Translated with AI
The White House has approved a sanctions bill against Russia, according to its co-author, Senator Lindsey Graham. According to CNN, the US presidential administration notified him of this several hours ago. According to the senator, Donald Trump personally requested the bill be advanced in Congress.
"On Sunday, while we were playing golf, President Trump told [Senate Majority Leader] John Thune to bring the bill up," Graham said.
Graham's bill, now co-sponsored by more than 80 senators, would allow the president to levy a 500% tariff on imports from countries that buy Russian uranium, gas, and oil.
Senator Graham also said a phone call with members of the House and Senate is scheduled for this afternoon and "it's really important that we don't screw this up."
"If you want to bring Putin to the negotiating table, there's no way you can have a successful 28-point or 12-point plan unless Putin believes that we're going to continue our military support for Ukraine and that we're going to go after those who buy cheap Russian oil," he said, explaining that Congress needs to pass the bill to gain leverage in negotiations with Vladimir Putin.
Trump himself, commenting on the bill, previously stated that the US would be able to impose sanctions on any country doing business with Russia. He specifically noted that Iran could be added to this list.
In 2023, Russia placed US Senator Lindsey Graham on its wanted list, and a criminal case was opened against him under terrorism charges. His name was later added to the Rosfinmonitoring agency's list of terrorists and extremists. The case was prompted by a video recording made during Graham's meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In it, Graham says that "Russians are dying," then adds, "We've never spent money so wisely." It later emerged that his words were taken out of context.
