Key Points and Summary – President Trump is now signaling possible support for a tough, bipartisan Russia sanctions bill, but only if it’s amended to give him “complete” and unconditional waiver authority.
-The “Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025,” sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Graham, would impose crippling 500% tariffs on countries like China and India that purchase Russian energy.
-While Trump is now publicly backing the bill amid frustrations with stalled Ukraine peace talks, the White House is insisting on changes that would prevent Congress from “micromanaging” his foreign policy through oversight of the sanctions waivers, creating a new impasse in the legislative push.
President Trump Is Looking at ‘Bone-Crushing’ Russia Sanctions Bill
President Trump’s attitude toward the war in Ukraine shifted dramatically this week, after the commander-in-chief approved new shipments of U.S. air defense systems to Ukraine and accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of spouting “bull****” during diplomatic talks. Trump also said on Tuesday that he was considering new sanctions on Russia.
Speaking during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Trump said that he is “not happy with Putin” and that he was looking “very strongly” at a bill in the Senate that would slap Russia and its trading partners with unprecedented sanctions.
While the president had previously advised the Senate GOP to hold off on putting the bill to a vote, the lack of progress made in Russia-Ukraine peace talks means he could soon become its biggest advocate.
What the Bill Proposes
The Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025, sponsored by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and introduced on April 1, was drafted alongside White House officials and quickly earned bipartisan support, with more than 85 Senate cosponsors and 70 House cosponsors.
Writing for Fox News, Graham explained how the bill would increase economic pressure on Russia by extending sanctions to countries with which it does trade. Among the proposed sanctions is a 500% tariff on all imports from Russia and countries that purchase Russian energy products. The bill also targets Russian financial institutions, mandates asset freezing, and implements new transaction bans on individuals and entities connected to the Russian government.
“If a country buys cheap Russian oil and gas and other products and doesn’t help Ukraine, they are screwed,” Lindsey said. “That is the price for propping up Putin’s war machine.”
Graham also explained that any country that does business with Russia but supports Ukraine militarily or economically would be granted a temporary waiver on sanctions and tariffs.
The sanctions are designed to cripple Russia’s energy industry – a key component of its wartime economy.
But Trump thinks the package still needs changes.
Why Trump Needs Changes
While President Trump is now open to backing the Russia sanctions bill, an unnamed senior Trump administration official told Politico that the president is seeking carveouts that would grant him authority to issue extended waivers.
According to the unnamed official, the president is seeking revised language in the bill that would allow for unconditional authority to issue new waivers without congressional oversight.
“The current version would subject the president’s foreign policy decisions to micromanagement by Congress through a joint resolution of disapproval process,” the source said, describing the setup as a “non-starter.”
“The administration is not going to be micromanaged by the Congress on the president’s foreign policy. The bill needs a waiver authority that is complete,” the source continued.
While some outlets were quick to imply that the president’s demands constituted little more than a power grab, they make sense: the sanctions, should the bill pass, could complicate his ongoing efforts to establish new trade deals with global partners. The power to grant waivers unconditionally, therefore, would avoid complex scenarios in which Congress could effectively hold the president and his negotiations hostage.
About the Author:
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society. His latest book is The Truth Teller: RFK Jr. and the Case for a Post-Partisan Presidency.
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