House Passes Graham Russia-Iran Sanctions Bill 262–159, Sends Tariff Tool to Trump

The House on Wednesday passed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, agreeing to the Senate amendments by a vote of 262–159 and sending the measure to President Donald Trump.

Roll Call 308 was 204 Republicans and 58 Democrats in favor, seven Republicans and 152 Democrats against, with 12 members not voting. The Senate had passed the bill 86–11 on Aug. 7. Speaker Mike Johnson called the result “a powerful message of American unity” and said the House was proud to put “every tool in the toolbox” on the president’s desk.

The statute is named for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who died July 11 and had spent more than a year moving the package. It imposes primary and secondary sanctions on Russian officials, oligarchs and family members, banks, financial institutions, and the shadow fleet used to move discounted Russian energy. It directs the president to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on the five largest importers of Russian crude or gas and on the top five facilitators of oil-sanctions evasion, with an exemption for countries whose Russian gas share is under 15 percent and that are cutting those imports. It also renews sanctions authority aimed at Iran’s energy and weapons sectors.

House debate turned less on Moscow than on who would hold the tariff switch. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries voted no. “The manner in which this bill has been written doesn’t require the president of the United States to impose sanctions on Russia,” he said. “There are so many loopholes written into the bill, I believe that it’s very unlikely that the sanctions relief contemplated in the legislation will ever see the light of day.”

Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., said Democrats were “not for … giving more tariff authority to this president” and argued the text did not bar using the tools against Ukraine. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said if Trump “wants to break this law, he will be restrained by the courts.”

Republicans answered that tariffs are harder to evade than traditional sanctions. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, quoting Graham’s “magic moment” language, said the bill “targets the money that fuels Russia’s war machine” and that “you can evade sanctions, which the Russians have done for years. But you cannot evade tariffs.”

The seven Republican no votes were Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Andy Harris of Maryland, Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Keith Self of Texas, Tom McClintock of California, Chip Roy of Texas, and Warren Davidson of Ohio. Among Democrats, Reps. Jared Golden of Maine and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington were early public yes votes. The final Democratic yes tally was 58.

The vote came on the House’s last scheduled day before a recess that now runs past the Nov. 3 midterms. It is separate from Tuesday night’s war-powers resolution on Iran hostilities, which passed 220–204 and does not authorize the tariff schedule in H.R. 5334.

Trump has not announced a signing date. The White House has argued for maximum discretion on both Russia pressure and Iran leverage. Once signed, the statute would give the administration a prepared list of energy-buyer tariffs and a refreshed Iran sanctions title without another trip through a divided House.