Washington — Rep. Mike Turner, an Ohio Republican, said Sunday he is optimistic the Senate will quickly approve a Russia sanctions measure, calling it “one of the legacies” of Sen. Lindsey Graham, a forceful advocate for tougher penalties on Moscow who died suddenly Saturday.
“This bill would send an important symbolic message that says, ‘We’re going to stand with Ukraine,’” Turner said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.” “And I certainly hope the Senate moves it this week.”
On Friday, Graham joined Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, along with Republican Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, in announcing that they had reached a deal with the Trump administration to advance a revised Russia sanctions package.
The proposal is aimed at intensifying economic pressure on Moscow in hopes of helping end Russia’s four-year war against Ukraine. It would place sanctions and tariffs on nations that continue doing business with Russia, including countries purchasing Russian oil.
Graham, who died Saturday following what was described as a “brief and sudden illness,” had championed the sanctions push for more than a year after first introducing the legislation last April. During a July appearance on “Face the Nation,” he said a “turning point” was approaching in Russia’s war on Ukraine and argued that stronger sanctions would give Trump a “sledgehammer” to use against Russia’s economy. Still, Senate Republicans held off for months while waiting for approval from the administration, even though the measure had broad support in the chamber.
The South Carolina Republican met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy just days ago in Kyiv. Zelenskyy remembered Graham Sunday as a “staunch advocate for bipartisan and bicameral support for Ukraine.”
Turner, who attended last week’s annual NATO Summit with Graham and other members of Congress, said that during meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, “Lindsey Graham was making the point of the need for this sanctions bill.”
Turner said “what’s so sad about losing Lindsey” is that, amid debates over a more restrained “America First” approach to foreign policy, Graham understood that “you can be America First and still understand that it doesn’t have to be America alone.”
“Allies want America’s voice. America’s voice is important. America needs to stand for freedom and democracy and liberty,” Turner said. “And that’s what they saw in the voice of Lindsey Graham.”
The Ohio Republican said “what they saw in Lindsey was someone who was willing to stand up and say, ‘You’re not alone. America is with you.'”
“He was that voice with Ukraine,” Turner added.
Turner said while he doesn’t know whether GOP leaders have considered moving the sanctions bill, the House has passed a version of the legislation.
“So I know there’s broad support,” he said. “There were more than a veto-proof number of senators who co-sponsored it. With the White House’s support, this bill could be on the president’s desk this week.”
GOP Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas said in a post on X Sunday that he would introduce a House version of Graham’s Russia sanctions legislation this week, urging that “Congress should pass it in his honor.”
Shaheen said in a statement to mark Graham’s passing that “there can be no more fitting memorial to Lindsey, his legacy, or the causes he fought for” than to pass the Russian sanctions legislation that the senators had announced White House support for days earlier. She cited Graham’s “long-held dream of an independent and secure Ukraine.”
Blumenthal likewise urged Senate leaders to move ahead on the sanctions bill in a statement honoring Graham. The Connecticut Democrats said he will “forever remember our last lengthy conversation this weekend, when he exulted at reaching an agreement on our Russian sanctions bill and said, ‘this is a big effing deal – we all did good.'”
“When we last spoke, he was as enthusiastic and exuberant as I’ve ever seen him,” Blumenthal said. “Passing the sanctions bill right away would be a fitting tribute.”
