Star Metro - US House faces test on sweeping Russia sanctions bill

The package -- which would be Congress's first major legislative move against Moscow since Donald Trump returned to the White House -- sailed through the Senate in an 86-11 vote last month.

But its fate is less certain in the House of Representatives, where Republican leaders may need Democratic support to compensate for holdouts in their own ranks.

The legislation targets Russia's energy and defense sectors, President Vladimir Putin and other senior officials, as well as Moscow's so-called shadow fleet of tankers used to circumvent Western sanctions.

It would also give Trump authority to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on major buyers of Russian oil and gas -- including potentially China and India -- in an effort to choke off revenue financing Moscow's war.

The White House backs the measure, and Trump has said he would sign it.

But its broad tariff powers have produced an unusual split among Democrats, who overwhelmingly support Ukraine but have resisted handing Trump greater authority over trade.

Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, called the bill "deeply flawed."

"White House lawyers drafted the current text to maximize President Trump's authority to impose new import taxes on the American people, and to minimize any obligation to actually impose new sanctions on Russia or its enablers," he said.

Meeks said he would support the legislation if the secondary tariff provisions were removed, but Republicans rejected amendments aimed at narrowing them.

- Pressure on Putin -

Several Democrats nevertheless appear prepared to back the measure, while some Republicans oppose sanctions on free-market or non-interventionist grounds.

Two centrist Democrats, Jared Golden of Maine and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, joined Republicans on Tuesday to clear the procedural hurdle allowing the House to debate the bill.

Supporters argue that tougher economic pressure is needed, with Russian attacks continuing across Ukraine, including drone strikes Wednesday on civilian transport in the south that Ukrainian officials said killed five people.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged Congress to pass the sanctions package, saying greater pressure is needed to force Moscow toward negotiations.

"So now Putin is losing 30,000 his soldiers per month... it's many losses, but he doesn't want to stop this war," Zelensky said during a July trip to Washington that included a meeting with Trump.

"So now initiative (is) not in the hands of Putin."

The bill would also target companies and foreign actors supporting Russia's military and extend sanctions involving Iran.

Trump has generally preferred to retain control over sanctions and tariffs rather than have Congress dictate policy, helping delay the measure for more than a year.

Its sponsor, Republican senator Lindsey Graham -- who died suddenly in July -- had pushed the legislation since April 2025.

House passage would send the bill directly to Trump, because the chamber is voting on the Senate-approved version.

The stakes are heightened by the calendar, with lawmakers preparing to leave Washington to campaign ahead of November's midterm elections, meaning failure this week could push another attempt until after voters go to the polls.

S.Morin--SMC