Lindsey Graham Scores a Massive Posthumous Win

The Senate overwhelmingly approved a punishing Russian sanctions package Friday, the result of a year-long campaign by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham to reinforce US support for Ukraine and try to force President Vladimir Putin's hand as the grinding war drags. The bipartisan legislation, which passed the Senate 86-11, seeks to deprive Putin of revenues fueling the war by penalizing countries that continue to buy Russian oil, gas, and other exports, the AP reports.

• It comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the Capitol hours after the Republican senator's funeral, met with senators from both parties, and watched from the gallery as the Senate took the first procedural votes last week on the sweeping legislation.

• "Today, President Zelensky is watching from Ukraine—and Putin is watching from Moscow. I would like to think Lindsey Graham is watching, too," said Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who had worked with the late South Carolina senator on the package. "Today we say to the people of Ukraine: You are not alone. And today we say to Vladimir Putin: You will not conquer Ukraine."
• The sweeping show of force from the Senate is the most substantial move yet during President Trump's second term to shift the dynamic of the more than four-year war, which has now churned longer than World War I. Congress has struggled to ensure US funding and munitions flows to Ukraine, but Trump has given a nod to the sanctions package, putting pressure for the House to take it up for a vote and send it to the White House for his signature.
• Graham and Blumenthal had announced a deal with the White House on the sanctions legislation on July 10 after more than a year of negotiations with the White House. Graham, who had just returned from Ukraine, died suddenly the next day, likely from an aortic tear.

• The bipartisan package that carries Graham's name allows the president to impose tariffs on the world's top five purchasers of Russian oil or natural gas, including China and India. It provides exceptions for countries that import less than 15% of their natural gas from Russia and are taking steps to reduce those imports. The legislation also includes sanctions on Putin, senior Russian political and military leaders, Russian financial institutions and Russian energy projects.
• Democrats and some Republicans expressed concern about giving Trump new tariff powers, but Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock said he had received a written commitment that there would be firm guardrails. An amendment from GOP Sen. Rand Paul and Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden to strip tariff language from the bill failed in a 64-32 floor vote Friday, Politico reports.
• The negotiated bill also includes waiver authority for the president, allowing the White House to waive sanctions or restrictions if the president certifies to Congress that the waiver is in the national interest.
• Republican Sen. Darline Graham, who was appointed by the state's governor to fill her brother's seat, said he was determined to bring an end to the Ukraine war, and she was honored to carry on his work. "This legislation hits Putin where it hurts," she said.