Mike Collins’ son-in-law, David Alan Scheer II, has shared antisemitic conspiracies and Nazi imagery online

• US politics live – latest updates

The Republican Senate nominee in Georgia, Mike Collins, who has been plagued by a string of controversies in his time in public office, has close ties with a white nationalist influencer – his son-in-law, David Alan Scheer II – it has transpired.

A trucking executive and one-time “Freedom caucus” conservative endorsed by Donald Trump, Collins has been the GOP representative for Georgia’s 10th congressional district since 2023. In that time, the anti-abortion hardliner has drawn scrutiny over his associations with far-right and extremist figures, incendiary social media activity and accusations of antisemitism, which he has denied. He has also denied the legitimacy of the 2020 election and defended January 6 rioters, who he has said deserved pardons.

Georgia’s Jon Ossoff predicts address likely to ‘reheat debunked conspiracy theories’ amid rumors about contents of speech

• Trump to deliver TV speech amid speculation over elections announcement

• Sign up for the Breaking News US email

The average price of diesel fuel in the US has increased again to more than $5 a gallon, according to the AAA, and the average price of gas is almost $4, returning to their highs before the June memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran.

It’s a reminder to consumers and truckers of the costs of the Iran war and the unpredictable rhetoric from both Washington and Tehran. A year ago today, the AAA says, the average price for a gallon of diesel was $3.72, almost a dollar and a quarter less than it is now.

During confirmation hearing Wednesday, Trump’s pick tells Senate health committee she would ‘never betray the science’

Erica Schwartz, the Trump administration’s latest nominee to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), faced sharp questioning from senators who pressed her to say whether she would stand up to her boss, the health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr.

During her confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Schwartz, a deputy surgeon general in the first Trump administration, told the Senate health committee she “will never betray the science” and pledged to use “radical transparency” to rebuild public trust. But she repeatedly deflected questions about how she would handle pressure from Kennedy, a leader in the anti-vaccine movement who has overseen months of turmoil at the agency and made controversial changes to US vaccine policies.

President’s pick for attorney general faces tough questions over purging of career prosecutors, January 6 and Epstein

Todd Blanche sought to downplay his close relationship with Donald Trump, tried to distance himself from decisions regarding January 6 rioters, and defended his handling of files regarding Jeffrey Epstein as well a settlement agreement that created a $1.8bn slush fund and giving the president and his family immunity from audits during his confirmation hearing to be the next attorney general in front of the Senate judiciary committee on Wednesday.

Blanche served as Trump’s personal attorney before being tapped to be the deputy attorney general – the No 2 position at the justice department at the start of last year. He has been serving as the acting attorney general since April, when Trump fired Pam Bondi, and has amped up Trump’s retribution agenda.

The senator is alive, a key requirement to maintain one’s job in the US Senate

Like any good proof-of-life photo, it featured that day’s newspaper. After a nearly month-long disappearance, when it was clear that he had been rushed to the hospital but not clear why or in what condition, Mitch McConnell broke his silence, as they say in the tabloids, by releasing a photograph of himself sitting upright in a hospital bed. He wore a pink button-up shirt, and his vacant, lipless mouth seemed to form something meant to resemble a smile. Beside him was his wife, the comparatively pert former Trump transportation secretary Elaine Chao, her coiffed hair as stiff as the couple’s determination. In a statement, McConnell said that he had been hospitalized after a fall, and was being treated for pneumonia.

The picture was meant to put an end to the rampant speculation over whether the senator, aged 84, was dead or not. You would think this would be a simple enough question to answer. If the man himself wasn’t available to clear up the matter, couldn’t someone have held two fingers to the inside of his wrist to check for a pulse, or propped a hand mirror under his nose to see if it fogged? No such luck, apparently. The Kentucky senator was missing for weeks, with no word, his office only releasing vague and repetitive acknowledgments that he had been hospitalized. Public emergency services records indicate that paramedics were called to his Washington address on 14 June, where they administered CPR on an unconscious person who was allegedly suffering a cardiac arrest – one whose identity has been withheld. McConnell had been in a Washington DC area hospital ever since.

Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist

Chuck Schumer says Republicans are ‘ignoring the nation’s most urgent national security crisis’ amid US exchange of fire with Iran

• US politics live – latest updates

• Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email

Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked the advancement of a must-pass defense bill in protest of Donald Trump’s resumption of hostilities with Iran.

