US may vote on Graham’s 'bone-crushing' Russia sanctions next week
Photo: the late Senator Lindsey Graham
The US Senate could pass a bill on "hellish sanctions" against Russia as early as next week, an initiative spearheaded by the late Senator Lindsey Graham, according to Axios.
According to sources, Democrats are signaling to their Republican colleagues that they are ready to vote on the sanctions package as early as next week.
If the document is adopted, it will be a rare case of a bipartisan breakthrough in passing legislation that would help bring an end to the war in Ukraine. The reason is that for most of the year, the Senate has been caught up in partisan infighting.
On Tuesday, a memorial ceremony for the senator will be held at the Capitol. This will, in turn, provide an emotional backdrop for the Senate's consideration of the bill that Graham tried to see through to the end in the final days of his life.
"I'm optimistic we'll be able to move forward soon. Ukraine has the momentum on the battlefield, and the Kremlin's position is increasingly precarious. It is vital that we move as quickly as possible," said Senator Jeanne Shaheen.
Axios notes that the bill, which has more than 60 co-sponsors, was revised twice after Graham's sudden death on July 11.
In particular, senators lowered the overall secondary tariff rate from 500% to 100% and narrowed the scope of the document, allowing tariffs to be imposed on no more than 5 countries.
Later, on July 19, US President Donald Trump asked to expand the scope of this law to include Iran. The senators, in turn, took this into account.
Sanctions against Russia
Last week, the media reported that the Trump administration was ready to support the bill on large-scale sanctions against Russia. However, later other media reported that Trump had not expressed full readiness to support it.
At the same time, publicly, during a conversation with journalists, the US president said that the likelihood of the bill being passed and signed was very high.
