Just hours before his death, Senator Lindsey Graham was still pushing one of the most controversial pieces of foreign policy legislation on Capitol Hill that matters for India directly. Graham may no longer be around to shepherd his Russia Sanctions Bill through Congress, but the legislation he spent more than a year promoting continues to loom over New Delhi's energy security calculations. In fact, his death may have given the bill fresh political momentum, with lawmakers from both parties now calling for its passage as a tribute to his legacy.
The proposed legislation has long worried India because it goes far beyond conventional sanctions on Russia. Instead, it targets the countries that continue buying Russian energy, placing India and China squarely in its sights. Graham himself repeatedly described the measure as an "economic bunker-buster", a term meant to convey its ability to strike at the financial foundations of Russia's war effort by targeting the revenues generated through energy exports.