The hold up of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) comes amid the fiercest exchange in fire between the countries in weeks, which has amplified frustration among Democrats that the US remains involved in the conflict despite the passage last month of a war powers resolution intended to force a ceasefire.

A collision of online conspiracy theories have come for two of the most powerful Senate Republicans in recent days

It was Russia. It was Israel. Could it have been Iran? Or maybe it was a Covid booster. What about the Clintons?

After US senator Lindsey Graham died suddenly over the weekend from what a preliminary medical examiner report said was an aortic dissection, conspiracy theories spread quickly claiming – without evidence – that any number of foreign adversaries or other frequent conspiracy subjects might have orchestrated the Republican’s death.

Lindsey Graham’s younger sister appointed by South Carolina’s governor three days after senator’s death

• Darline Graham Nordone: Lindsey Graham’s sister and interim US senator

Darline Graham, the sister of the late Republican senator Lindsey Graham, was sworn in to temporarily fill his Senate seat on Tuesday, just three days after his sudden death.

Graham was appointed by Henry McMaster, South Carolina’s governor, to fill the remainder of her brother’s current term.

Mourn him if you wish, but let’s be honest about what he promoted. The longer this thinking lives on, the more peril we will all face

The sudden death over the weekend of the South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham is predictably inspiring a slew of tributes to the four-term Republican senator. Donald Trump has already ordered flags be flown at half-staff until Saturday, and Republican politicians across the country are fondly recalling Graham. But so too are the Democrats. Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois honored Graham, calling him “a fierce Republican partisan one day and a key bipartisan ally the next”. Senator Adam Schiff of California lauded Graham’s “sense of humor and how he deployed it to move his policy positions forward”.

Through this thick, bipartisan forest of remembrances, however, lies Graham’s concrete legacy. Death has a way of extinguishing uncomfortable truths, but it’s important that we don’t forget who Graham was, what he exactly stood for, and what damage he has done over his political career.

Trump’s former personal attorney has a vast slate of conflicts of interest. Will lawmakers do their job in his confirmation hearings?

Todd Blanche is the most conflicted nominee for attorney general the US Congress has yet to encounter. As the former private attorney for Donald Trump, Blanche has been an unflappable ally for the president since 2023, when he left his private firm, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, to represent Trump in the hush-money prosecution brought against him by the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg. He went on to represent Trump in two other criminal prosecutions – the Mar-a-Lago classified documents prosecution, and the January 6 prosecution, both brought against Trump by the special counsel Jack Smith.

As both deputy attorney general and as acting head of the justice department since April, when Pam Bondi was fired as attorney general by Donald Trump, Blanche has unabashedly continued his advocacy work for his former client through other means. He has signed off on a settlement between the IRS and Donald Trump regarding the latter’s taxes, that would ban the IRS from pursuing litigation against Trump, his family or his businesses forever. That settlement has now been ruled by a federal judge to be self-dealing; she referred the case to the Florida Bar Association. The New York Bar has issued a letter saying that Blanche is unfit for office.

Claire Finkelstein is the Algernon Biddle professor of law and professor of philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania and the faculty director of its Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law

Darline was 13 when her brother became her legal guardian – and was a key presence as he rose in the Republican ranks

When Lindsey Graham was in college, his parents died, just over a year apart. But he worried most about his sister, who, at 13, was suddenly an orphan. Graham became her legal guardian – and later adopted her so she could receive his benefits through his service as an air force lawyer.

On Tuesday, following Graham’s sudden death, that sister, Darline Graham, was sworn in to serve the remainder of her late brother’s Senate term. “Lindsey took care of his little sister in years long departed,” Henry McMaster, South Carolina’s Republican governor, said at a press conference on Monday convened at the state capital in Columbia. “It’s my honor to ask his little sister, Darline Graham, to finish his work for him now.”

South Carolina governor asks Darline Graham Nordone to replace senator who died on Saturday, after Trump recommendation

• Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email

Henry McMaster, South Carolina’s governor, appointed Lindsey Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, to replace him in the Senate following his death on Saturday, after Donald Trump recommended that she be given the role.

Her appointment was welcomed by lawmakers from both parties, who saw Nordone as an appropriate replacement for the brother who had raised her after their parents died when she was a teenager.

Senator played major role in critical negotiations with Democrats and members of his own party on key issues

When Democrats and Republicans were earlier this year locked in a standoff that had plunged the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) into the longest partial government shutdown in US history, news of a path forward emerged in the form of a statement from Republican senator Lindsey Graham.

