“The Senate vote on the sanctions bill was 86 votes, representing a universal position of the US Senate.” — Thom Tillis. Our verdict: False.
Senator Thom Tillis made the claim on 12 October 2026, in comments reported by Eastern Mirror and Mid-Day about whether President Trump may be breaking the law on a Russian diesel deal.
Our verdict
False
The claim is false. The Senate did pass the sanctions bill with 86 votes in favour, but the official roll-call record shows 11 senators voted against it, so the result was not a universal position.
What we found
The official Senate roll-call record for the vote on H.R. 5334 shows 86 yeas, 11 nays and 3 not voting. That directly contradicts the idea of a universal position, which would require every senator to agree. The 86-vote figure itself is correct, and it is confirmed by several independent outlets, including PBS News, NBC News and Roll Call, all of which reported the result as 86-11. Senator Tillis was right about the number but wrong to describe it as universal.
The numbers
Senate vote on H.R. 5334
The vote count of 86 yeas and 11 nays contradicts the claim of a universal position.
Figures in votes
The evidence
1 contradict and 4 support the claim, of 5 sources.
- Supports the claim
The official Senate roll-call record shows the vote on H.R. 5334 was 86 yeas, 11 nays and 3 not voting. [1]
- Supports the claim
PBS News reported that the sanctions bill passed the Senate 86-11, not unanimously. [2]
- Contradicts the claim
Roll Call reported the Senate passed the long-stalled sanctions bill 86-11, not unanimously. [3]
- Supports the claim
Newsweek reported the Senate passed the Russia sanctions bill with 86 votes in favour and 11 against. [4]
- Supports the claim
Senator Roger Wicker's office confirmed the 86-11 vote count. [5]
How we checked
We looked at the official Senate roll-call record for the vote and compared it with reporting from several news organisations that covered the bill's passage. We reviewed 9 relevant sources.
Sources
- [1]senate.gov · U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 119th Congress - 2nd Session · August 7, 2026
- [2]pbs.org · Senate passes sweeping Russia sanctions bill negotiated by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham · August 7, 2026
- [3]rollcall.com · Long-stalled Russia sanctions bill passed by Senate · August 7, 2026
- [4]newsweek.com · List of senators opposing Lindsey Graham's Russia sanctions bill—Here's why
- [5]wicker.senate.gov · Wicker Outlines Russia Sanctions Legislation - U.S. Senator Roger Wicker · August 17, 2026
- [6]Original statement · News report · October 12, 2026
- [7]Photo: United States Senate Photography / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
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