Trump speaks contradictorily about chances of passing bill on sanctions against Russia

Lead

US President Donald Trump said there is a "good chance" that a bill to tighten sanctions against Russia will pass Congress, but he added that key provisions of the proposed legislation had not been discussed with him and that he needs to review them. Trump's remarks came during a White House meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zeidi, when journalists asked about the bill's prospects.

Coverage Comparison

Trump's comments were reported by TASS, which covered the story in several articles. One report quoted Trump as initially saying, "There's a good chance that it gets done," when asked about the bill's passage. However, he declined to confirm whether Washington would impose secondary sanctions on Russia's trading partners, including India and China, which is one of the bill's central provisions. "We'll have to look. That hasn't been discussed," Trump said.

Separately, TASS reported that a group of US senators announced an agreement with the White House to move forward on the updated Russia sanctions legislation. In a statement, Senators Richard Blumenthal, Lindsey Graham, Jeanne Shaheen, and Roger Wicker said they had reached an agreement with the Trump Administration to advance the bill. The senators represent both the Republican and Democratic parties.

Key Claims

The bill, introduced in early April 2025 by a bipartisan group of senators, includes provisions for secondary sanctions against Russia's trading partners. Under the current draft, the US would levy 500% import duties on any nations that buy oil, gas, uranium, and other goods from Russia, although TASS reported that senators are discussing a version that would lower this proposed duty rate.

According to a TASS report citing The Wall Street Journal, the revised bill would allow the US to impose tariffs of up to 100% on countries purchasing Russian oil, targeting the five largest buyers of Russian energy, including China and India. The same report said the bill includes sanctions targeting Russia's defense, energy, and financial sectors, and that all decisions on imposing additional tariffs would remain at the discretion of the US president.

The bill would exempt certain countries that import less than 15% of their total energy supplies from Russia, according to a Reuters report cited by TASS. The revised draft would also allow Trump to suspend or lift sanctions if he determines that doing so is in the US national interest.

Trump, during his White House meeting, also suggested that lawmakers may extend the bill's scope to Iran and the Shiite movement Hezbollah. "I think they may be adding Iran to it. They're going to add Iran, which is a very big thing. If they did that, they may add Hezbollah too, just put them if you do business with Hezbollah," he said.

The bill was initially championed by the late Senator Lindsey Graham, who died on July 11 at the age of 71. Trump noted that Graham had been one of the main initiators. "I know that Lindsey wanted it very badly. So we're looking at that. And this is in honor of Lindsey. This was his thing. He wanted this more than any other thing," Trump said.

Senator Rand Paul warned in a column published last year on the Responsible Statecraft portal that the country that would suffer the most damage from the possible approval of this bill would be the United States, both economically and strategically.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in January that the administration considers the bill unnecessary, since President Trump already has all the relevant powers in this area.