The House Just Gave Trump Power to Hit Russian Oil Buyers With 100 Percent Secondary Tariffs

The U.S. House passed a sweeping Russia sanctions bill by 262 to 159, sending the legislation to President Trump's desk after prior Senate passage. Axios reported the vote on 16 September 2026.

House passage still needs the President's signature before it is law, and the 100 percent tariff is not already in force.

The measure expands economic pressure on Russia and hands the President authority to impose secondary tariffs of up to 100 percent on buyers of Russian oil and gas. It also targets Russia's "shadow fleet" of aging tankers used to evade Western sanctions.

The bill was renamed in honor of its lead sponsor, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who died suddenly in July. The Senate passed the measure last month with broad bipartisan support after Trump officially backed it. The legislation dates back to a sanctions push Graham and dozens of senators launched in April 2025. White House concerns held it up for months.

House Democratic leaders opposed primarily over provisions handing Trump more tariff authority. Some isolationist Republicans opposed deeper involvement. Axios said the bill scrambled the usual partisan lines, with some rank-and-file Democrats backing it while leadership objected. Republicans rejected Democratic efforts in the Rules Committee earlier in the week to strip the tariff authority or narrow how it could be used.

The 100 percent figure is a presidential power in the bill, not a tariff already collecting at the border. Axios did not name which countries would be hit first or set an effective date.