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Freedom has lost one of its fiercest defenders, and I have lost a dear friend.
For more than three decades, South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham stood at the center of the great debates over our nation’s security and America’s role in the world. He understood that peace is preserved not by wishful thinking, but by American strength. He knew that dictators are not pacified by concessions, but deterred by unshakable resolve.
History will remember his many accomplishments. The Senate has already taken an important step toward securing one more by overwhelmingly advancing his legislation. Now it must complete its work, and the House must act without delay.
Congress has an opportunity to ensure that one of his greatest achievements is still to come.
The Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 is more than just another sanctions bill. It is the culmination of Lindsey’s determined effort to deny Russian President Vladimir Putin the money, technology and international support fueling Russia’s brutal and unconscionable war against Ukraine. Passing it would not simply honor his memory. It would advance the cause to which he devoted the final chapter of his public life.
Lindsey Graham understood that half-measures would never change Vladimir Putin’s calculations.
More than four years after Russia launched its unprovoked war of conquest, Putin continues to finance his war machine through energy exports, financial networks and an elaborate system of sanctions evasion. Existing sanctions have imposed real costs, but they have not been enough. Putin and his henchmen have adapted. Russia has built a shadow fleet of ships to move its oil around the world. It has relied on foreign companies to sustain its defense-industrial base. And too many nations continue to purchase Russian energy with their money while condemning Russian aggression with their words.
Lindsey understood that half-measures would never change Putin’s calculations.
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His legislation would impose mandatory sanctions on Russia’s political leadership, financial institutions, state-owned energy enterprises and the networks helping Moscow evade existing restrictions. It would target the shadow fleet transporting Russian oil, tighten financial and export controls, and use targeted tariffs to encourage the world’s largest purchasers of Russian energy to end their support for the Kremlin’s war machine. Just as importantly, it preserves presidential waiver authority when a waiver serves America’s national interest, ensuring that strength remains guided by sound judgment.
At its heart, this legislation is about restoring the deterrence that keeps dictators from mistaking American restraint for weakness.
History has taught us repeatedly that unchecked aggression only invites more aggression. Every barrel of oil sold through sanctions evasion, every financial transaction that slips through the cracks and every dollar flowing into the Kremlin’s coffers help finance missiles and drones that rain terror on Ukrainian cities and encourage other authoritarian regimes to test the resolve of the free world.
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Lindsey Graham believed America should never shrink from that challenge. He knew that the United States must lead, our allies must stand together, and our adversaries must know that freedom has both the will and the means to defend itself.
One of Lindsey’s last acts in public life was to travel to Kyiv and meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to express America’s continued support for the long-suffering Ukrainian people. He believed this legislation could help bring Putin to the negotiating table and hasten the day when this terrible war finally ends. I believe he was right.
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Congress can pay tribute to Lindsey Graham with eloquent speeches and heartfelt memorials. Those are certainly fitting. But the tribute that would matter most to Lindsey would be finishing the work he began.
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It’s time for Congress to pass the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026. Let’s complete his final mission.
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Mike Pence is the former vice president of the United States and founder of Advancing American Freedom.
