The U.S. House of Representatives passed a Russia sanctions bill on Wednesday in a 262 to 159 vote, sending the legislation to President Donald Trump’s desk. The Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 targets Russian government officials, oligarchs, and financial institutions to increase pressure on the Russian economy following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The bill cleared the House on the final day of the session before lawmakers departed for the period leading up to Election Day.
The legislation originated in the Senate, where it passed in August with an 86-11 vote. Negotiations were spearheaded by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who died in July shortly after returning from a trip to Kyiv. Before his death, Graham announced that a deal had been reached with the White House to advance an updated version of the bill. While the package received broad Senate support, it faced opposition from Democratic leadership in the House, where 58 Democrats voted in favor and seven Republicans voted against it.
A feature of the bill is the authority it grants the president to impose tariffs of up to 100% on the five largest purchasers of Russian oil or natural gas. While the legislation includes exemptions for countries importing less than 15% of their natural gas from Russia, critics in the House argued the provision gives the executive branch broad power. Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) stated the bill includes a loophole that allows the president to define almost any country as a facilitator of sanction evasion and apply tariffs without oversight. Conversely, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) argued that tariffs are necessary because they are harder to evade than traditional sanctions.
For individual Americans, the day-to-day impact remains dependent on how the president exercises this authority. Opponents of the bill, including Reps. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Don Beyer (D-VA), and Richard Neal (D-MA), warned in a joint statement that expanding these tariff authorities could result in higher prices for U.S. consumers. Additionally, the bill mandates sanctions on Russian banks and oligarchs, and targets Russian officials and companies helping fuel the war.
The bill also extends sanctions on Iran’s weapons and energy sectors at the request of the White House. It provides the president with a waiver authority to pause these penalties if they are certified to be in the national interest. Now that the bill has passed both chambers, it moves to President Trump for his signature. If signed, the sanctions on Russian and Iranian entities would become law, though the timing for the implementation of specific tariffs on oil purchasers would be at the discretion of the executive branch.