Democrats resist Trump’s push to add Iran to Russia sanctions bill
democrats oppose President Trump’s efforts to include Iran in a bipartisan Russia sanctions bill, complicating the Senate’s plans to pass the legislation before August recess.The bill, led by late Sen. Lindsey Graham adn co-sponsored by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, aims to impose new sanctions on Russia to fund Ukraine’s defense. While Republicans largely support pairing Iran sanctions with the bill, manny Democrats insist the issues should be considered separately.Trump has publicly advocated for including Iran, especially following recent U.S. troop casualties linked to Iranian attacks, with key GOP senators like Tom Cotton and Tim Scott backing the idea. Senate Majority Leader john Thune supports adding Iran but cautions that time constraints could pose challenges. the legislation has sufficient votes to pass but faces uncertainties regarding bipartisan agreement on including Iran sanctions.
Democrats are resisting President Donald Trump’s push to add Iran to a bipartisan Russia sanctions bill, complicating what had appeared to be an easy Senate victory before lawmakers leave Washington for their summer recess.
The GOP-led Senate could advance the long-stalled Russia sanctions package as early as this week in honor of the proposal’s lead Republican sponsor, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham. But Republicans are increasingly embracing Trump’s call to include Iran, while Democrats insist the two issues remain separate, raising questions about whether lawmakers can pass the bill before the August recess.
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“The Russia sanctions bill is the product of painstaking — sometimes painful — negotiations over many months,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), who worked on the legislation with Graham and is a leading co-sponsor, told the Washington Examiner. “My personal view is that it should be passed as is. If there are additional changes, which may be very worthwhile, they should be considered separately.”
Republicans are lining up behind Trump’s request, made via Truth Social over the weekend, to pair the two after the U.S. death toll from the Iran war climbed to 17 in recent days following three troop casualties from Iranian attacks. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), both in leadership, quickly backed the idea.
Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH), a potential successor to Scott as the next chairman of the Senate GOP’s campaign arm, went a step further.
“I won’t support the bill unless it includes Iran,” Moreno told the Washington Examiner. “Why wouldn’t they include Iran? … If we’re going to do it, let’s do it.”
In the days before his death earlier this month, Graham revealed that his latest Russia sanctions bill with Blumenthal received sign-off from Trump. It would impose new economic penalties on Russia and its top leaders, including tariffs on the country’s energy sector and some of the largest purchasers of Russian oil and natural gas, in an effort to squeeze revenue funding Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine.
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Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) also endorsed including Iran sanctions ahead of current ones expiring at year’s end, but cautioned that the math and limited floor time in the coming weeks before Congress heads out on August recess could be tricky. Graham’s revised proposal already has more than the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster, but it’s unclear how much GOP support could deteriorate without Iran and whether enough Democrats could find swift agreement on additional language.
“I personally am in favor of that,” Thune said of adding Iran. “It’s going to come down to what gets 60 [votes].”
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