Graham says Trump wants to 'move the bill' on Russia sanctions, but procedural hurdles await

By Fox News · Fox News

Congress is once again on the edge of considering a bone-crushing sanctions package against Russia, but procedural disagreements threaten to derail the process. Senators Lindsey Graham , R-S.C., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., have been working on a sanctions package that would hit Russia and its energy trade partners where it hurts in a bid to cripple the Kremlin’s war machine. Movement on their legislation, which has over 80 co-sponsors in the upper chamber, has lurched and stalled over the last several months as President Donald Trump and his administration work to hammer out a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine to see an end to the war. TRUMP DEMANDS NATO ALLIES HALT RUSSIAN OIL PURCHASES BEFORE NEW US SANCTIONS 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 Despite Graham and Blumenthal having worked on the bill together in the Senate for months, Thune believed it may be better if a sanctions package comes from the House. He said that what is more likely to happen is that the House originates the legislation because it’s a revenue measure, which typically starts in the lower chamber. "We had one available to us in the Senate. We could do it here," Thune said. "But I think, too, if you want to expedite movement in terms of getting it on the president's desk, it's probably quicker if it…