Capitol Hill wants to get tougher on Russian oil and gas
More Senate Republicans are pushing for tough sanctions on Russian energy, and soon — but it's unclear if President Trump will ever share their zeal.
Why it matters: Russian exports of oil, gas and other commodities provide lots of cash for the Kremlin's war on Ukraine.
Driving the news: Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) are up to 81 co-sponsors of their Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025, they said Wednesday.
The bill would impose 500% tariffs on U.S. imports from countries that buy Russian oil, gas and other goods.
That would hit China, which has boosted Russian oil imports as the EU has shunned Russian barrels.
State of play: Graham and Blumenthal, in a statement, said that if Russia continues to avoid serious peace negotiations, it "can expect decisive action" from the Senate.
The bill would "hold China accountable for propping up [Vladimir] Putin's war machine by buying cheap Russian oil from the shadow fleet," they said.
"Without China's economic support, Putin's war machine would come to a grinding halt."
Yes, but: It's not clear if Trump will ever support tough new sanctions on Russia — and that seems needed for Senate GOP leadership to bring it up.
Majority Leader John Thune is a co-sponsor of the bill, but signaled Monday he'll take his cues from Pennsylvania Avenue.
"If the White House concludes that tougher sanctions are in order, we're here for it," he told reporters.
His office didn't immediately respond to Axios' request for comment on Wednesday. The White House declined to comment.
New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the Foreign Relations Committee's top Democrat, told Axios' Hans Nichols on Wednesday: "We need to make it very clear to Vladimir Putin that we are going to increase the pressure on Russia, to get them to the table to resolve the war in Ukraine."
Friction point: Some GOP Senate Republicans don't want to wait and "feel that they may have to make a move to hurry Trump along in the talks," Semafor reported Wednesday.
Reuters reports that "Ukraine will ask the EU next week to consider big new steps to isolate Moscow, including seizing Russian assets and bringing in sanctions for some buyers of Russian oil."
The EU already unveiled expanded sanctions on Russia's "shadow fleet" of oil tankers earlier this week.
Reality check: ClearView Energy Partners points out that the Trump administration has been signaling a "dovish posture" as it seeks to pause the Russia-Ukraine war.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other Trump officials appear to be using Graham's bill as a "'bad cop' foil to the President's more amicable outreach," ClearView said in a note.
But the research firm isn't ruling out a Senate "stampede" toward passage with a veto-proof majority.
Catch up quick: Russia's invasion has closed off some markets for Kremlin-backed energy, but Moscow's revenues remain robust despite falling since 2022.
carefully tracks the topic.
What we're watching: The White House-Capitol Hill interplay.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Trump Media files for Bitcoin ETF with SEC as company continues to entrench itself in the crypto world
The Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) filed an S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a Bitcoin ETF. The ETF will be managed under TMTG's fintech brand, with the help of its existing financial partner Yorkville Advisors and The Trump Media & Technology Group continues its headfirst foray into the crypto world. On Thursday, TMTG, the parent company of Truth Social, announced it had begun the process of registering a Bitcoin ETF with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The ETF will operate under TMTG's fintech arm, Its official name will be the Truth Social Bitcoin ETF. What started as a small social media company with its flagship Truth Social product is quickly becoming a digital juggernaut with diverse businesses that also include a streaming product and a burgeoning fintech platform. Since the start of the year, TMTG has been formalizing its efforts to become a player in online finance and crypto. The latter in particular has attracted new and profound interest from President Donald Trump, who was TMTG's largest shareholder. (Before retaking office, Trump placed his TMTG shares in a trust controlled by his son Donald Trump Jr., who is on the company's board). Once a crypto skeptic, Trump has changed his tune, becoming a believer in digital currencies. new Bitcoin ETF will be launched in conjunction with two of TMTG's existing financial partners: Yorkville Advisors and according to an S-1 filing submitted to the SEC. Yorkville Advisors, a small financial firm that has been engaged in several financial transactions with TMTG since last July, will sponsor the ETF. Meanwhile, will serve as the custodian for the assets in the ETF, meaning it will safeguard them in a designated account. TMTG, Yorkville, and did not respond to Fortune's requests for comment. The new Bitcoin ETF will trade on the NYSE Arca, an exchange based in Chicago that was created in 2006 from a merger between the NYSE and Arca. The ETF launch is not TMTG's first Bitcoin-related move. Last month, announced it had raised $2.5 billion toward its own Bitcoin reserve. Funding came from roughly 50 institutional investors, according to TMTG. The transaction would place Bitcoin directly on the publicly traded TMTG's balance sheet. TMTG already had a strong balance sheet with roughly $759 million in cash and cash equivalents. TMTG CEO Devin Nunes called Bitcoin an 'apex instrument of financial freedom.' He framed the move as part of TMTG's effort to build a diversified portfolio of digital assets, which already included its various business segments like streaming and social media. 