Thune Discusses the Importance of Russia Sanctions Legislation

Click here to watch the video. WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today spoke at a press conference with Senate Republican leadership: Thune’s remarks below (as delivered): “With the tragic and sudden passing of Senator Graham, the Democrats and Republicans in the Senate have joined together to cosponsor the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026. “It’s legislation that I hope we can move across the floor. “It was probably, I would say, in Lindsey’s last days, the thing he cared most passionately about. “It’s something he’s worked on for the past year, and I think we all, both Democrats and Republicans, realize not only would this be a great tribute to him and his work and his legacy on national security matters, but it would also be something that would really give the president a tool at his disposal to try and end the war in Ukraine. “Ukraine is now the largest conflict, literally, since World War II in Europe. “And the Ukrainian people have been resilient, worked really, really hard to try and bring this war to an end. “But as long as Putin has Russian oil and gas money, he’s able to continue this war. “And what this sanctions bill would do would basically cut that off. “And Lindsey also cared passionately, as you know, about the Middle East, and so the sanctions on Iran, I think, complement what’s in the underlying bill. “But the fact is, there are 62 cosponsors on the bill. “We had a motion to proceed vote on it yesterday that got 86 votes in the Senate. “It is a bipartisan bill. “It’s an important bill for this country and for our national security interests, and it’s something that I hope we can proceed with and ultimately pass, get across the finish line here in the next few days.”