The U.S. Senate cleared a major procedural hurdle on the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act with an 86, 12 vote, just hours after lawmakers attended the late senator's funeral at Washington National Cathedral.
Senators filed from the cathedral to the Capitol on Tuesday and did something rare in modern Washington: they voted overwhelmingly, across party lines, to advance a sweeping sanctions package that the late South Carolina Republican had spent his final days pushing toward the finish line. The 86, 12 tally was not close. It was a statement.
The bill bearing Graham's name targets Russian oil and gas exports, extends existing sanctions on Iran's energy and weapons sectors, and hands President Trump authority to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on the five largest purchasers of Russian crude, a provision aimed squarely at China and India. It also imposes primary and secondary sanctions on Russian officials, oligarchs, their family members, Russian banks, and the so-called Russian Shadow Fleet of tankers used to skirt existing restrictions.
Graham had introduced the legislation the previous year and spent months building support. A day before his July 11 death, he announced that he had reached an agreement with the White House to move forward. He vowed the bill would "become law" and said he had "never been more optimistic" about the war in Ukraine drawing to an end. Days earlier, he had visited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.
The revised version of the bill included flexibility for presidential waivers in the national interest, a concession Graham negotiated directly with the Trump administration, AP News reported. That White House buy-in proved decisive. Without it, the legislation had stalled for months. With it, the path to a floor vote opened fast.
Sen. Katie Britt, the Alabama Republican who took up the bill after Graham's death, told colleagues on the floor that Graham had described it to her as "the most consequential piece of legislation that he ever led."
"Now that's saying something."
Britt told the chamber it was an "honor to now help champion one of his highest priorities, and not just for Lindsey, but for the doctrine in which he so deeply and passionately believed... peace through strength."
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the Connecticut Democrat who co-led the effort, was blunt about the bill's intended targets. He framed the sanctions not as a general rebuke of Moscow but as a direct challenge to the nations bankrolling Russia's war machine.
"It's carefully crafted to make sure we are not hitting our allies and that we are hitting China and India. Let's be really blunt: China and India are the main culprits here. They purchase the vast majority of oil and gas. They are fueling Russia's war machine, and they are doing us no favors anywhere else in the world."
Blumenthal also directed a message at Vladimir Putin from the Senate floor, saying the bill "says to Vladimir Putin, your days of war are numbered. You are on the losing side. Better to come to the table now than sacrifice more lives, waste more money, crater your economy, destroy your standing in the world. America stands with Ukraine."
After the vote, Blumenthal expressed confidence the bill could also clear the House. "I think we have the votes," he told reporters. He called the 86, 12 margin "a profoundly solid vote for Ukraine, showing that the American people are on Ukraine's side."
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, not typically aligned with Republican foreign policy priorities, said Graham's legislation would "show the Russians, we mean business." Senate Majority Leader John Thune struck a similar note, calling the bill "an incredible legacy" for Graham and expressing optimism about finding a path forward with bipartisan cooperation.
Zelensky was in Washington for Graham's funeral and used the trip to press the case for the bill in person. He met with Trump at the White House and with senators on Capitol Hill ahead of the vote, then watched part of the roll call from the Senate gallery. As lawmakers voted to advance the legislation, Zelensky applauded from his seat above the chamber floor.
Speaking to reporters as the votes were tallied, Zelensky called the bill "very important" and said sanctions pressure on Russia "really gives... a big signal to Europe, a big signal to Ukraine, a big support to our people." He called the late senator "a true friend of Ukraine." The Washington Examiner reported that Zelensky emphasized the bill's significance not only as a financial tool but as a diplomatic signal to European allies.
A joint statement from Blumenthal, Britt, and Graham's sister Darline Graham put the vote in personal terms: "There is no greater way to honor Senator Graham's legacy than to move forward with this bipartisan agreement."
Tuesday's vote was procedural, a cloture vote, meaning it ended debate and moved the bill toward a final floor vote. It was not final passage. The bill still needs a full Senate vote and then must clear the House before reaching the president's desk.
Senate Republican leadership wants that final vote before the August recess, which begins next week. The timeline is tight, but the 86, 12 margin suggests the votes are there. Twelve senators voted no, though their names were not disclosed in available reporting.
The bill's tariff provisions are its sharpest teeth. By authorizing the president to levy tariffs of up to 100 percent on the five largest importers of Russian crude oil or gas, and on the top five countries that help Russia evade energy sanctions, the legislation gives the White House a tool to punish nations that continue funding Moscow's war effort. The provision is calibrated to avoid penalizing U.S. allies while putting direct economic pressure on China and India.
That approach fits a broader pattern of Senate Republicans delivering legislative wins on national security and foreign policy this session. The chamber has moved with unusual speed on several fronts, from nominations to defense spending.
The Iran component of the bill has drawn less attention but extends existing sanctions on Tehran's energy and weapons sectors, a provision that aligns with the administration's broader posture toward the regime. Republicans have repeatedly blocked Democratic efforts to constrain the president's authority on Iran, and this bill reinforces that approach by keeping sanctions pressure intact.
An 86, 12 vote in a Senate that struggles to agree on naming a post office is worth pausing over. The margin reflects both the substance of the bill and the circumstances of its passage. Graham's death gave the legislation a political momentum that months of committee work had not.
But the bill is not a symbolic gesture. Its provisions, secondary sanctions on Russian banks, tariff authority against China and India, restrictions on the Shadow Fleet, carry real economic weight. If signed into law, they would represent the most aggressive U.S. sanctions package targeting Russia's energy revenue since the war began four years ago.
The House has not yet scheduled action on the bill or a companion measure. Blumenthal expressed optimism, but the lower chamber operates on a different calendar and under different political pressures. Whether the bill reaches the president's desk before the momentum fades remains an open question.
Senate Republicans have been racking up legislative wins this session on everything from immigration to defense. This bill adds foreign policy to the list, and does so with a bipartisan margin that makes it harder for critics to dismiss.
Graham spent decades pushing the Senate toward a more assertive posture on Russia. He did not live to see this vote. But the chamber he served moved with a speed and unity that would have been hard to imagine a month ago, and it did so in his name.
Washington runs on short memories and shifting loyalties. Lindsey Graham bet his legacy on the idea that sanctions could end a war. Eighty-six senators just said he was right.