Why Lone Republican Sen. Rand Paul Voted Against Russia Sanctions Bill

A key section of the bill states that “not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall, notwithstanding any other provision of law, increase the rate of duty for all goods, including oil, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, petroleum, petroleum products, petrochemical products, coal, and coal products, imported into the United States from the Russian Federation to a rate of up to 500 percent ad valorem.”

Regarding the President’s tariff authority, if the bill were to become law, it would allow Trump to place tariffs of up to 100% on the top five purchasers of Russian oil and natural gas, among other penalties.

Graham announced during a visit to Kyiv, just shortly before his death, that he had secured the White House’s approval on his revised text.

The latest iteration also includes a last-minute addition of extended sanctions against Iran, at the request of Trump. Following Graham’s passing, and amid the resumption of the Iran war, Trump said on July 19: “Republicans should add Iran to the Russian Sanctions Bill. That’s what Lindsey wanted to do, and it was going to happen.”