WASHINGTON, DC – In a rare display of bipartisan muscle, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday unanimously advanced a trio of bills aimed at delivering a financial and moral blow to Vladimir Putin’s war machine.
The move is a clear sign that lawmakers are no longer content to wait on the sidelines, forcing a confrontation over Russia policy that now runs headlong into the ambiguous negotiating posture of the Trump administration.
The bills – targeting Moscow’s financial assets, its critical support from Beijing, and the systematic abduction of Ukrainian children – represent the most significant Russia-related legislative action in the current Congress.
Financial squeeze
At the heart of the package is the REPO Implementation Act, which would authorize the transfer of an estimated $5 billion in frozen Russian sovereign assets in the US to fund Ukraine’s defense and reconstruction. For the bill’s proponents, this is about making the Kremlin pay.
“Seizing assets is not and should not be something that any country does lightly,” said Committee Chairman Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID). “But the sheer brutality of Russia against the citizens of Ukraine makes this legally and morally justified to rebuild Ukraine,” he added.
This sentiment was reinforced by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the committee’s ranking member, who led two of the measures and co-led the REPO Act. She flatly rejected the idea of deferring to allies: “We are moving forward with the EU, not following the EU.”
The committee’s action is an aggressive challenge to the perception that the US is stalling. Shaheen didn’t mince words about the urgency, stating the unanimous votes were “a clear sign that Congress is ready and willing to act—and that we will move multiple pieces of critical legislation to hold Putin accountable if President Trump continues to stall.”
Red line on kidnapping
Perhaps the most potent piece of legislation is the bill setting the stage to designate Russia as a State Sponsor of Terrorism unless it accounts for and returns the nearly 20,000 Ukrainian children kidnapped during the war.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a champion of the measure, framed the issue in stark, historical terms. “These kidnappings by Putin’s Russia represent one of the most outrageous events since World War II,” he said.
Graham further emphasized the economic stakes, noting that the designation “would be devastating to Russia’s economy. It is a necessary consequence of Putin’s behavior if these kidnapped children are not returned home.”
Graham went on to thank his colleagues for ensuring the legislation got “out of committee and sending it to the floor.”
Cutting the China lifeline
The third bill, the STOP Russia and China Act, takes aim at the increasingly blatant support Moscow receives from Beijing’s defense industrial base. The measure mandates sanctions on Chinese entities that funnel dual-use technologies, such as radar and aviation components, to Russia.
This focus on the Moscow-Beijing axis drew praise from the House side, where calls for tougher action have been growing.
Rep. Mike Turner, an advocate for a tougher line, gave his “absolute” agreement on the need for sanctions. “It is long past time Congress approves bipartisan secondary sanctions. Our allies will follow and we can bring an end to this brutal, unjustified war. #peacethroughstrength,” he posted.
The immediate and positive reactions from a broad ideological swath of Capitol Hill underscored a shared belief that the time for incremental measures is over.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick applauded the actions as “a critical step in tightening the economic vise on the Kremlin’s war machine.”
“Putin has shown no signs of wanting to end the bloodbath in Ukraine, and as long as he chooses war over peace, America must continue to lead,” Fitzpatrick said, urging that Congress “must build on this momentum” by passing the new sanctions.
Awaiting Trump’s move
The path forward, however, is clouded by the US President’s demonstrated preference for using sanctions as a negotiating tool rather than a legislative mandate.
The White House recently reversed a decision to send Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine and has been accused of holding back on new financial aid, all while engaging Putin directly.
Even as the Treasury Department announced new sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), co-chair of the Senate NATO Observer Group, could only offer a tentative response on White House support for the new bills: “Well, we’re consulting with them.”
The bipartisan consensus in the Senate is now a direct challenge to the administration’s strategy. Senator Shaheen captured the tension: “I’m glad President Trump cancelled his proposed summit with Putin – it never should have been scheduled in the first place without a ceasefire in place. But words aren’t enough. Now is the time to act,” she said.
The unanimous committee vote, as Tillis noted, is a “good sign.”
But in a White House-led foreign policy where past sanctions legislation has already been derailed, the question remains: will Trump sign off on a package designed to box him in?
For Congress, the message is clear: the era of legislative restraint on Russia is over.