The US Congress has passed a sweeping bill allowing Donald Trump to raise tariffs on top buyers of Russian energy and issue other punishing sanctions against the Kremlin following a pitched battle between lawmakers backing Ukraine and sceptics worried the bill gives the president too much power. The Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 passed in a 262-159 vote on the last day before Congress goes on recess ahead of the midterm elections. Graham, who died earlier this year, co-authored and submitted the bill more than a year and a half ago.
The long delay in the vote was widely considered to be scepticism from the Trump administration, which had opposed additional sanctions and then recently changed its stance to support tabling the bill as efforts to negotiate with the Kremlin to end the war have yielded few results. However the bill faced last-minute hurdles in Congress as members of the Republican party’s isolationist wing were joined by Democrats who warned that Trump could use the bill’s new tariffs authority against allies instead. The bill would mandate new sanctions on Russian political and military officials, and foreign networks helping to supply Russia’s war machine and evade existing sanctions.
It would also target Russia’s so-called fleet of “shadow tankers”, which have allowed the country to continue to ship crude around the world despite sanctions on its energy exports. It would also allow Trump to impose tariffs of up to 100% on the top purchasers of Russian energy, including China, as well as other countries helping the Kremlin evade sanctions. Senior Democrats voiced opposition to the bill during a heated floor debate.
Democratic staffers supporting the bill said that it offered a “last chance” to increase sanctions on Russia before Ukraine entered a “long winter”. Russia has improved the drone technology it has used to strike Ukrainian infrastructure as Kyiv has suffered a shortage of anti-air missiles, leaving the country in a dire position. Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican supporting the bill, called it the US Congress’ “Churchill vs Chamberlain Moment on Russia”.
The bill passed the Senate last month in a landslide 86-11 vote. However it faced more pushback in the House of Representatives. A Tuesday rule vote allowing consideration of Senate amendments to the bill passed by just 214-211, with two renegade Democrats joining Republicans to vote in favour of what they said was an act of support for Ukraine.
That vote led to senior Democrats holding terse talks with their fellow party members. My vote today gets us one step closer to enacting these sanctions into law and I look forward to voting tomorrow to cut off the flow of Russian oil money fuelling this war.” The Ukrainian government has said it supported the bill, and hundreds of pro-Ukrainian activists calling for tougher sanctions on Russia held advocacy talks in Washington DC in the days leading up to the vote.
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