U.S. Sanctions and Trade Tariffs

Sen. Lindsey Graham says President Donald Trump has now given him a clear 'greenlight' to move forward with a bipartisan Russia sanctions package he co‑authored with Sen. Richard Blumenthal, centered on steep tariffs on Russian oil, gas, uranium and other energy exports that are largely purchased by China and India. The legislation, which Graham stresses is meant to 'cripple Russia’s war machine,' had been kept on the back burner while the Trump administration tried to broker a controversial peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv that would have required Ukrainian territorial concessions and which Trump now blames Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for stalling. A White House official confirms Trump supports the bill, but Senate Majority Leader John Thune is insisting that, because it has major budgetary implications, any such sanctions/tariff package should originate in the House, leaving Speaker Mike Johnson to decide whether to move a House version—something he has not yet agreed to. The Senate is out this week and returns next week facing a looming partial government‑shutdown deadline over DHS funding, meaning floor time will be tight even if leadership resolves the fight over where the bill must start. The maneuvering underscores how Trump’s approach to Russia now couples back‑channel peace talks with a threat of severe energy‑sector tariffs, and how internal Republican disagreements over procedure could again delay a sanctions push that has broad bipartisan support on substance.