President Donald Trump on Friday, September 18, 2026, signed into law H.R. 5334, the “Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026,” the White House said in a briefings statement — authorizing and expanding statutory sanctions, tariffs, and prohibitions on Russia and extending existing sanctions on Iran.

Al Jazeera, citing AFP and Reuters, reported Saturday that the signing came days after Congress sent the bill to the White House with rare bipartisan support. Insanity Developing covered the House passage on September 16; this piece is the signing that made the measure law, not a rehash of the vote.

What the law does

Named for the late Sen. Lindsey O. Graham — who spent more than a year negotiating it before his death in July and co-wrote it with Sen. Richard Blumenthal — the package targets Russian President Vladimir Putin, senior officials and oligarchs, Russian banks and financial institutions, Moscow’s energy and defense sectors, and the so-called shadow fleet of tankers used to move Russian oil around Western sanctions, Al Jazeera reported.

A central provision gives the president authority to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on the five largest buyers of Russian oil and gas — a measure expected to fall hardest on China and India, the top two importers of Russian crude. The law separately extends sanctions on Iran’s energy and weapons sectors.

The White House statement summarized the enacted bill as one that “authorizes and expands statutory sanctions, tariffs, and prohibitions on Russia and extends existing sanctions on Iran.”

Path through Congress

The Senate passed the measure last month; the House passed it Wednesday, with 58 Democrats crossing party lines, Al Jazeera reported. It is the first major Ukraine-related bill to clear Congress in more than two years. Insanity Developing’s House-passage coverage noted a 262–159 House vote and an 86–11 Senate vote, with a White House official saying Trump intended to sign.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who had lobbied lawmakers ahead of the vote, called the legislation “an extremely powerful tool,” according to Al Jazeera. House Speaker Mike Johnson said it placed “maximum pressure” on what he called “the Russian war machine.” Blumenthal said he hoped it would help bring Moscow to the table, telling Putin: “We have your number.”

Costs, tariffs, and pushback

Not all Democrats backed the bill. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries opposed it, warning that its tariff powers would raise costs for American families and calling its sanctions provisions full of “loopholes,” Al Jazeera reported.

That critique lands on the part of the law that reaches beyond Moscow: authority to hit third-country buyers of Russian energy with steep tariffs. India, among the countries most exposed, said this week it “remains firmly committed to ensuring energy security for its 1.4 billion people,” according to Al Jazeera. Trump’s decision comes about a week before he is due to host Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House.

Supporters frame the package as starving the Kremlin of war funding and pushing Putin toward negotiations. Critics of the tariff authority argue Americans could absorb higher costs if those tools are used against major trading partners. The statute is now on the books; how — and against whom — the new tariff authority is used will be the next fight.

Sources