US President Donald Trump will support the adoption of a new package of sanctions against Russia, one of whose key sponsors was Senator Lindsey Graham, who died several days earlier. A White House representative speaking anonymously told CNN.
Last Friday, Graham and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, the bill’s other co-author, said that after lengthy consultations they had secured White House backing for the measure. Even so, it had remained unclear whether Trump himself would personally endorse it. The US president said the decision would be made “in the very near future.”
Senate Republican leader John Thune said the White House had worked closely with Graham on the bill. According to Thune, the sanctions package had been the senator’s “top cause” in his final days, and its passage would become an “incredible legacy.” Blumenthal, for his part, said approval of the bill would be a “fitting tribute” to Graham.
Graham died suddenly on July 11 at the age of 71 from complications related to heart disease. The day before his death, he had returned to the United States from Kyiv, where he discussed ways to increase pressure on Moscow.
As Associated Press notes, officials in Ukraine fear that after Graham’s death, the country’s ability to win White House support on a broad range of issues may decline significantly. In Kyiv, he was seen as a “link between Ukraine and Trump.” Graham had consistently backed Ukraine and had direct access to Trump, and Ukrainian officials do not see an obvious figure who could now assume that intermediary role.
The sanctions bill was first introduced in April 2025. In its original version, it proposed 500 percent tariffs on US imports from countries buying Russian oil and gas. For a long time, the White House position remained the main obstacle: according to US media reports, Trump was prepared to sign the bill if Congress passed it, but only on the condition that he retained the final say over any sanctions decision.