Lindsey Graham's Final Legacy: 'Sanctions from Hell' Bill Against Russia Passes US Senate
During a meeting at the NATO summit in Türkiye earlier this month, the late Senator Lindsey Graham made one particular request to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Graham asked Zelensky, who was scheduled to speak with President Donald Trump on the same day, to promote the draft bill imposing harsh sanctions on Russia’s war economy.
The move became Graham’s final mission before he died of a heart condition shortly after returning from Ukraine. The bill, nicknamed the ‘sanctions from hell’, has now gained significant momentum in Washington as a tribute to the Republican senator’s tenacity.
On Tuesday (28/7), the United States Senate voted 86 to 12 to advance the legislative package. The bill authorises the government to impose tariffs of up to 100 per cent on the five main buyers of Russian oil and natural gas. In addition, at the insistence of the Trump administration, the sanctions have also been extended to cover Iran.
Senator Richard Blumenthal, Graham’s long-time partner in drafting the legislation, recalled Graham’s enthusiasm upon learning that the White House had finally given its backing. “He said to me, ‘This is a really big deal. We are all doing something good’,” Blumenthal said, imitating Graham’s words.
The bill’s success did not come easily. For more than a year, negotiations repeatedly stalled. Initially, the bill proposed tariffs of up to 500 per cent on buyers of Russian uranium and energy, but it was held up by Democrats’ reluctance to grant Trump overly broad trade powers.
The turning point came after a series of intensive lobbying efforts by Graham directed at Trump and the US Treasury Department. Senator Jeanne Shaheen revealed that Graham had the best relationship with the president to bridge support between Congress and the White House. The Treasury Department, which had initially been concerned about the economic impact on the United States, finally withdrew its objections after a meeting in Ankara, Türkiye.
President Zelensky, who attended Graham’s funeral before meeting with the Senate, stressed that the legislation is not merely about money. “This is a big signal of US support for Ukraine and Europe,” Zelensky said. He expressed hope that the financial pressure would force Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the invasion, now in its fifth year.
Despite broad support, the bill still faces criticism. Democratic Representative Gregory Meeks called it a Trojan horse for tariff authority that could be misused. Meanwhile, economic analysts such as Richard Connolly of the Royal United Services Institute doubt the effectiveness of sanctions in halting the invasion, given the potential for black markets and persistently high global demand for Russian crude oil.
For its supporters, however, the bill — now named in honour of Graham — represents a rare foreign policy victory amid congressional division. “This is not the end, it may not even be the beginning of the end,” Blumenthal said. “But Putin no longer looks untouchable.”