The Senate voted 86-11 on Friday to pass a new law that places heavy penalties on Russia and extends existing penalties against Iran. The bill, called the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, now goes to the House of Representatives before it can reach President Trump's desk.

The bill is named for Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who pushed for the measure before his unexpected death in July at age 71. After his death, his Senate colleagues said they would name the legislation in his honor. His sister, Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., was appointed to fill the rest of his term. She joined Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., John Boozman, R-Ark., Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., in introducing updated versions of the bill in July.

Sanctions are penalties a government uses to punish another country, often by cutting off trade or freezing financial assets. This bill locks in penalties on Russia's leadership, military, and energy sector. It places sanctions on top Russian leaders and adds more penalties under a 2017 law called CAATSA, which lets the United States punish foreign governments and individuals tied to countries like Russia. The bill also bans imports of uranium from Russia.

The bill's most important provision goes after the global market for Russian energy. It allows tariffs — taxes on imported goods — of up to 100% on items coming from countries that are among the world's top five buyers of Russian oil or natural gas, or among the top five helping others get around existing sanctions on Russian oil. Those countries include major buyers such as China and India. The bill also raises the tax rate on goods imported into the United States. President Trump would have the power to set those tariffs at up to 100% and to waive the sanctions if he decides it is appropriate.

The goal is to squeeze the Russian economy and push for an end to the war that started in 2022, when Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine. Shortly before his death, Graham met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and said he had reached a deal with the White House to support the bill. American officials and Ukrainian leaders both expressed support for the measure.

The road to Friday's vote started over the summer. A revised version of the bill, which capped the possible tariffs at 100% and limited them to the top five buyers of Russian oil and gas, circulated in mid-July. On July 16, Shaheen joined Blumenthal and Darline Graham in introducing the legislation with 60 cosponsors. Later that month, Boozman and Cotton signed on as well.

On July 28, a bipartisan group of senators announced they had agreed to move forward, and the bill passed its first procedural step that evening. Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Jack Reed, D-R.I., worked to get the legislation to Trump's desk, saying it would hold major buyers of Russian oil and natural gas accountable.

Trump has said he supports the bill, as has House Speaker Mike Johnson. Some House Democrats have said they oppose it, pointing to concerns about giving Trump new tariff powers. The timeline for the House to take up the bill has not been announced.

The 86-11 Senate vote shows the broad, bipartisan support behind the measure. In January 2026, Graham said the bill would let President Trump punish countries that buy cheap Russian oil, which helps fund Putin's war effort. The Congressional Record for July 28, 2026 documents the Senate's discussion of the bill's tariff provisions on the top five countries buying Russian oil or natural gas.

An earlier version of the bill, S.1241, the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025, proposed banning energy exports to Russia and investments in Russia's energy sector, along with banning uranium imports. Parts of that earlier bill appear to have been included in the new legislation.

The bill now waits for House action. With Trump and Johnson both on record in support, the main obstacle is Democratic opposition to the tariff powers, which some members see as an expansion of presidential power that could be used beyond the Russia situation. The White House deal Graham reached before his death was aimed at getting Trump's explicit backing, and the administration's signal of support suggests the tariff provisions were an intended part of that agreement, not an unintended one.