Senate advances Russia sanctions bill honoring Lindsey Graham
What's new: The revised package adds Iran penalties while keeping Russian oil and gas sales at the center of the measure.
The Senate cleared an initial hurdle on a bipartisan sanctions bill aimed at cutting off revenue from Russian oil and gas sales that lawmakers say help finance Moscow’s war in Ukraine. The measure was renamed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act after the late South Carolina senator, whose sister, Sen. Darline Graham, helped carry the effort forward with Sen. Richard Blumenthal. The revised bill also adds new sanctions tied to Iran. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was expected to meet lawmakers ahead of a scheduled Senate vote as supporters pushed the measure as both a pressure campaign on President Vladimir Putin and a tribute to Graham’s long-running support for Ukraine.