By announcing that the budget committee he chairs would set to work on a measure to fund the agencies leading Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign for the remainder of his presidency, Graham played a major role in rallying the GOP behind a plan that reopened DHS.

Many imagined his buff, gruff and tattooed traits would help him connect with working-class men. But this logic was flawed

The left would do well to revisit New York’s Democratic primaries two weeks ago – it was a sunnier news cycle, yes, but those races were also an object lesson in progressive realpolitik.

Zohran Mamdani, busy as he already was, devoted a remarkable amount of time, resources and political capital to selecting and backing the eventual victors in three different races – in one case reversing a promise to support an incumbent, Adriano Espaillat, in favor of activist Darializa Avila Chevalier, and in another case supporting Claire Valdez, a relatively unknown assemblywoman, even as the Working Families party, major unions and other progressives backed the Brooklyn borough president, Antonio Reynoso.

Lawmakers face obstacles, including demands from Trump, Mitch McConnell’s absence and senator’s sudden death

Republican lawmakers return to the Capitol this week facing a lengthy to-do list and Donald Trump’s demands for new voting restrictions, as Democrats jockey for an advantage ahead of the November midterm elections.

Lawmakers from both parties are eager to highlight before voters legislative victories ahead of the midterms, when control of Congress is at stake. But for Senate Republicans, who are already navigating an array of demands from Trump, their agenda grew further complicated over the weekend with the death of Lindsey Graham, the budget committee chair who was a key player in negotiating a party-line bill to fund additional defense spending and other priorities outlined by the president.

Republican senator, who died Saturday, had a global reach few could rival and was vital in shaping Trump’s worldview

It was revealing that one of the first tributes to Lindsey Graham, a US senator who died on Saturday aged 71, came from Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s national security minister, a far-right provocateur who recently caused widespread anger by sharing footage of himself taunting bound activists who had been trying to sail to Gaza with aid.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, was not far behind, calling Graham a “great friend of Israel and a cherished friend of mine”, and he was quickly followed by Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who described him as “a true defender of freedom and the values that make our world safer”.

South Carolina governor will pick successor to serve out Graham’s term as Trump says ‘I have somebody I think would be great’

• US politicians and foreign leaders pay tribute to Graham

South Carolina’s governor, Henry McMaster, has the political decision of a lifetime with the unexpected death in office of Senator Lindsey Graham. The Republican governor and loyalist of Donald Trump will appoint a new senator to serve out the remainder of Graham’s term, which ends on 3 January.

Whoever McMaster appoints will likely have a leg up in a special primary election on 11 August to fill Graham’s place on the November ballot, which he won despite facing five challengers from his party in June. That election calendar favors candidates with wide name recognition and deep institutional support.

Long-serving South Carolina Republican senator who was an ally of Donald Trump and an ardent supporter of Ukraine

Lindsey Graham, the Republican senator from South Carolina, who has died suddenly aged 71, had just returned from Kyiv after a meeting with the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. It was Graham’s 10th visit since the 2022 Russian invasion; Zelenskyy, who came away with promises of the aid that had been on and off with the Trump administration, called him a “true defender of freedom”.

It was a good demonstration of both Graham’s firm stance on US power overseas, and his opposition to Russia. “Putin will not stop in Ukraine,” he said. “To be weak in Ukraine means you lose in Taiwan.”

Trump says US senator was ‘a true American patriot’ while Zelenskyy says he’s ‘deeply saddened’ by his death

• Graham’s death triggers a scramble to replace him – what happens next?

• Lindsey Graham dies after sudden illness aged 71

Washington woke up to the unexpected death of Republican senator Lindsey Graham, 71, who changed the course of modern history with his hawkish Iran platform and key role in establishing the stridently conservative US supreme court.

Donald Trump was one of the first to pay tribute to the controversial South Carolina lawmaker, a close ally despite past differences, in a social media post. “Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known, is dead!” the president wrote on his Truth Social platform. “He was always working, and was a true American Patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed!!! DETAILS AND ARRANGEMENTS TO FOLLOW. So sad!”

Trump later told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday that one of Graham’s legacies as a legislator was helping to confirm US supreme court justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018.

This live blog is now closed.

• Graham’s death triggers a scramble to replace him – what happens next?

• US politicians and foreign leaders pay tribute to Graham

• Sign up for the Breaking News US email

Under South Carolina state law, governor Henry McMaster may appoint a temporary replacement to fill Graham’s now-vacant seat. As Graham was up for re-election this year and won the GOP primary last month, there is also now a vacancy in the Republican nomination for his seat.

