The Senate cleared the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act on an 86-to-11 bipartisan vote, sending to the House what may be the most aggressive package of economic penalties ever aimed at Moscow, and honoring a senator who spent his final days fighting to get it done.
The legislation, which targets the financial engine behind Russia’s war in Ukraine, authorizes tariffs of up to 500 percent on Russian imports and up to 100 percent on the top five countries still purchasing Russian energy. China and India top that list. It also extends sanction authority against Iran’s weapons and energy sectors, imposes direct sanctions on Vladimir Putin, senior Russian officials, and military leaders, and gives President Trump flexibility to calibrate when certain provisions take effect.
The bill is named for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who championed the sanctions package as one of his signature causes. National Review reported that Graham died of an aortic dissection at age 71 at his Capitol Hill home, just days after securing President Trump’s blessing for the legislation during a trip to Kyiv. That the bill bears his name and passed with overwhelming support marks a rare posthumous legislative victory in a chamber not known for sentiment.
The road to Thursday’s vote was anything but smooth. Fox News reported well over a year of stops, starts, promises, and derailments before the bill finally reached the floor. Two senators, Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, and Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, initially held up the package over concerns about the tariff authority it would grant the executive branch. The pair offered an amendment to address the issue.
Paul made his objections plain on the Senate floor.
“These tariffs threaten to undermine America’s strategic position in the world. Some naively think that the tariffs will get China to distance themselves from Russia, but it might be the opposite. Recent history suggests that they will instead push Russia and China together. China is not going to get this 100% tariff and say, ‘Oh, we’re sorry, we’re no longer going to cooperate with Russia.'”
Paul’s concern, that punitive tariffs on major powers could drive them closer to Moscow rather than away, is a legitimate strategic question. But the Senate decided, by a margin of more than seven to one, that the greater risk lies in letting Putin continue to fund his military operations with oil and gas revenue.
The last hurdle was Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia. Warnock had placed a hold on the bill, and his resistance became the final obstacle to a floor vote. He met with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Thursday and received a commitment that the tariff authority in the bill was limited strictly to the top five countries purchasing Russian oil and gas exports, not a broader grant of trade power.
Warnock framed his concern in terms that revealed the Democratic Party’s internal tension over the bill. He wanted to support sanctions on Russia without appearing to endorse broad presidential tariff authority, a politically awkward position given his party’s ongoing resistance to Trump’s trade agenda.
“We should not have to choose between putting a check on Putin’s aggression and putting a check on this president’s tariff regime. That is a false choice, and it is one that I am not willing to accept.”
In the end, Warnock backed down. The bill moved.
Sen. Darline Graham of South Carolina, who replaced her late brother in the Senate, pressed colleagues to act. She did not hold back on the floor: “It’s time for a show of strength. It’s time for action. It’s time for the Senate to pass the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026.”
The moment carried weight beyond the policy itself. Graham had spent the last Friday of his life in Kyiv, announcing Trump’s backing for the sanctions bill. He reached a White House agreement to move the legislation forward just one day before his death on July 11, the New York Post reported.
The circumstances of his death drew scrutiny. National Review noted that an investigation into Graham’s cause of death was conducted given Russia’s history of targeted assassinations, though preliminary findings indicated natural causes. Whether or not one credits such concerns, the timing, days after publicly challenging Putin’s revenue streams, ensured the bill would carry his name and his legacy.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, acknowledged as much on the floor.
“Today, President Zelenskyy is watching from Ukraine, and Putin is watching from Moscow. I would like to think that Lindsey Graham is watching, too.”
The broader version of Blumenthal’s remarks, as reported by the Associated Press, added: “Today we say to the people of Ukraine: You are not alone. And today we say to Vladimir Putin: You will not conquer Ukraine.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy personally lobbied U.S. lawmakers last week. Hours after Graham’s memorial service in Washington, Zelenskyy pleaded with members of Congress to put a check on Putin. The timing was deliberate, linking the late senator’s cause to the urgency of Ukraine’s position on the ground.
The bill’s core theory is straightforward: Russia funds its military operations primarily through oil and gas sales. Cut the revenue, and you cut the capacity to wage war. The legislation goes after that revenue from two directions, sanctioning Russia directly and penalizing the countries that keep buying.
Trump’s death dealt what he himself called a “big blow” to related legislative efforts, including the SAVE Act. But on this bill, the White House aligned with Graham’s vision. The legislation grants the president flexibility to determine when to turn off certain sanctions, a design feature that gives the executive branch room to use the penalties as leverage in any future negotiation with Moscow.
The Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 operates on several fronts:
The Iran provisions matter in their own right. With Iran peace negotiations in an uncertain state, the bill ensures that existing sanction authority does not lapse, keeping pressure on Tehran’s weapons programs and energy revenue at a moment when letting up would send exactly the wrong signal.
The Senate’s recent posture on Iran-related measures suggests broad appetite for maintaining leverage, and this bill fits that pattern.
The bill now heads to the House, which is on summer recess until August 31. Whether it moves quickly or gets bogged down in the lower chamber remains an open question. The 86-to-11 margin in the Senate sends a clear signal, but House dynamics are different, and the tariff provisions, particularly the authority to impose up to 100 percent duties on major trading partners, could draw fresh opposition or amendment efforts.
The Senate’s recent pattern of pushing major legislation through marathon sessions suggests that when leadership wants something done, it gets done. The question is whether House leadership will treat this bill with the same urgency.
Several questions remain unanswered. Did Paul and Wyden ultimately vote for the bill after their amendment effort, or were they among the eleven nays? What exactly did Greer commit to Warnock, a written assurance or a verbal promise? And which three countries, beyond China and India, round out the top five purchasers of Russian energy targeted by the tariff provisions?
Those details will matter as the House takes up the legislation. But the Senate has spoken, and it spoke with a voice that crossed party lines, something Washington manages less often than it should.
Lindsey Graham spent decades in the Senate building coalitions and picking fights he believed in. He spent his last day of public life in a war zone, pushing for a bill to cut off the money that keeps that war going. The Senate honored that work. Now it falls to the House to decide whether to finish it.
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