White House Quietly Pressures Senate to Water Down Russia Sanctions

Source: The Wall Street Journal

The Trump administration is trying to get Sen. Lindsey Graham (R, S.C.) to significantly weaken his Russia-sanctions bill while the White House seeks to patch up its relationship with Moscow instead of punishing it for the continued invasion of Ukraine. A key provision in the legislation, backed by more than 80 senators, is the imposition of sanctions on key Russian officials and sectors, as well as penalties for countries that do business with Moscow. That, President Trump fears, could harm his goal of reviving relations between the U.S. and Russia even as he seeks to end the war in Ukraine.

Over the past weeks, White House and other administration officials have quietly contacted Graham’s office, urging him to water down his bill, namely by inserting waivers that would allow Trump to choose who or what gets sanctioned, congressional aides said. Another way to weaken the legislation would be to turn the word “shall” into “may” wherever it appears in the bill’s text, removing the mandatory nature of the prescribed reprimands, congressional aides said.

Any administration asks for changes to high-profile bills, often seeking language that gives the president more authority to make decisions instead of having foreign-policy actions thrust upon them. But removing the mandatory nature of the sanctions would render Graham’s bill toothless, the staffers said, noting that Trump already has the ability to impose sanctions at will.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.), the lead Democratic co-sponsor on Graham’s bill, confirmed the private negotiations with the White House but declined to comment on their substance. “We’re moving ahead and the White House is included in our conversations,” he said.

A White House official said the Constitution “vests the president with the authority to conduct diplomacy with foreign nations. Any sanction package must provide complete flexibility for the president to continue to pursue his desired foreign policy.”

Graham has publicly said he plans to make at least some changes to the bill, including by adding language that would enable carve-outs for countries that are providing military or economic assistance to Ukraine. Such a provision aims to protect Ukraine’s European allies from 500% tariffs the bill would impose on imported goods from any country that purchases Russian oil, gas, uranium and other products.

But the staunch Trump ally hasn’t publicly endorsed the changes the Trump administration has privately pushed him to make.

“I feel good about it. We’re working with the White House and our Democratic colleagues and the House,” Graham said on Thursday, adding that the measure was “still moving forward.” He declined to comment further.

Trump, speaking in the Oval Office on Thursday, told reporters that the bill shouldn’t move forward without his express approval.

“They’ll be guided by me. That’s how it’s supposed to be,” Trump said, sitting alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, a strong supporter of Ukraine. “They’re waiting for me to decide on what to do,” he continued, calling the Graham-led measure a “harsh bill.”

The Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025 currently has 82 co-sponsors in the Senate from both sides of the aisle-more than enough support to overcome a presidential veto. A companion measure, sponsored by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R., Pa.) has been introduced in the House and now has 60 supporters, evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats.

Graham has previously expressed confidence that the bill has broad enough support for a successful discharge petition-a parliamentary maneuver that allows rank-and-file members to circumvent House leadership and force a vote on the floor by collecting 218 signatures, a simple majority.

But a petition might not be necessary. “There’s many members of Congress that want us to sanction Russia as strongly as we can,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) said. “And I’m an advocate of that.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D.), also a co-sponsor of Graham’s bill, said this week there is “a high level of interest” in the Senate, on both sides of the aisle, on moving on the sanctions. “They’re still hopeful they’ll be able to strike some sort of a deal,” Thune said.

U.S. support for Ukraine has been a rare point of agreement among most Republicans and Democrats in Congress. They have repeatedly expressed a desire to stand with Ukraine against Russia regardless of time or cost, with many lawmakers making the tough trek to Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and see the damage to the capital city. But there has been no legislative movement to continue supporting Ukraine’s military with weapons or financial aid.