After McMaster appoints a replacement, state law requires a special primary for voters to select a new nominee within weeks of a vacancy. The general election winner will take office in January, beginning a full six-year term.

Tensions between progressive and moderate camps of Democratic party on display in key Senate race in Michigan

The Israel-Gaza war created gaping divisions in the Democratic party and contributed to a resounding loss in a critical presidential election year in 2024. Two years later, the issue continues to dominate races across the country, as progressives try to seize on Israel’s falling popularity and a broad anti-war sentiment ahead of November’s midterms.

A recent debate among two Democrats vying for one of the most competitive US Senate seats in the country openly displayed the tension between progressive and moderate camps of the party.

Republican served in Senate since 2003 and was sharp Trump critic before becoming one of his most loyal backers

• US politicians and foreign leaders pay tribute to Graham

Lindsey Graham, a longtime US senator and key ally of Donald Trump, has died from a sudden illness, his office said on Sunday. He had just turned 71.

Graham’s abrupt death will send shock waves through Washington and the Republican party. He had served in the Senate since 2003, representing South Carolina, and was running for re-election in November.

Letter from Democratic senator outlines more no-bid contracts and second botched reflecting pool redo

The US senator Sheldon Whitehouse has sent a letter to the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts detailing allegations from whistleblowers that some renovations were “rushed” and federal contracting laws “were ignored” to get the center ready for events, including for Donald Trump to receive the Fifa “peace prize” during the World Cup draw he hosted there in December.

“I have received allegations that the Kennedy Center has conducted rushed renovation and maintenance work with disregard to its commitments to Congress and the federal contracting standards the Center has long applied to its own procurements,” the Rhode Island Democrat wrote in the letter dated Thursday.

The former US Senate candidate’s spectacular fall has upended the Maine Senate race and left voters fuming at the party

Almost exactly one year ago, Graham Platner, who has no political experience, was cherry-picked by out-of-state political activists.

According to a person familiar with the campaign, Daniel Moraff and Leanne Fan, who have made a name for themselves by recruiting populist candidates across the country, traveled to Maine and rented a house near Platner’s home in Sullivan to convince him to run for the US Senate. Throughout the process, Moraff became Platner’s “right-hand man”, the person described, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of backlash.

The senator’s health is shrouded in mystery after he was hospitalized. Why can’t we get a clear answer?

Is Mitch McConnell dead?

This shouldn’t be a difficult question to answer. The response is either “yes”, “no” or something along the lines of “he’s on life support but appears to be brain dead”.

Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist

Paperwork ends Democratic campaign laden with scandals, including most recently accusations of sexual assault

Graham Platner, the Democratic nominee for US Senate in Maine, officially withdrew his candidacy on Friday afternoon, ending a campaign laden with scandals.

Maine’s secretary of state confirmed Platner had filed the paperwork to remove his name from the November ballot, two days after Platner publicly said he planned to exit the race.

Venture between two Pennsylvania senators stokes speculation about Fetterman’s future in Democratic party

The Democratic senator John Fetterman, who has faced mounting political challenges, is joining forces with the Republican senator Dave McCormick to launch a new joint fundraising committee, a move that is likely to fuel additional questions about Fetterman’s increasingly rightward lurch.

Pennsylvania’s two US senators have established a shared fundraising committee that will collect donations benefiting both of their campaigns in an unusual bipartisan arrangement.

President says he would refuse to sign housing bill without passage of voting legislation, but without veto it will still become law

A major housing bill has automatically become law without Donald Trump’s signature, after the president said he would refuse to sign the legislation because Congress has not approved new restrictions on voting nationwide.

The measure, known as the 21st Century Road to Housing Act, is the biggest change to federal policy for buyers, renters and homebuilders in decades, and Congress approved it with large margins last month after lengthy negotiations between Democrats and Republicans.

To some of Platner’s most influential backers his swaggering, reckless and casually brutish masculinity was understood not as a liability, but as a virtue

Graham Platner was accused of rape on Monday, and it quickly became clear that he will never be a United States senator. After days of delay, he finally suspended his campaign in a long and grievance-filled video on Wednesday night. The prospect of his victory was doubtful even before Monday, when a woman he once dated, Jenny Racicot, went on the record to Politico alleging that in 2021, a very drunk Platner let himself into her house, when she had told him not to come over. Racicot says she realized he was there when she heard strange noises; then, she says he raped her, forcing intercourse without a condom while she repeatedly told him no.

