House to Weigh Russia Sanctions Bill as Democratic Fault Lines Emerge

The House is expected to consider a far-reaching Russian sanctions package next week, even as its prospects remain unsettled despite lopsided Senate support.

The House Rules Committee has scheduled a Monday meeting on the measure, with a procedural vote likely later in the week that could decide whether it advances. The bill cleared the Senate 86-11 roughly a month after the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican for whom the legislation is named and who spent more than a year working with colleagues to secure its passage.

The package is intended to intensify pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine. It would allow the president to levy tariffs of up to 100% on the world's five largest buyers of Russian oil or natural gas, a group that includes China and India. Countries that import less than 15% of Russia's natural gas exports and are moving to reduce their reliance on Russian energy would be exempt.

The measure also provides for sanctions on Putin, senior Russian political and military figures, Russian financial institutions and energy projects. It would extend U.S. sanctions to older, reflagged oil tankers that Russia uses to evade existing restrictions on its oil and energy revenues. The White House could waive sanctions or restrictions if the president certifies to Congress that doing so serves the national interest. The bill further extends certain sanctions on Iran, an addition sought by President Donald Trump.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pressed the House to act, writing on X that sanctions must be imposed now and must be strong. He described the moment as historically important for the United States and said the bill must be passed and supported, adding that firm decisions from the administration and from Trump personally matter greatly.

Three senior House Democrats — Reps. Gregory Meeks, Richard Neal and Don Beyer, the ranking members on the Foreign Affairs and Ways and Means committees and the senior Democrat on the Joint Economic Committee — said in a joint statement that their party stands firmly behind Ukraine but warned the bill would do more harm than good. They called for negotiations on a version capable of winning broad support in both chambers, and urged the president to use existing authority to expand sanctions on those fueling Russia's war effort without delay.

Several top Democratic lawmakers have raised concerns that the legislation significantly broadens Trump's tariff authority and that he could deploy the new power against U.S. allies. Next week's vote may be the House's final opportunity to act before the midterms, as lawmakers are expected to spend the rest of September and October campaigning in their districts.