President Donald Trump meets with the White House Task Force on the FIFA World Cup 2026 in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington Nov. 17, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)
Now, the president seems ready to get the package through Congress.
Graham said that, over a round of golf last weekend, Trump told Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., "Move the bill."
"I think it's very important we not screw this up," Graham said. "If you want [Russian President Vladimir] Putin at the table, there will be no successful 28-point plan or 12-point plan unless Putin believes that we're going to continue to support Ukraine militarily and that we're going to come after people who buy cheap Russian oil.
"It's important that the Congress pass this bill to give leverage to the president as he tries to negotiate with Putin."
AFTER WAFFLING BETWEEN RUSSIA AND UKRAINE, TRUMP SLAPS KREMLIN WITH OIL SANCTIONS
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., walks from the chamber to speak with reporters at the Capitol in Washington Nov. 12, 2025. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)
"The reason is because it's a faster track to get it done," Johnson said. "If it originates in the House, then it goes to seven different committees of jurisdiction, which, as you know, takes a long time to process. And even if I can convince some of the chairmen to waive jurisdiction, not all of them will."
But there are procedural hurdles that could bog down the process in the Senate, too.
So far, the original version of the bill has sat in the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs since April. It would have to be considered in committee, then discharged and then put on the floor — and at any point could be blocked along the way.
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Still, there is hope that movement on the bill will come to fruition. And both Graham and Blumenthal have been tweaking the legislation in the background to best meet the White House’s desires.
Blumenthal told Fox News Digital after a recent meeting with Graham that the bill was largely the same but wouldn’t get into specifics on what the changes were.
He noted that Trump’s move to sanction two major Russian oil companies, which took effect Friday, was a good start.
"I think we're waiting to finalize the bill and see what the president thinks about it," Blumenthal said. "And, obviously, he's imposed sanctions already on India, on two major Russian oil companies, so he's in the right frame of mind."
Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/graham-says-trump-wants-move-bill-russia-sanctions-procedural-hurdles-await