Trump waives Russia sanctions ordered by law named for Lindsey Graham
- Trump signed an executive order waiving the Lindsey Graham-named Russia/Iran sanctions, invoking 'national interests' as the magic eraser.
- The law, signed with fanfare last month, just became a suggestion—not a binding requirement—in the Oval Office's eyes.
- Graham, presumably spinning in his grave, would call this a Russian victory lap; Trump calls it pragmatism.
- The waiver applies to sweeping tariffs and penalties, gutting the bill's bite the moment it hit the books.
- Critics question if 'national interests' is code for 'negotiating leverage' or just plain 'pardon my inaction'.
Brief Summary
In a move that makes a mockery of legislative theater, President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday to waive the punishing sanctions and tariffs he himself signed into law last month, courtesy of the late, very vocal Sen. Lindsey Graham. The Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act was supposed to be a legislative hammer, but Trump just turned it into a wet noodle, citing the ever-convenient 'national interests of the United States' as his get-out-of-sanctions-free card. This is the political equivalent of baking a cake and then refusing to let anyone eat it, all while claiming you're doing it for their own good. So the law stands, but its teeth have been pulled, and Russia gets a reprieve—not because Moscow changed its ways, but because the guy with the pen says so. It's a stark reminder that in Washington, a law's power lasts exactly as long as the president's patience.
Why This Matters
For average Americans, this is a gut punch to the illusion that laws protect us from foreign adversaries, mainly because one signature can upend another. It means sanctions against Russia—enacted with bipartisan, dead-man-named gusto—are now subject to presidential whim, not statutory certainty. Your tax dollars funded the bravado, but your security just got thrown into the bargaining bin for Big Daddy Trump's deals.