Carl Osgood and Dennis Speed June 8, 2025 EST
Trump’s lack of enthusiasm for the Lindsey Graham/Richard Blumenthal-sponsored “draconian” sanctions bill against Russia may have brought it to a halt. According to a report posted by Bloomberg yesterday, despite having a veto-proof majority, supporters show no sign they’re ready to challenge the President. Trump’s comments on June 5—he said he hadn’t even looked at the bill, but will do what he wants “at the right time”—put the brakes on what had seemed to be an accelerating push to advance the proposal as soon as this month.
Lindsey Graham, who said earlier in the week that he aimed to have the Senate plan in place by the time of the G7 summit on June 15-17, seemed to ease off the gas in a tweet after Trump’s comments. “I have coordinated closely with the White House on this endeavor from day one,” he wrote. Trump, however, has shown little interest in backing Graham’s plan, and the White House has insisted that any decision on sanctions will be the President’s alone.