Dem
52
Ties
2
GOP
46
One of the causes the late Lindsey Graham believed in was punishing Russia for invading Ukraine. To honor him, the bill piling on more sanctions to hurt Russia was named the "Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act," and passed the Senate by a vote of 86-11. Usually, the only bills that pass by nearly 8:1 margins are those renaming post offices.
The bill went over to the House, where it is now stuck. GOP leaders said it would not be voted on this week, and gave no date when it might be voted on. Chair of the House Rules Committee Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) said that the Committee met and no one brought it up. When ask whether it would pass the Committee, she said "I have no idea." Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was noncommittal about its chances of passing the House.
There are several problems with the bill. One that is a big one for House Democrats is that the sanctions bill does not actually impose any sanctions. After all, why would a bill to sanction Russia actually list the sanctions? Instead, it gives the president the authority to impose sanctions. Some Democrats don't want to give Donald Trump any more power than he has already taken. It is also possible that Trump has let it be known that he doesn't want to get his buddy Vladimir angry with him, so forget the bill altogether. And there are Freedom Caucus members who are against everything as a general principle. So it is possible the bill will never get a vote. Not much of a memorial to Graham. (V)