New Delhi: As part of its effort to impose sanctions on Russia, the US House of Representatives on Tuesday, using its legislative power, approved a measure that would give the US president, Donald Trump, the power to impose sanctions on Russia.
The Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, passed by the US Senate seeks also reportedly included amendments to the sanctions bill, with one seeking to name the country’s top trading partners, such as India and China, in the legislation, whereas a different amendment was proposed to scrap the section imposing tariffs altogether. Representative Steny Hoyer, one of the bill’s co-sponsors, introduced an amendment on Tuesday that identified 10 countries subject to the secondary sanctions as China, India, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Singapore, Slovakia and the United Arab Emirates.
The development comes after the US Senate voted in favour of the Act with an overwhelming majority of 86-11 votes on August 7. According to the New York Times, the bill’s passage came just weeks after the sudden death of Senator Lindsey Graham, who was leading the cause from the front. His death gave the “momentum” for the senators to take the bill forward in his honour. Senator Graham had introduced the legislation alongside Senator Richard Blumenthal in April 2025.
The bill seeks to bombard Russia with sanctions targeting its leadership, the energy and defence sectors, as well as its shadow fleet that Russia has been using for oil deliveries to evade the sanctions.
The fresh clearance means the legislation has cleared all congressional hurdles. The bill passed in the House on Tuesday evening with 214:211 votes. While most senior Democrats questioned the extent of the President’s powers over tariffs under the legislation, two Democrats joined the Republicans in passage of the bill. Democrats, who have backed Ukraine all throughout the ongoing war have questioned whether Trump should be given the authority to impose tariffs.
Their apprehension showed in a way where some of them argued that it would give Trump a free pass without enough safeguards. They were led by Gregory Meeks, Don Beyer and Richard Neal. In a statement they said that the legislation could go on to do “more harm than good”. “This bill would dramatically expand presidential tariff authorities while failing to mandate sanctions on Russia, both of which are unacceptable,” they said. “These flaws would raise Americans’ prices while undermining support for Ukraine in the long term.”
“I just feel that the abusive nature of these tariffs, the way he’s used them to drive away friends across the globe, what is our protection afterwards?” Neal reportedly said in an interview. The fears stem from the previous treatment of Canada and Mexico where certain provisions enabled the president to levy tariffs against the partner countries.
The Guardian, citing sources, said that the Democrats were negotiating among themselves to propose changing the bill to limit the number of countries eligible for sanctions to 11.
The bill also extends sanctions against Iran for five years. The bill will have to undergo a final House vote on Wednesday based on which it will go to Trump for the final nod to turn into an Act.