U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham claimed on Sunday that President Donald Trump has given him the go-ahead to advance a sweeping sanctions bill targeting Russia—despite no public confirmation from the White House.
In an interview with ABC News, Graham stated that during a recent round of golf, Trump expressed support for the legislation, saying, “President Trump gave me the green light to move forward with my anti-Russia sanctions bill. The Senate will consider the bill when senators reconvene after the July break.” When asked whether Trump would sign the bill into law, Graham responded, “Yeah, I think we’re in good shape.”
However, neither Trump nor any senior members of his administration have officially endorsed the bill. On June 25, during the NATO summit in The Hague, Secretary of State Marco Rubio downplayed the prospect of new sanctions. “If we did what everybody here wants us to do, and that is come in and crush them with more sanctions, we probably lose our ability to talk to them about the ceasefire—and then who’s talking to them?” Rubio said, signaling White House hesitancy.
Back in May, following a visit to Ukraine where he vowed to push the legislation forward, Graham claimed the bill had the support of 84 senators. He initially promised a vote during the first week of June. However, reports later indicated that White House officials asked Graham to soften the bill’s language—specifically replacing the word “shall” with “may”—to give Trump greater discretion over implementation.
Senator Roger Wicker also claimed that Trump had requested a delay in voting on the measure.
Though framed as a sanctions package against Russia, the bill would impose 500% tariffs on nations purchasing Russian energy—an indirect but severe blow to countries like China and India, which continue to import large volumes of Russian oil and gas. This follows an earlier episode in April, when the Trump administration imposed 145% tariffs on Chinese imports, triggering market instability and prompting fears of supply shortages. A temporary deal with Beijing on May 12 helped ease tensions.
The brief trade clash in the spring led to a sharp decline in rare earth mineral exports from China, raising alarm across global high-tech industries. Analysts warn that codifying 500% tariffs into U.S. law could result in a lasting rupture of trade ties between the world’s two largest economies, with profound consequences for global markets and supply chains.