Senate panel to advance Russia state sponsor of terrorism bill

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is expected this week to advance a bill designating Russia a State Sponsor of Terrorism, a show of unity on countering Russian President Vladimir Putin as President Trump has floated a second, face-to-face meeting with the Russian leader. 

The panel will vote on advancing the bill during a business meeting on Wednesday. Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) introduced the bill last month, an effort the senators have tried to advance over the course of Russia’s more than three-year war against Ukraine. 

“Russia’s earned the right to be on this list,” Graham said at a press conference introducing the bill.

The text before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee focuses on Russia’s abduction of an estimated 20,000 Ukrainian children, a war crime that serves as the chief allegation in an indictment against Putin at the International Criminal Court. Russian officials have boasted that they have transferred more than 700,000 Ukrainian children to Russia in what they describe as a humanitarian operation. 

In March, Trump ended funding through the State Department for a U.S.-based program identifying and tracking down abducted Ukrainian children, but said at the time his administration remained focused on returning those kidnapped. 

In August, first lady Melania Trump came out advocating for the return of kidnapped Ukrainian children, transmitting a letter to Putin during the president’s August summit with the Russian leader. The first lady said last week Putin agreed to return Ukrainian adults who were taken as children. 

The Senate bill would compel the secretary of State to designate Russia as a State Sponsor of Terrorism unless it can be certified that Russia had returned all the abducted children.

The secretary of State holds the power to designate a country a State Sponsor of Terrorism. Just four countries are presently on the list – Cuba, North Korea, Iran and Syria.  

Graham introduced a similar version of the bill with Blumenthal in June 2024. In 2022, the Biden administration worked with Congress to draft up labeling Russia an “aggressor state,” to avoid the more punitive measure of designating the Kremlin as a sponsor of terrorism.

While the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is likely to advance the Russia terrorism bill on Wednesday, its pathway to the floor is doubtful without a green light from the White House. The committee will also vote to advance a slew of other bills related to countering Russia for its war in Ukraine and its supporters like China.

This includes a bill sponsored by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), the ranking member of the committee, to sanction Chinese individuals and businesses for any material support for Russia’s war machine and a bill to support the seizure of Russian assets for the benefit of Ukraine

The committee’s consideration of these bills comes as Trump has refocused his efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, but that largely centers on appealing to Putin rather than imposing costs. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) indicated on Monday that he was, again, putting on the back-burner a veto-proof Russia sanctions bill in deference to Trump’s expected summit with Putin to take place in Budapest Hungary.  

While Trump told The Hill last week he expected to meet with Putin this month, the White House on Monday said there are no plans for a meeting in the “immediate future.”

Updated at 12:26 p.m. EDT