STATEMENT: Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester Releases Statement on Russia Sanctions Vote

Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) today released the following statement on the Lindsay Graham Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026:

"Let me be clear: I fully support sanctioning Russia and helping the Ukrainian government and its people protect their sovereignty, and I have consistently voted to support Ukraine. However, this bill seeks to solve one problem by worsening another. It dramatically expands the president's tariff authority at a time when he has demonstrated an irresponsible use of it.

"While I don't support the bill in its current form, it would have received my support if any of the meaningful bipartisan amendments introduced by my colleagues had been adopted. Most notably, the Paul-Wyden amendment - which I cosponsored - would have struck the excessive tariff provisions while maintaining the sanctions in the legislation.

"For over a year, this president has unilaterally leveraged tariff authorities to bully allies and serve himself with no regard for the economic consequences. The reckless, arbitrary tariffs he's already imposed have dramatically raised prices for families and small businesses. It is evident that if this administration is entrusted with this authority, it will likely be abused. Given this reality, we should consider more narrowly targeted ways to curtail foreign demand for Russian oil and gas and support the Ukrainian resistance without putting the American economy at risk.

"American families are suffering enough in this economy. With them in mind and without proper guardrails on the president's tariff authority clearly enshrined in the bill, I voted no."