The Senate voted 86-11 on Friday to pass the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, a bipartisan bill that places broad sanctions on Russia and extends existing sanctions against Iran. The legislation, designated S.5025 in the 119th Congress, now heads to the House before it can reach President Trump's desk.

The bill is named for Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who pushed the measure before his unexpected death in July at age 71. His Senate colleagues said they would name the legislation in his honor after his death. His sister, Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., was appointed to serve out the remainder of his term and 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 legislation in July.

The legislation locks in penalties on Russia's leadership, military, and energy sector. It sanctions top Russian leaders and imposes additional sanctions under Section 235 of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, known as CAATSA, that are not already in effect. CAATSA is a 2017 law that lets the United States penalize foreign governments and individuals tied to adversaries such as Russia. The bill also bans imports of uranium from Russia.

The bill's most far-reaching provision targets the global market for Russian energy. It allows tariffs of up to 100% on imports from countries that rank among the world's top five buyers of Russian crude oil or natural gas, or among the top five facilitators of Russian oil sanctions evasion. Those provisions would apply to major buyers such as China and India. The bill also raises the duty rate on goods imported into the United States. President Trump would have the authority to issue tariffs of up to 100% on those buyers and to waive sanctions if he deems it appropriate.

The legislation is intended to squeeze the Russian economy and pressure an end to the war that began in 2022, when Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine. Shortly before his death, Graham met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and announced he had reached a deal with the White House to support the bill. The measure drew support from American officials and Ukrainian leaders.

The path to Friday's vote began over the summer. A revised version of the bill, which capped potential tariffs at 100% and limited their application 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 an agreement to move forward, and the bill cleared its first procedural hurdle that evening. Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Jack Reed, D-R.I., pushed to get the legislation to Trump's desk, describing it as a way to hold major purchasers of Russian oil and natural gas accountable.

Trump has signaled support for the bill, as has House Speaker Mike Johnson. Some House Democrats have voiced opposition, citing concerns about granting Trump new tariff authorities. The bill's House timeline has not been announced.

The 86-11 Senate vote reflects the broad, bipartisan coalition behind the measure. In January 2026, Graham said the bill would allow President Trump to punish countries that buy cheap Russian oil fueling Putin's war machine. 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 crude oil or natural gas.

A predecessor measure, S.1241, the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025, proposed a ban on energy exports to and investments in Russia's energy sector, along with a ban on importing uranium. Provisions from that earlier bill appear to have been folded into S.5025.

The legislation now awaits House action. With Trump and Johnson both on record in support, the principal obstacle is Democratic resistance to the tariff authorities, which some members view as an expansion of executive power that could be applied beyond the Russia context. The White House deal Graham brokered before his death was aimed at securing Trump's explicit backing, and the administration's signal of support suggests the tariff provisions were a feature, not a bug, of that agreement.