The White House has signed off on the latest draft of a bipartisan Senate bill that would hit buyers of Russian oil with heavy financial penalties, two senators told CBS News. Sources said the administration will back the measure as part of a push to end Russia’s four-year war on Ukraine.
The senators are Republican Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democrat Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. A Ukrainian official said Graham told President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday that the bill has the White House’s support. Zelenskyy met Graham in Kyiv that day and wrote on X that “Lindsey briefed me on the work underway in Congress on the relevant bill.” One of the sources said Zelenskyy had been told the president approved the tariff plan.
White House spokespeople did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
What the bill would do
The legislation would let the United States impose high tariffs on countries that keep buying Russian oil and natural gas. It is not clear how soon any tariffs would take effect once the bill becomes law.
Graham and Blumenthal, along with Democrat Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Republican Roger Wicker of Mississippi, welcomed the agreement and said they expect to introduce the bill “very soon.” In a joint statement they said: “As Russia intensifies its slaughter of civilians, it is imperative that the legislative and executive branches work together to create tools to exact a heavy price on those who buy Russian oil and natural gas, fueling the Putin war machine.”
Votes and timing
Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota had told the sponsors he would bring the bill up once they had the votes. The Senate comes back to Washington on Monday. Blumenthal has no vote count yet but expects Democratic support.
He also pointed to oil prices. They have fallen since the war with Iran cooled off, he said, which makes the step easier to take.
Both senators argued that Ukraine is gaining ground on the battlefield and that Russian President Vladimir Putin must be pushed to negotiate. Graham told CBS News that Putin’s constant attacks weigh on Trump’s thinking, and that the president has found Ukraine’s recent battlefield gains persuasive.
Blumenthal said sanctions were not the only win for Kyiv. At the NATO summit this week, he said, Zelenskyy handled his meetings with Trump skillfully. He secured the long-sought license to produce drones and got Trump to agree to U.S. purchases of Ukrainian drones. Zelenskyy had pressed Trump for the licenses in May on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”
