WASHINGTON — Republican Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas wants to pay tribute to the late Sen. Lindsey Graham by passing legislation that Graham championed in his final days: a bill that would impose sanctions on Russia, something McCaul said could help bring the Russia-Ukraine war one step closer to an end.
“Nothing better would honor Lindsey’s legacy than passing this bill,” McCaul told Spectrum News.
What You Need To Know
Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, plans to introduce legislation that would not only impose sanctions on Russia but secondary sanctions on countries that continue to buy Russian energy
McCaul said by putting maximum pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin, he would come to the negotiating table
The bill would be in honor of Sen. Lindsey Graham, who suddenly died last week and championed such sanctions during his final days
Graham died suddenly on Saturday. He said just before his death that President Donald Trump had agreed to move forward with a sanctions bill Graham had long advocated for.
“Lindsey and I survived the good times, but also the bad times, where it was not politically popular to stand with Ukraine. But at the end of the day, we had, I believe, we saw the moral clarity of this conflict, and we knew that taking the stand, that we would be on the right side of history,” McCaul said.
The bill would not only impose sanctions on Russia, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, but secondary sanctions on countries that continue to buy Russian oil, gas and other exports.
“By putting maximum pressure on Putin, only then will he come to the negotiating table,” McCaul said. “Now they can sustain a lot of pain in Russia, but right now, he is losing his political leverage. I think that combination of the wins on the battlefield with the sanctions will get us to peace.”
David Kramer, a leading expert on Russia and Ukraine, said financial pressure is key to bringing an end to the war. But he believes it is “only part of the solution.”
“It also has to be accompanied by increased military assistance, whether that comes through Europe or the United States directly,” Kramer said. “Helping Ukraine stops the Russian threat moving more westward direction, but it also is supporting a country and a people who are standing up for democracy, who are standing up for the right to determine their own future, who are fighting for their lives, and to me, that is a cause worth supporting.”
Kramer is a former State Department official who is now the executive director of the George W. Bush Institute. Kramer said it is notable how President Trump has changed his tune on Ukraine after being a skeptic of its government and chances against Russia.
The details of the Russia sanctions legislation come a week after a NATO summit, where President Trump promised Ukraine a license to domestically produce sought-after Patriot missile interceptors.
“On the margins of the NATO summit meeting, where Trump had a lot of praise for President Zelenskyy, we need to see that rhetoric, however, translate into real change in policy and approach from the U.S. where there would be a resumption of U.S. military assistance and tighter sanctions on Russia,” Kramer said. “I think we see more openness among Republicans in the Senate, Republicans in the House, and hopefully also the administration in moving forward with this legislation.”
Like Graham, McCaul was recently in Ukraine, but on a separate trip. The Austin Republican met with the speaker of Ukraine’s parliament and received an Order of Merit from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. McCaul also visited the frontlines of the war in the Donbas, where he said the Ukrainians have a newfound confidence.
“What I saw was amazing. Not only the drone technology and their ability to hit the Russians hard, but also the recapturing of Russian-occupied territories was quite remarkable. I think the average lifespan of a Russian soldier now on the front lines, they put it in terms of days to hours,” McCaul said. “There’s no question that Ukraine is now winning.”
Some lawmakers are concerned that the wording of the sanctions bill could have unforeseen consequences by harming the economies of some U.S. allies. Still, a bipartisan group wants to act fast because it believes Ukraine has momentum in the war.