President Donald Trump’s intent to lift U.S. sanctions on Syria is being met with a heavy dose of skepticism on Capitol Hill and warnings from both sides of the aisle that the administration will need Congress’s help.
During his trip this week to the Middle East, Trump laid out a seismic foreign policy shift toward the war-torn country after last year’s toppling of the Assad regime. But it came against a backdrop of unease from lawmakers about Syrian interim President Ahmed al Sharaa’s past ties to terrorist groups like ISIS and al Qaeda.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a defense hawk and close Trump ally, has emerged as one of the most outspoken cynics. He was on a trip to Turkey to discuss relations with Syria when the president revealed the intent to remove sanctions for the first time since the U.S. first imposed them in 1979.
Syria remains a designated state sponsor of terrorism, and Sharaa, who once led the Nusra Front insurgent group, was designated in 2013 by the State Department as a terrorist under his previous name, Muhammad al Jawlani.
In a lengthy statement laying out various concerns, Graham said he was “very inclined to support sanctions relief” but only “under the right conditions.”
“We must remember that the current leadership in Syria achieved its position through force of arms, not through the will of its people,” he said.
Like many of Trump’s plans or executive actions since returning to office, exactly how the sanctions will be lifted remains an open question and will likely require some congressional approval.
Congress would need to repeal any sanctions it has imposed in recent decades, according to the nonpartisan foreign policy think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies.
That would be a “complicated process,” Graham said, and would include the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act that became law in Trump’s first term. Secretary of State Marco Rubio can revoke Syria’s designation as a foreign terrorist organization, with certain conditions involving Congress. The administration could also limit its sanctions enforcement.
“I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness,” Trump said Tuesday at a forum in Saudi Arabia. “It’s their time to shine. We’re taking them all off. … Good luck, Syria, show us something very special.”
Trump met with Sharaa on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia, where he urged the jihadist-turned-president to improve relations with longtime adversary Israel.
Senate GOP leadership members Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and John Barrasso (R-WY), the latter of whom sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, both expressed a desire for some degree of congressional oversight but did not elaborate.
Graham cited national security concerns for Israel, a close U.S. ally. He also wants a formal report from the administration outlining specifics on why it would drop Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism, as required by law to end certain sanctions, and noted Congress has yet to receive one.
“I am certain that Congress would need to be informed of changes in conditions placed on Syria and how they have met those conditions before Congress can make an informed decision on whether or not it should approve the change in designation,” Graham stated.
The intent to provide sanctions relief has offered the latest episode of congressional Republicans willing to cede more control to Trump on a range of issues, with other recent episodes including tariffs, the Department of Government Efficiency’s cuts to the federal government, and how the administration uses funds appropriated by Congress.
“I’m actually OK with the fact that, for a while, we need to have the president, working with [Secretary of State] Marco Rubio and other advisers, make some of these decisions. And then, when the dust settles a little bit, coming to us,” said Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY).
She cited a busy congressional schedule for the GOP majorities that includes advancing Trump’s broader legislative agenda through the so-called big beautiful bill that Republicans want to pass by July 4. The process is more commonly known as budget reconciliation.
“As you know, we don’t move very fast, and we’re in the throes of reconciliation,” Lummis said. “To make these decisions that are important to make quickly, it needs to reside with the president.”
Meanwhile, Democrats also offered a mix of optimism and concern.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, lauded Trump’s move. She and panel Chairman James Risch (R-ID) lobbied the administration last month for conditional sanctions relief.
“Sen. Risch and I have both been very supportive of lifting sanctions on Syria. I think it’s very important,” Shaheen said. “I haven’t gotten the details of what exactly they’re proposing, but I think it’s very positive.”
Other Democrats closely involved in foreign policy matters viewed the major change with a heavy dose of skepticism.
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Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) characterized it as a “bold move” that could “help reset our relations with Syria.” But he was wary about America’s history with Sharaa and said it was paramount that Congress had a “central role to play.”
“Congress played a central role in imposing the sanctions in the first place and should be both briefed on and centrally engaged in oversight and follow up,” Coons said. “We don’t know what trajectory the new Syrian government is on. I think it’s reasonable to take a chance on an opening that might pull them in our direction.”