Senate passes Russia sanctions bill 86-11; Murkowski and Sullivan vote yes

What is new: Senate passage

The U.S. Senate voted 86-11 on Friday to pass H.R. 5334, a bill imposing sanctions and other measures against the Russian Federation. Alaska's two senators backed the bill after first helping defeat an attempt to weaken one of its key provisions.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Sen. Dan Sullivan both voted against an amendment offered by Sen. Rand Paul earlier in the day. The amendment would have struck the provision imposing duties on countries that purchase Russian-origin crude oil or natural gas or that facilitate sanctions evasion. The Senate rejected the amendment 32-64. Both senators then voted for final passage of the measure, described in the roll-call record as championed by Sen. Lindsey Graham.

Both Alaska senators are also cosponsors of a separate measure, the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025, S. 1241, which carries a 500% tariff on Russian goods and services and property-blocking sanctions on certain financial institutions. In a Facebook post on Russia sanctions, Murkowski said the country should "keep existing sanctions in place, pass the long-overdue Sanctioning Russia Act." The pair have also pushed a ban on Russian seafood imports, an issue Alaska News has previously covered as Russian product moved into U.S. markets.