Trump signs Russia sanctions bill championed by Graham

Washington — President Trump signed a sweeping bill Friday to sanction Russia and threaten tariffs on its largest energy customers, legislation championed by the late Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham. 

The House passed the bill with bipartisan support earlier this week. The Senate passed it in August, although a number of Democrats expressed concern that it would expand the president’s tariff authority. 

The new law, the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, lets the president impose tariffs of up to 100% on the five largest purchasers of Russian oil and natural gas. It also sanctions Russian President Vladimir Putin, who started Russia’s war with Ukraine, as well as his government officials, oligarchs and Russian banks and financial institutions. 

When it comes to foreign countries, the bill would have the most impact on China and India, the largest purchasers of Russian crude oil. Mr. Trump is set to meet with Xi Jinping at the White House on Sept. 24.

The bill also extends sanctions on Iran’s energy and weapons sectors.

The global oil crunch due to the U.S. war with Iran initially benefited Russia. Toward the beginning of the war, the Trump administration temporarily allowed the purchase of Russian oil that was already at sea. 

Graham was pushing for the sanctions bill’s passage shortly before his sudden death in July. He had just returned from a trip to Ukraine when he died in Washington from a torn aorta. He was 71. Mr. Trump delivered the eulogy at his funeral. 

Russia’s war in Ukraine continues without a clear end in sight. Earlier this month, Mr. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff visited Putin in Moscow and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv. Mr. Trump voiced frustration with the war, which he has been unable to end despite campaign pledges that he would end it by his first day in office. 

“The holdup is two people that hate each other,” Mr. Trump said after speaking with Putin. “I think more than anything else, it’s two people that hate each other.”