Miami
House approves new Russia and Iran sanctions bill, sending it to Trump
The measure cleared Democratic objections over the scope of presidential tariff powers. The bill, named for Lindsey Graham, had already passed the Senate.
The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a sanctions bill targeting Russia and Iran and sent it to President Donald Trump for his signature, according to CBS News Miami, NBC News Politics and NPR Politics. The final vote was 262-159 on the chamber’s last day in session before lawmakers leave Washington until after Election Day.
The measure had already cleared the Senate with broad bipartisan backing after more than a year of negotiations. It is titled the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, honoring the late Republican senator Lindsey Graham, a leading advocate for the effort who died in July shortly after announcing a deal with the White House to move forward with an updated version of the legislation, CBS News Miami reported.
The bill authorizes the president to impose tariffs of up to 100% on the largest purchasers of Russian oil or natural gas. NPR Politics said those importers include China and India, while CBS News Miami reported that the two countries are the biggest buyers of Russian crude. The legislation also includes exceptions for countries that import less than 15% of their natural gas from Russia and are taking significant steps to reduce that dependence, according to CBS News Miami.
The package also imposes sanctions on Vladimir Putin, officials in his government, oligarchs, and Russian banks and financial institutions. At Trump’s request, it also expands sanctions authority over Iran’s energy and weapons sectors.
Several House Democrats opposed the bill, arguing that it would too greatly expand the president’s tariff powers while failing to require sanctions to be carried out effectively. CBS News Miami reported that Democratic leaders including Gregory Meeks, Don Beyer and Richard Neal said the measure could raise costs for Americans and weaken long-term support for Ukraine. Hakeem Jeffries also said he would vote no because, in his view, the bill contains too many loopholes to ensure the sanctions are ever enforced.
Even so, 58 Democrats voted in favor and seven Republicans voted against it, according to CBS News Miami. The bill also survived a procedural hurdle on Tuesday with help from moderate Democrats Jared Golden and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, who broke with their party.
During floor debate, Republicans defended tariffs as a stronger enforcement tool alongside sanctions. CBS News Miami reported that they also highlighted support for the bill from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s team.
Sources
About this piece. Written by El Notero with AI assistance, from reporting published by the outlet cited above. El Notero did no original reporting on this story.
