Before the chamber left town for the August recess, the Senate, in a moving display of posthumous bipartisanship, voted 86 to 11 to pass a sanctions package meant to cripple Russia’s war machine. The recent vote hands the White House a new diplomatic tool and establishes a lasting legacy for its chief architect, the late Senator Lindsey Graham.

The Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act embodies the most aggressive intervention taken by Congress in foreign policy measures during the current session, explicitly targeting the financial lifelines of Moscow. The president has effectively been authorized to begin imposing tariffs of up to 100% on products imported from nations like India, Hungary, and China that continue in trade relations with Russia, specifically in the oil and gas industry.

The passage of the bill seals a tense, multi-month legislative marathon headed by Graham, the South Carolina Republican, and his primary co-author, Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat. Before Graham’s death, momentum that had previously stalled started to pick up as lawmakers across the aisle took action to honor their longtime colleague’s foreign policy crusade. The chamber’s mood was stoic as the final vote was conducted, while foreign diplomats looked on from the gallery. Shortly before the roll call, Blumenthal shared that the measure ultimately serves as a clear warning to Moscow, remarking in press briefings this past week that Graham would be “proud of what we’ve done” and that “these sledgehammer sanctions and tariffs will stop all who are complicit in this murderous, criminal war of aggression against brave free people.”

In Graham’s stead, Senator Darline Graham, a South Carolina Republican appointed by Governor Henry McMaster (R) to serve out the remainder of her brother’s term, championed the effort. The new senator has taken steps already to emphasize that the war has been predominantly funded by revenue that Russia has procured from its energy sales, arguing that this legislation successfully hits the Kremlin where it hurts by forcing nations to make a simple choice: do business with America or buy cheap Russian energy. The bill aims to cut off Moscow from the secondary market that has allowed it to avoid international sanctions, and severing its economic arteries will deal a great blow to the country as it struggles to keep its military-industrial complex afloat.

The final form of the bill took on a softer tone after some of the initial draft’s most drastic proposals, which had previously called for tariffs as high as 500%, effectively winning over trade-conscious Republicans and executive-branch skeptics about potentially triggering global trade wars. Under the finalized text approved by the Senate, the president is vested with the discretionary authority to impose 100% tariffs on top importers of Russian crude, natural gas, and petroleum products. To avoid diplomatic friction with foreign allies, the bill includes certain exemptions for countries importing less than 15% of their natural gas from Russia and provides the White House a caveat in suspending penalties if trade talks require. The legislation also levies further sanctions on top Russian political figures and oligarchs while formally extending the Iran Sanctions Act through 2031 in an effort to simultaneously squeeze Tehran’s energy sector.

While the overwhelming Senate vote demonstrated a unified resolve domestically, geopolitical shockwaves rippled throughout the world, pinging rather dramatically in several foreign capitals. In Beijing and New Delhi, trade negotiators are scrambling to figure out whether the administration will yield this new tariff authority or simply use it as a bargaining chip in broader trade negotiations. Diplomats in Europe have raised concerns as to how secondary tariffs might impact their already fragile continental energy markets that are still transitioning away from Russian fuels.

The spotlight now moves to the House of Representatives, where the party leadership faces a much narrower path to passage and a divided caucus. While the administration has voiced strong support for the Senate’s package, there are several factions in the House that have signaled reservations. Progressive Democrats like Reps. Gregory Meeks (N.Y.) and Don Beyer (Va.) have criticized the legislation, arguing that it could be easily weaponized by the president without abandon, likely resulting in the worsening of global supply chain disruptions and intensifying already rising costs. A handful of fiscal conservatives similarly remain cautious about the concept of handing the executive branch such sweeping unilateral power. Nevertheless, based on an 86-vote mandate in the Senate and robust support from foreign policy hawks, the bill is expected to reach the president’s desk in the coming weeks.