Senate to Vote on Russia-Iran Sanctions Next Week
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- Senate Democrats are prepared to vote as early as next week on a Russia sanctions package that now includes Iran-related provisions added at President Trump's 11th-hour demand, according to people familiar with the matter.
- The legislation has more than 60 cosponsors and was revised twice since Sen. Lindsey Graham's death on July 11, lowering the secondary tariff rate from 500% to 100% and narrowing the bill's scope to allow Trump to tariff no more than five countries.
- Trump demanded on July 19 via Truth Social that the bill be expanded to include Iran; senators addressed his concerns by incorporating noncontroversial Iran sanctions that were already set to expire at the end of the year.
- Majority Leader John Thune indicated Thursday that Republicans were comfortable with the Iran additions, saying 'everybody's fine with it, because we would do it anyway.'
- Tuesday's Capitol memorial for Graham will serve as the emotional backdrop to a vote on the bill he spent his final days shepherding, with Sen. Richard Blumenthal quoting his late colleague: 'This is a big effing deal.'
- Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and other Democrats oppose giving Trump another tariff tool but lack the numbers to derail the bill, with Wyden warning that 'Trump is doing everything he can to just expand his reach into tariffs.'
- The CLARITY Act crypto bill won't be finished this work period, freeing Senate floor time for the sanctions legislation and the Graham tribute.
Why it matters: A rare bipartisan breakthrough in a Senate otherwise consumed by partisan combat, this bill would deliver the chamber's first major sanctions package targeting the Ukraine war and hand Trump a new 100% secondary tariff tool on up to five countries. Democrats like Wyden are voting for Ukraine while quietly warning it also gives the president expanded unilateral tariff authority with no guardrails.