Politico reported that it reviewed emails between Racicot and her therapist about the alleged encounter. The outlet also interviewed a boyfriend Racicot later confided in about the alleged incident, and reviewed messages she shared with another woman warning her away from Platner, long before the start of his political career. Platner denies wrongdoing, saying: “Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically untrue.” But he put out a video saying that he would “reflect on the best path forward” for his campaign. Since Platner may have known about the inevitability of this accusation becoming public, one wonders if the best time for such reflection might have been several months ago, when Maine voters still had the chance to select a more worthy and more viable candidate.

Platner’s former backers are seeking ‘real progressive’ to prevent nomination going to establishment Democrat

• US politics live – latest updates

Progressive groups and lawmakers who rallied behind Graham Platner’s insurgent bid for a US Senate seat are now racing to decide where to transfer their support after his withdrawal from the Maine race following yet another allegation of sexual assault.

The scramble and apparent heartbreak underscores the uncertainty facing the coalition surrounding Platner’s anti-establishment message, and the response from more centrist Democrats to proceed with caution. Organizations, voters, volunteers and elected officials that once saw him as a vehicle for a more populist progressive agenda are now weighing whether to unite behind a successor, or hold back until the party’s replacement process plays out.

This live blog is now closed.

• Sign up for the Breaking News US email

Former Olympic canoeist David Hearn has pleaded not guilty to vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool.

Hearn, 67, from Maryland, was arrested last month after stopping by the pool on a bike ride. He told several outlets that he was detained for almost five hours after he reached into the water to inspect what he described a piece of the blue liner that was partially detached from the bottom of the pool as he was curious what it felt like.

Democratic nominee, dogged by controversy since entering contest, says ‘for the movement to continue, it can’t be me’

• Woman accuses Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner of sexual assault

Graham Platner, the Democratic nominee for US Senate in Maine, is suspending his campaign following sexual assault allegations.

Platner announced his decision in an 11-minute video posted to social media on Wednesday evening, in which he angrily accused the Democratic establishment and corporate media of “using these allegations to take away all of the things we need to run a campaign” and acting “as judge, jury and executioner”.

Daily realities of healthcare, prices and Gaza driving wave of anti-establishment sentiment among Democratic voters in closely watched contest

In Macomb county, Michigan – a blue-collar Detroit suburb that twice voted for Barack Obama before backing each of Donald Trump’s three runs for the US presidency – residents are exhausted.

Time and again, township trustee Shannon King, a Democrat still making up his mind, hears similar complaints. “You’re going backwards in your paycheck. You’re going backwards in your healthcare,” he said. “You go to work every day. You might have a side hustle. Your significant other has a side hustle, too. And you’re still struggling to do childcare.”

Frustration mounts that Maine nominee has not withdrawn over sexual assault claim as Trump says Platner ‘in a bind’

• Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email

Graham Platner, the embattled Democratic nominee for US Senate in Maine, has been accused of trying to influence the process of picking his replacement as frustration mounts that he has not yet withdrawn from the race.

Platner has publicly said he is “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward” after an allegation of sexual assault, which he denied, was published on Monday.

This live blog is now closed.

• Graham Platner ends Maine Senate campaign after sexual assault allegation

• Maine contenders: the Democrats who could replace Graham Platner

• Sign up for the Breaking News US email

During a bilateral meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Nato summit in Ankara, Donald Trump was asked about Iran, and he repeated his earlier criticism.

On Wednesday, while speaking to reporters alongside Mark Rutte, the Nato secretary general, Trump said that memorandum of understanding signed last month by the US and Iran is “over”, in the wake of the latest strikes.

Democrats weigh options as controversial Senate nominee faces calls to drop out of race after sexual assault allegation

• US politics live – latest updates

Top Democrats are considering their options as Graham Platner, the party’s candidate for US Senate in Maine, faces growing calls to withdraw after a sexual assault allegation.

While Platner has denied the claims, first reported by Politico on Monday, they sparked a chorus of criticism. He said he was “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward” in the wake of the story.

This live blog is now closed.

• How could Democrats replace Graham Platner?

• Sign up for the Breaking News US email

Donald Trump said he had a “very good talk” withVladimir Putin, ahead of arriving in Turkey.

This comes amid a wave of recent Russian strikes across Ukraine that have killed at least 21 people. The US president said that he also spoke with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of the Nato summit.

