Senate advances Lindsey Graham's Russia sanctions bill hours after his funeral
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.
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