'It's a big step forward in the company's plans to evolve into a holding company by acquiring additional profit-generating, crown jewel assets consistent with America First principles,' Nunes said in a statement announcing TMTG's Bitcoin treasury. The idea of strategic cryptocurrency reserves is also gaining traction in the public sector thanks to Trump. In March, the president signed an executive order to create both a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile that would be owned by the Treasury Department. This story was originally featured on
Skift
an hour ago
- Skift
Junk Fees, Airport Security, No Tax on Tips: 7 Travel Bills in Congress We're Tracking
Although travel isn't at the top of Congress' agenda, lawmakers in Washington are discussing several bills that would impact the industry. Travel and tourism isn't at the top of Congress' agenda, which this month is dominated by debate over the President Donald Trump-backed 'big, beautiful' tax and spending bill. But that doesn't mean that lawmakers aren't attempting to make laws that would directly affect the hotel, lodging, air travel, and cruise industries. Here are seven such federal bills to watch heading into the summer: 1: Hotel Fees Transparency Act of 2025 Introduced by Rep. Young Kim (R-Calif.), this bipartisan bill targets 'unfair and deceptive advertising of prices for hotel rooms and other places of short-term lodging.' Bill co-sponsors include Reps. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), Russell Fry (R-S.C.), Kevin Mullin (D-Calif.), Craig Goldman (R-Texas), Eugene Vindman (D-Va.) and André Carson (D-Ind.). The bill mandates that hotels and short-term rental providers must: Display the 'total services price, if a price is displayed, in any advertisement, marketing, or price list wherever the covered services are displayed, advertised, marketed, or offered for sale.' Disclose 'the total services price at the time the covered services are first displayed to [an] individual and anytime thereafter throughout the covered services purchasing process.' Disclose before a final purchase 'any tax, fee, or assessment imposed by any government entity, quasi-government entity, or government-created special district or program on the sale of covered services.' The bill passed the U.S. House on a voice vote in April. The U.S. Senate is now considering the measure. There, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) has introduced a Senate version of the Hotel Fees and Transparency Act of 2025, which is co-sponsored by Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Shelley Moo
Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
ICE breaks arrest record two days in a row under Trump's new immigration directives
Immigration and Customs Enforcement made a record-setting 2,368 arrests of illegal aliens in a single day on Wednesday, a senior ICE official told Fox News. This broke the record from just one day prior, as there were 2,267 ICE arrests on Tuesday. The increase comes after an average of roughly 1,600 arrests last week, as the White House pursues a goal of 3,000 arrests daily. "Under President Trump's leadership, we are looking to set a goal of a minimum of 3,000 arrests for ICE every day," White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller told "Hannity" on at the end of May, indicting that the goal could go even higher. Homan also previously said "The numbers are good, but I'm not satisfied. I haven't been satisfied all year long," in an "America's Newsroom" interview in May. The uptick in arrests can be attributed to a surge in worksite enforcement and immigration court arrests. In addition, ICE is using collateral, like arresting individuals who are not initial targets but are with a target at the time of an arrest. ICE sources tell Fox News if the reconciliation bill passes with funding for 10,000 additional ICE personnel and tens of thousands more ICE beds, numbers will be "supercharged and shoot through the roof." As a debate about the bill continues in the Senate, the White House reaffirmed the bill's border and immigration-related provisions on Thursday. "Did you know The Big Beautiful Bill doubles ICE detention capacity, increases ICE personnel by 50%, finishes the border wall, and taxes money illegals send to their home country?" Deputy Assistant to the President and Principal Deputy Communications Director Alex Pfeiffer posted to X. "It's a once-in-a generation opportunity to crack down on illegal immigration," he continued. The ICE arrests come amid widespread policy changes by the Trump administration from the Biden-era. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem approved more waivers for border wall construction in Arizona and New Mexico this week, and the president instituted a travel ban on several countries following the anti-Semitic Boulder terrorist attack, in which the suspect overstayed his visa.
