House passes Russia sanctions bill, sends it to Trump

The House approved a sweeping Russia sanctions bill Wednesday, sending President Donald Trump legislation that would let him impose tariffs of up to 100% on major buyers of Russian energy as the United States seeks to squeeze revenue funding Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

The measure passed 262-159 on the House’s final day in session before lawmakers leave Washington until after Election Day. It cleared the Senate 86-11 last month after lengthy negotiations and is now headed to Trump’s desk.

The bill, titled the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, is named for the late South Carolina Republican senator, who pushed for the measure before his unexpected death in July. Graham had helped negotiate Trump’s support for an updated version of the package.

The legislation targets Russian officials, companies and financial institutions tied to the war, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, officials in his government, oligarchs and Russian banks. The Guardian reported that it also targets foreign networks helping Russia’s war machine and Russia’s so-called fleet of “shadow tankers,” used to ship crude despite sanctions on energy exports.

Its most closely watched provision gives the president authority to impose tariffs on top purchasers of Russian oil or natural gas, including countries such as China and India. CBS News reported that the bill applies to the top five purchasers of Russian oil or natural gas and includes exceptions for countries importing less than 15% of their natural gas from Russia while taking “significant” steps to reduce those imports. At Trump’s request, the measure also extends sanctions authority aimed at Iran’s energy and weapons sectors.

Supporters said the tariffs are designed to cut off money sustaining Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began in 2022 and has killed thousands of civilians. “This is a moral issue that requires moral courage,” said Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas. “I want us to be able to say that we did everything possible to end this war. That we understood the threat. That we had the courage to do what was right — to cripple the Russian war machine and turn the tide toward peace.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said after passage that the bill “sends a powerful message of American unity and gives the administration every tool in the toolbox to help bring this war to a just end.” Earlier in the week, Johnson told reporters, “I have always been in favor of the Russia sanctions bill. But we had to build a consensus around it, and I think we have it.”

The vote exposed divisions in both parties. Fifty-eight House Democrats joined most Republicans to support the bill, while seven Republicans voted no. Many Democrats opposed the measure because they said it would hand Trump broad tariff powers without enough limits.

“This bill has a loophole that would allow him to define basically any country as a facilitator of evading Russian sanctions,” said Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va. “He could then hit them with tariffs of up to 100%, with no guardrails or oversight, and no expiration.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he would not support the legislation because “there are so many loopholes written into the bill” that he doubted whether the sanctions “will ever see the light of day.” Democratic Reps. Gregory Meeks, Beyer and Richard Neal said in a statement the bill “would dramatically expand presidential tariff authorities while failing to mandate sanctions on Russia.”

Supporters countered that tariffs would be harder to evade than sanctions alone. “As we’ve heard from President Zelenskyy’s team, you can evade sanctions — which the Russians have done for years — but you cannot evade tariffs,” McCaul said on the House floor. “That’s why they are the teeth of this bill.”

The Ukrainian government has backed the effort. “We support any initiative that is in the interest of Ukraine and Ukrainians,” said Denys Sienik, the chargé d’affaires at Ukraine’s embassy in Washington. Daniel Balson of Razom for Ukraine called the bill’s passage “momentous,” saying it sends “an unmistakable message” that Congress will impose consequences “for so long as Putin continues to inflict suffering on Ukraine.”