Staff decline to give updates on senator’s health and whether he will be at Capitol when Senate returns

Staff for Mitch McConnell said last week that the Kentucky senator was “continuing his recovery” in a hospital while the Senate is out of session. But his office has released no details about the former Republican leader’s condition during his weeks-long hospitalization or whether he will be at the Capitol when the Senate returns next week.

McConnell was admitted to the hospital on 14 June, according to a statement from his office that only said he was “receiving excellent care”. A statement a week later said that he would not be voting that week. And on Thursday, a new statement said that he “continues to improve” and ”appreciates the outpouring of support he’s receiving while he continues his recovery in the hospital”.

Several top Democratic figures call on beleaguered Maine Senate candidate, who denies accusation, to step down

Calls for Graham Platner, the Democratic candidate for US Senate in Maine, to withdraw his candidacy intensified on Monday after a woman accused him of sexual assault in an exclusive report by Politico.

While Platner denied the claims, many top Democratic figures quickly called on the beleaguered nominee to step down.

Exit leaves primary voters to choose between progressive Abdul El-Sayed and centrist Haley Stevens in must-win seat

Mallory McMorrow, a Michigan Democrat, has dropped out of a contentious US Senate primary campaign, setting up a straight fight between the party’s progressive and establishment wings – represented by Abdul El-Sayed, a former public health official, and Haley Stevens, a congresswoman.

McMorrow’s retreat marks the end of a center-left bid to hold the seat being vacated this year by the Democrat Gary Peters. The three-way primary contest was a close one earlier in the campaign, but polls indicated that McMorrow’s support had plunged in recent weeks, as El-Sayed raced past her and Stevens to emerge as the frontrunner for the party’s nomination.

The EU will introduce the "toughest sanctions... imposed (on Russia) in the last three years" in coordination with U.S. senators, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said in a television interview on July 7.

"(Russian President Vladimir) Putin is no longer advancing on the front and is now limited to shelling residential areas with drones and missiles. This is leading to numerous casualties among the civilian population. This must stop," Barrot said.

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham said on June 29 that U.S. President Donald Trump was ready for the Senate to vote on a bill to impose new sanctions on Russia. The Republican senator has repeatedly called for implementing additional sanctions against Moscow.

Barrot noted the EU is planning to impose the strongest sanctions against Russia that the bloc has introduced since 2022.

"This (war) cannot continue; it must stop. To achieve this, in coordination with American senators, Europe is preparing to introduce, based on French proposals, the toughest sanctions we have imposed in the last three years," he said.

"They will directly deplete the resources that allow Vladimir Putin to continue his war," Barrot added.

In the U.S., senators have been working on a sanctions bill, with Graham saying voting on a bill is expected to begin following the end of the July congressional break.

Graham, earlier on July 7, said he expects "the Senate will move the bipartisan Russian sanctions bill that will allow tariffs and sanctions to be placed on countries who prop up Putin’s war machine and do not help Ukraine."

The bill led by Graham has been in the works for several months as the White House has failed attempts to broker a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia.

"Ukraine has said yes to ceasefires and to any and all meeting requests while Putin continues to defy peace efforts. It is now time to put more tools in President Trump’s toolbox in order to end the war," he said.

Russia has relied on its partners, including Belarus, China, and Iran, for trade and to bypass Western sanctions meant to inhibit Moscow's ability to continue its war against Ukraine.

Ukraine war latest: Russian airports cancel nearly 300 flights amid drone attacks on Russia

Key developments on July 7: * Russian airports cancel nearly 300 flights amid drone attacks on Russia * BRICS summit statement condemns attacks on Russian railways, avoids urging Russia to cease war efforts in Ukraine * Ukrainian drone strike hits major oil refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai, HUR source claims * Ukraine confirms drone strike on Russian chemical plant near Moscow * Russia strikes conscription offices in Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine says Several Russian airports have

The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk

Three Democratic Senators have launched an investigation into U.S. President Donald Trump's refusal to impose new sanctions against Russia, the legislators announced in a joint statement on July 3.

Since taking office in January, Trump has passed no new sanctions against Moscow. In some cases, he has even eased restrictions, even as Russia intensifies its full-scale war against Ukraine.

Senate Democrats Jeanne Shaheen, Elizabeth Warren, and Chris Coons called on the administration to impose new penalties on the Kremlin and said they planned to investigate Trump's "five-month pause" on sanctions.

"Americans should be asking why a president who says he wants to end a major war is instead letting the aggressor run rampant," the senators said in a joint statement issued July 3.

The statement followed an analysis by the New York Times (NYT), published July 2, which found that Washington's slowed momentum on sanctions created more opportunities for shell companies to funnel sanctioned goods into Russia.

