Pence Urges Congress to Pass Severe Russia Sanctions Bill

Former Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday that the best way to end the war in Ukraine is for Congress to pass a major economic sanctions bill against Russia along with continued military aid to Kyiv.

Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., are backing the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025, which has 84 co-sponsors in the Senate. It would implement up to 500% tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil and natural gas and do not help Ukraine, as well as other sanctions on Russia and countries that do business with it. Companion bipartisan legislation sponsored by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., has been introduced in the House, and it has 89 co-sponsors.

"If we pass those secondary sanctions, [Russian President] Vladimir Putin will understand that we could literally break their economy and by providing continued military support for Ukraine, that combination of efforts, I think, is the best pathway to peace," Pence said, according to The Hill.

Pence said among the reasons why Putin did not invade Ukraine during President Donald Trump's first term is that the administration "had the credible threat of the use of force."

"He saw us take action, unleashing our military to take down the ISIS caliphate," Pence said, adding including action "to take down Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard leader."

Trump campaigned last year on quickly ending the war in Ukraine if elected. Last Friday, Aug. 15, he met with Putin in Alaska, and this past Monday, he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, along with other European leaders, at the White House.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Monday, according to The Hill, that Trump should be commended for his efforts to end the more than three-year war and signaled the Senate is ready to provide the president "any economic leverage needed to keep Russia at the table to negotiate a just and lasting peace in Ukraine."

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., reportedly said in June that his chamber has a "big appetite" for such legislation and that placing new sanctions on Russia's energy is necessary for the U.S. to "act tough" against "bully" Putin.

Trump reportedly said Thursday that "interesting times [are] ahead" and slammed the Biden administration's policy of barring Ukraine from using U.S. long-range weapons to strike deep inside Russia.