House lawmakers are heading into a seven-week break after Speaker Mike Johnson canceled Thursday’s votes and sent them home early — but not before passing one major piece of legislation. A sweeping new sanctions bill targeting Russia and the countries still buying its oil and gas is now headed to President Donald Trump’s desk.
The House passed it 262-159, with 58 Democrats joining most Republicans in support. Seven Republicans opposed the measure.
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The Senate approved the bill 86 to 11 last month.
Bill honors Lindsey Graham
The bill is now named for late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who spent more than a year pushing the legislation before his sudden death in July.
It targets Russian government officials, oligarchs and financial institutions while giving Trump the authority to impose tariffs of up to 100% on the five biggest buyers of Russian oil and natural gas — potentially including China and India. Some Democrats opposed the bill, arguing it gives the president too much new tariff authority.
Graham’s successor, his sister, Sen. Darline Graham, called the bill’s final passage a major step toward ending Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“Congress has spoken with one voice and passed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026,” she said Wednesday. “A critical piece of legislation that will assist President Trump in his noble efforts to bring the Russia-Ukraine war to a close and allows President Trump to continue to apply economic pressure to the Iranian regime.”
Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who worked with Graham on the legislation, also praised its passage.
“Appeasement is not a strategy and this bill is about imposing costs and making sure that America’s strategic interests are protected,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said. “It is our national interest that is served by this bill, but it’s also our values and our vision as Americans.”
Russia launches new attacks
As the bill heads to Trump, Russia launched another major missile and drone attack on Ukraine overnight.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pointed to the timing of the House vote and the latest Russian attack.
“It is symbolic that the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Lindsey Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act on the night of yet another Russian attack on Ukraine with ballistic and other missiles and drones,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on social media Thursday.
A barrage of Russian missiles and drones struck Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine, injuring at least 19 people, including two children.
Ukraine’s air force said it intercepted or suppressed131 Russian aerial targets overnight in more than 30 locations across the country.
Ukraine also carried out strikes inside Russia, targeting an oil refinery in Yaroslavl and a military airfield in the Rostov region.