Former U.S. President Joe Biden imposed an average of 170 new sanctions per month on entities tied to Moscow between 2022-2024, according to the NYT. Overall, the Biden administration slapped 6,200 penalties on individuals, businesses, ships, and aircraft connected to Russia.

Without new sanctions to maintain pressure on Moscow, the effects of the Biden sanctions regime have begun to erode, the NYT reported. An analysis of trade records and other data. showed that over 130 companies in China and Hong Kong are advertising sales of sanctioned computer chips to Russia. Despite this illegal activity, none of the companies have been sanctioned.

Ukraine scrambles to clarify extent of US military aid pause and ‘whether everything will continue’

When the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) halted the transfer of critical air defense missiles and other weapons to Ukraine, Kyiv and its partners were caught off-guard and are now left scrambling for clarity on the scope and length of the Trump administration’s decision. The White House confirmed the halt after a July 1 report by Politico said shipments were paused due to concerns over the size of domestic stockpiles. The decision “was made to put America’s interests first following a DOD rev

The Kyiv IndependentAndrea Januta

"On top of halting key assistance to Ukraine, President Trump has blocked regular updates to our sanctions and export controls for five months and counting—enabling a growing wave of evaders in China and around the world to continue supplying Russia's war machine," Senators Shaheen, Warren, and Coons said in their statement.

The senators called on Trump to "actively enforce the existing sanctions against Russia" and urged the administration to partner with EU and G7 nations to mount pressure on Moscow.

"Instead of taking clearly available steps to pressure the aggressors, President Trump is doing nothing and we will be investigating this missed opportunity to push for an end to this war," they said.

Along with letting U.S. sanctions on the Kremlin go stagnant, the Trump administration has removed sanctions on Karina Rotenberg, the wife of a key ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and notably exempted Russia from its sweeping "Liberation Day" tariffs.

reportedly obstructed bipartisan congressional efforts to target the Russian economy.  Trump has asked Republican senators to weaken a proposed sanctions bill and has urged delays in a vote on the legislation.

The bipartisan sanctions bill, introduced by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Senate Democrat Richard Blumenthal, seeks to impose a 500% tariff on imports from countries that continue purchasing Russian oil and raw materials.

Ukraine war latest: Putin tells Trump Russia won’t back down from its war aims in Ukraine

Key developments on July 3: * Putin tells Trump Russia won’t back down from its war aims in Ukraine * Deputy commander of Russian Navy killed in Ukrainian strike in Kursk, Russian official confirms * Ukraine signs major drone co-production deal with US Swift Beat, Zelensky announces * Russia targets Ukrainian conscription offices to disrupt mobilization, military spokesperson says after Poltava attack * ‘One of Russia’s most critical targets’ — Ukraine confirms strike on missile battery pl

The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk

A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers are voicing their opposition to the Trump administration's decision to halt shipments of some air defense missiles and other weapons previously promised to Kyiv.

The U.S. Defense Department (DOD) made the decision to pause the aid deliveries after conducting a review of U.S. munitions stocks, reportedly concerned about dwindling levels of artillery rounds, air defense missiles, and precision munitions.

Among the items being held back from Ukraine are over two dozen Patriot air defense missiles, over two dozen Stinger air-defense systems, precision artillery rounds, Hellfire missiles, drones, and more than 90 AIM air-to-air missiles that Ukraine launches from F-16 fighter jets. The Washington Post reported that the weapons were already in Poland being prepped for delivery to Ukraine.

Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, the co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, lambasted the decision in a post on X.

Fitzpatrick, a staunch ally of Ukraine who has previously visited the front line, said he "will be aggressively looking into this matter and will be demanding accountability."

"We must build up our own Defense Industrial Base here in the U.S. while simultaneously providing the needed assistance to our allies who are defending their freedom from brutal invading dictators. To not do both is unacceptable," the Congressman added.

In a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump about the reported halt of air defense deliveries, Fitzpartick requested an emergency briefing from the White House and DOD on the shipments.

"Ukraine's courage must continue to be met with action, and the United States must continue to lead with clarity and purpose," Fitzpartick wrote.

Another Republican House member, Rep. Michael McCaul, said he is examining "very intensely" whether the Pentagon’s freeze breaches legislation on aid to Ukraine passed in 2024, Politico reported.

As Trump continues to call for a ceasefire from Moscow, McCaul said that the decision comes "at the wrong time."

