Bipartisan senators announced an agreement with the Trump administration on Friday to move ahead with an updated Russia sanctions package, but it remains unclear if President Donald Trump will directly back the bill’s passage.
The package would allow Trump to place heavy tariffs on imports from nations that import Russian oil, uranium and natural gas, with possible exceptions for countries that contribute to the Ukrainian war effort. Last summer, GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham and Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal were pushing for the package. Trump signaled he was open to the idea and expressed disappointment in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attitude toward negotiations, but the administration did not come out in support of the bill.
Graham and Blumenthal, who have been leading the push for this bill for years, released a statement on Friday alongside Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker and Senate Foreign Relations Ranking Member Jeanne Shaheen stating, “We are proud to announce that we have reached an agreement with the Trump Administration to move our updated Russia sanctions legislation forward. We are very pleased with this significant progress and expect to roll out the legislation very soon.”
