding its own.”
New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Foreign
Relations Committee, said advancing the legislation now, ahead of
Russia’s own elections, will put pressure on Putin to seriously revisit
prospects for a peace deal. And she warned that every time the U.S.
backs away from tough actions, Russia ramps up its attacks.
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Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., introduces Adm. Kevin Lunday, acting
commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, during a Senate Commerce,
Science and Transportation Committee hearing on the nomination
Lunday for Commandant of the Coast Guard, Nov. 19, 2025, on Capitol
Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
“If we can’t shut down the funding for the war machine that Russia
is using against Ukraine, then they’re going to keep at it,” she
said.
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha expressed gratitude to the
Senate in a post, and said that with U.S. support, "Together, we are
bringing a lasting peace closer.”
Some say the bill would give Trump too much tariff power
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 for Trump. Paul says it would be
too costly for taxpayers, while Wyden and other Democrats say they
don’t want to give Trump any new authority to impose tariffs.
“We’ve got folks who are walking an economic tightrope here in
America,” Wyden said.
Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., who had held up passage of the package
over the tariff authority, said he received a written commitment
from the Trump administration through U.S. Trade Representative
Jamieson Greer that ensures guardrails. The tariffs would be lifted
once the countries are no longer on the lists of those purchasing
Russian oil and gas, or helping to evade sanctions, he said.
“We should not have to choose between putting a check on Putin’s
aggression and putting a check on this president’s tariffs regime,”
Warnock said. If Trump “oversteps his power, we will see him in
court.”
Package next goes to the House
While the Senate momentum puts pressure on the House to act as soon
as lawmakers return to session at the end of August, top Democrats
still warn against handing Trump too much power in the Russia
sanctions package.
Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs
Committee, said the bill as is gives Trump too much authority to
“weaponize” tariffs in ways that do little to deter Russia, but hurt
Americans back home.
“It would allow President Trump to dodge holding Russia accountable
and impose yet more tariffs in his destructive trade wars, leaving
Americans to foot the bill," Meeks said.
He said the tally on the Paul-Wyden amendment, 32-64, demonstrates
the demand among lawmakers to make changes to the package.
The House had already passed a separate measure in June that would
provide aid to Ukraine and sanction key segments of the Russian
economy. That Meeks-led package from Democrats drew bipartisan
support from Republicans, overriding objections from GOP leaders.
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