The Senate approved a sweeping sanctions bill targeting Russia and Iran on Friday, passing the legislation in a major bipartisan vote after easing some senators’ concerns on the new tariff authorities it grants the president.
The legislation seeks to impose primary and secondary sanctions against Russia as well as any other country supporting the Kremlin’s war efforts in Ukraine. Those sanctions would target Russian officials, oligarchs, their family members, foreign persons, and Russian banks and financial institutions.
Additionally, it would impose penalties against the Russian Shadow Fleet, a network of hundreds of vessels designed to evade sanctions and bypass Western price caps on oil. The bill also includes language to prevent the expiration of sanction authority restricting funds for Iran’s energy and weapons sectors.
The sanctions package has been years in the making as former Sen. Lindsey Graham, the bill’s namesake who died unexpectedly last month after returning from a trip to Ukraine, has consistently decried Russia’s 2022 invasion. Graham secured a deal with the White House just one day before his death on July 11.
As part of the agreement with President Donald Trump, the package includes provisions allowing the president to impose targeted tariffs on countries that purchase the vast majority of Russian oil or gas. Those tariffs would only apply to the five largest importers of Russian oil or gas as well as the top five countries that aid Russia in evading sanctions.
Will bill expand Trump’s tariff powers?
Inclusion of that provision raised eyebrows among some senators who were concerned about the expansion of tariff powers it provides to Trump, who has already tested the limits of that authority during his second term.
Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who has worked with Graham for years on a sanctions package, defended its inclusion. Blumenthal told the Deseret News last week the provision is more restrictive than the powers Trump has already used to issue tariffs over the last year and a half that have occasionally targeted U.S. allies.
“The tariff authority is narrowly targeted and confined to the five largest purchasers of Russian oil and gas,” Blumenthal said. “None of our European allies are hit (by it). The president simply has no authority under this bill to apply tariffs in a broad blunderbuss way.”
Opposition to the tariff language threatened to delay passage of the sanctions package, particularly due to an objection from Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., who issued a hold earlier this week.
Warnock met with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Thursday to talk through the tariff language, securing an agreement with the Trump administration to put guardrails on the tariff authority. That agreement would remove tariffs on countries that drop below the top five benchmark, even if they were on the list at some point.
Warnock originally sought an amendment seeking similar restrictions, but he dropped his opposition after receiving the assurance from Greer in writing. The Georgia Democrat also entered the agreement in the Senate record during floor debate.
“Tonight, I secured a key concession from the Trump admin to close a loophole in the Russia sanctions bill that expanded Trump’s tariff power,” Warnock said in a statement on Thursday. “This is a small but important victory for all Americans who have suffered under this President’s reckless tariffs.”
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., also opposed the tariff amendment, prompting Senate GOP leaders to agree to vote on an amendment to strike that language from the legislation. That vote failed by a 32-64 margin.
The bill ultimately passed in a 86-11 vote. Both Utah Sens. Mike Lee and John Curtis voted in favor of the measure.
The vote on Thursday also signals growing momentum in the Senate to accomplish items on their long to-do list before the scheduled August recess. The Senate is scheduled to leave by the end of this week for the five-week recess period, but those plans could be delayed as other pieces of legislation get stalled.
The sanctions package now heads to the House for approval before it can be sent to Trump’s desk. However, the lower chamber is not scheduled to return from its recess until Aug. 31, meaning it could be well into September before the sanctions are enacted.