Hours after mourners gathered in Washington to honor the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, the Senate moved forward Tuesday on a Russia sanctions package that had been stalled for months and was closely associated with the South Carolina Republican.
The measure, formally titled the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, won broad bipartisan support in an 86-12 procedural vote, bringing the legislation one step closer to consideration in the upper chamber.
“Today, many of us attended his service at the National Cathedral, and in typical Lindsey fashion, he somehow orchestrated a vote on Ukraine’s future,” Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) told colleagues on the Senate floor before the vote.
She added that while Graham was no longer physically present, “his presence can certainly be felt in this chamber.”
The bipartisan sanctions bill is designed to tighten pressure on Russia’s oil and gas revenues, a key source of funding for Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, while also extending current penalties aimed at Iran’s energy industry and weapons programs.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) framed the legislation as a direct warning to Moscow. “This bill says to Vladimir Putin, your days of war are numbered,” he said, arguing that the Russian leader would be better served by negotiating than by continuing to lose lives, drain resources, damage the economy and further isolate Russia on the world stage.
“America stands with Ukraine,” Blumenthal said.
In a joint statement, Blumenthal, Britt and other senators — including the late senator’s sister, Darline Graham (R-SC) — said there was “no greater way to honor Senator Graham’s legacy” than advancing the bipartisan agreement.
The legislation would impose primary and secondary sanctions against Russia and actors supporting the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine, including Russian officials, oligarchs, their family members, foreign persons, Russian banks and financial institutions, and the Russian Shadow Fleet.
The legislation also allows President Trump to impose targeted tariffs on imported goods from countries that buy Russian oil or gas, or enable Russia to evade sanctions.
The bill limits the president’s tariff authority to the five largest importers of Russian crude oil or gas, and the top five countries that aid Russia’s energy sanctions evasion.
The legislation, originally introduced by Lindsey Graham last year, had already garnered the support of most senators but languished on Capitol Hill as Trump repeatedly sought to negotiate an end to the four-year-long war.
A day before his July 11 death, Graham announced that he had reached an agreement with the White House to move forward with his push to sanction the buyers of Russian oil and gas.
At the time, Graham vowed that the legislation would “become law” and said he’s “never been more optimistic” about the Ukraine war drawing to an end.
Britt noted that Graham told her he viewed the Russia sanctions bill as “the most consequential piece of legislation that he ever led.”
“Now that’s saying something,” she marveled, calling it an “honor to now help champion one of his highest priorities, and not just for Lindsey, but for the doctrine in which he so deeply and passionately believed … peace through strength.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said Graham’s legislation will “show the Russians, we mean business.”
“Ukraine’s fight is our fight,” Blumenthal said after the vote. “Nobody believed that more deeply and passionately than Lindsey Graham. He lived it, and this vote is a step forward.”
“We still have a path we need to travel,” he added, “but it is a profoundly solid vote for Ukraine, showing that the American people are on Ukraine’s side, and that we will stand with Ukraine, stopping the flow of blood money fueling Russia’s slaughter and its murderous invasion.”
Blumenthal also expressed optimism that the bill would clear the House of Representatives given all the “momentum” behind the legislation.
“It’s carefully crafted to make sure we are not hitting our allies and that we are hitting China and India,” he said. “Let’s be really blunt: China and India are the main culprits here. They purchase the vast majority of oil and gas. They are fueling Russia’s war machine, and they are doing us no favors anywhere else in the world.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was in town for Graham’s funeral at the Washington National Cathedral, met with Trump at the White House and senators on Capitol Hill ahead of the vote.
“This bill is very important. Sanctions pressure on Russia is very important and really gives … a big signal to Europe, a big signal to Ukraine, a big support to our people,” Zelensky told reporters as the legislation racked up votes in the Senate. “So, I’m very thankful.”
Zelensky called the late senator, who visited with him in Kyiv just days before his death, “a true friend of Ukraine.”
The Ukrainian leader watched some of the vote unfold from the Senate gallery and applauded lawmakers as they voted to move the legislation forward.
