The Lone Republican Who Voted Against Advancing Bill to Put Tougher Sanctions on Russia

The Senate opted to advance a sweeping Russia sanctions bill backed by the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, but amid the bipartisan support there was one notable “nay” from a GOP lawmaker.Named in honor of Graham, who died unexpectedly earlier this month, the bill advanced by a 86-12 vote late Tuesday, with Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky the only Republican to vote against it. Paul, who has previously raised issues with former versions of the bill, argued the legislation is the “latest counterproductive attempt to hold Russia accountable for its war against Ukraine, now well into its fifth year.”“This legislation is a tariff bill that seems to have been written with such blind rage that, rather than compel a change in Vladimir Putin’s behavior, its punitive measures would make American families poorer and undermine our national interests,” he said last week, in an opinion piece for Fox News.Some of Paul’s concerns regarding the “Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026” were shared by others, with Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who caucuses with Democrats, and 10 Democratic lawmakers also voting “nay.”Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire s...