Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) is publicly parting ways with President Donald Trump over his decision to exempt Russia from the sanctions law named for her late brother.
Graham criticized the move on Saturday, The New York Times reported. Trump waived Russia from the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, a measure her brother, a longtime Russia hawk, spent more than a year building support for before his death.
“Personally, I would choose to put the pressure on Russia to end the war and get gas prices down,” Graham told reporters at a campaign stop. “Because I don’t trust Putin, and I don’t trust Russia.”
Her remarks reveal a rare gap between Graham and Trump. She was appointed to the Senate in July and is now seeking a full term with his endorsement. She had never held office before joining the chamber, and she has pointed to the law’s passage as one of her biggest accomplishments.
“I was so proud to get the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act passed,” she said during a debate earlier this week. She added that the law “gives the president tools he can use if he so chooses to end the war through economic sanctions.”
Trump chose not to use those tools. The president has not explained the waiver, which arrived one week after his administration temporarily eased penalties on Russian diesel as soaring diesel prices became a major midterm issue. Signed in September, the law took aim at Russia’s energy sector as well as oligarchs, officials and banks, but it gave the White House broad discretion to grant exemptions.
Graham said she intends to bring up the matter with Trump next week, when he is expected to headline a rally for her in South Carolina. She also noted that her brother and the president did not always see eye to eye.
“They had that relationship where they could agree to disagree sometimes,” she said.
The Times reported that Trump released a video on Saturday endorsing Graham in the general election. He said she would be “an incredible, really an unbelievable senator” and credited “good genetics” shared with her brother.