"If you want to get (Russian President Vladimir Putin) to the negotiating table in good faith, you have to put leverage and pressure on him, and that would be (Senator) Lindsey Graham’s economic sanctions and the flow of weapons," McCaul said. "If you take the flow of weapons out, yeah, then you’re not, you don’t have the leverage over Putin to negotiate."

Other Republican members of Congress have thus far dismissed concerns over the reported halts, stating that they are waiting to be briefed with additional information before speaking about the reports.

On the other side of the isle, Democratic lawmakers have also lambasted the real world implications of halting military aid for Ukraine.

Senator Richard Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in an interview that more civilians are "going to lose more lives, more people will be maimed and injured — more homes, hospitals, schools will be destroyed," calling the decision, "fallacious and maybe even disingenuous."

Since his inauguration in January, Trump has not approved any additional military aid packages for Ukraine. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also announced recently that the U.S. will reduce the total aid it sends to Ukraine in its upcoming defense budget.

In his evening address on July 2, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian and U.S. officials are working through the aid issue at a "working level," including discussions on critical air defense support. Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak held a late night phone call with Rep. Brian Mast, Chair of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Ukraine's Defense Ministry said it has not received any formal notification of delays or cancellations but has requested urgent consultations with U.S. defense officials.

The Foreign Ministry also summoned U.S. Charge d'Affaires John Ginkel, warning that "any hesitation" in military support would encourage further Russian aggression.

The Kremlin welcomed the decision, with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying, "The fewer weapons that are supplied to Ukraine, the closer the end of the (war)."

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte expressed understanding of Washington's desire to safeguard its stockpiles but said, "Ukraine cannot do without all the support it can get."

Ukraine war latest: As Russia ramps up missile attacks, US halts promised air defense shipments to Ukraine

Key developments on July 2: * As Russia ramps up missile attacks, US halts promised air defense shipments to Ukraine * North Korea to send up to 30,000 more troops to aid Russia’s war against Ukraine, CNN reports * Ukraine denies another Russian claim of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast breakthrough, says small incursion repelled

The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk

The U.S. Senate is postponing action on a bipartisan Russia sanctions bill until at least July, as other legislative and foreign policy priorities dominate the agenda, Semafor reported on June 18.

Senators Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) have been working on a revised version of their bill that would impose secondary sanctions on Russian trading partners, while shielding Ukraine’s allies from penalties and making technical adjustments. But momentum has stalled as Republicans push President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax and spending bill, and the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel demands urgent attention.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) acknowledged on June 18 that a "July timeframe" was now more realistic for the sanctions bill. "We’re very open to moving, we’re trying to work with the administration from a timing standpoint," Thune said, according to Semafor. Graham added that the Senate is "going to have to wait a bit," citing shifting global developments. "Things are changing now with Iran… that doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten about Russia or Ukraine. Not at all. Iran is center stage, but sooner rather than later," he said.

Trump has not yet signaled support for the legislation, which remains a critical obstacle.

While sanctions enjoy broader Republican backing than direct military aid to Ukraine, GOP lawmakers are hesitant to move forward without Trump’s approval. The U.S. president left the G7 summit in Canada early, skipping a planned meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky, as attention shifted to a potential U.S. response to Iran’s nuclear ambitions. "All the focus is on Israel and Iran right now," said Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), though he noted that he is "all for putting sanctions" on Russia.

Graham and Blumenthal had hoped to secure passage of the bill ahead of the G7 summit after visiting Ukraine earlier this year. Blumenthal said he and Graham were "making tremendous progress" with the administration, but acknowledged that other priorities were pushing the legislation off the floor.

Supporters of the sanctions argue the bill would give Trump more leverage in negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "We want to strengthen our hand in the negotiation," said Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.). "We want to help effectuate an outcome in Ukraine, so we’re trying to use it in a way that actually helps get something done." The legislation would authorize secondary sanctions on countries that continue to purchase Russian energy or conduct other major trade with Moscow.

Despite uncertainty around timing, both Graham and Blumenthal continue to refine the bill to ensure broader support, including a carveout for Ukraine’s allies and changes to accommodate the global banking system. "There is no evidence that Putin is going to slow down," Graham told Semafor. "We need to change the approach. I think the sanctions will give the president leverage."

‘Do me a favor Vladimir, mediate Russia first’ — Trump roasts Putin over Israel, Iran offer

“I said, Vladimir, let’s mediate Russia first. You can worry about this later,” U.S. President Donald Trump said.

The Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy