WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is now on board with a hard-hitting sanctions package meant to economically cripple Moscow as his administration continues to negotiate a deal to end the war that began with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he met with Trump at the White House earlier Wednesday, during which the president “greenlit” the Russia sanctions bill that has been in the works for months.
Graham had signaled previously that Trump has blessed the bill, only for it to encounter additional obstacles. But a White House official confirmed to The Associated Press Wednesday that the president supports the sanctions legislation.
“This will be well-timed, as Ukraine is making concessions for peace and Putin is all talk, continuing to kill the innocent,” Graham said in a statement, referring to the Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The bill, chiefly written by Graham and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., allows the administration to impose tariffs and secondary sanctions on countries that purchase Russia’s oil, gas, uranium and other exports. Doing so is meant to cut off the source of financing for much of Russia’s military actions.
The White House has previously insisted on some revisions and flexibility for Trump in the sanctions package, but the White House official on Wednesday did not elaborate on whether any changes were secured.
The legislation has dozens of co-sponsors in the Senate, as well as a companion bill in the House, drafted by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa.
Graham said there could be a vote as early as next week, although it’s unclear how likely that will be. The Senate is poised to take up a scaled-back government funding package next week that the House is currently considering, if the House passes it. The following week is a Senate recess timed to Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The Trump administration is currently trying to finalize a peace deal to end the war in Ukraine, now nearly four years old, with special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, as the U.S. president’s chief negotiators.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., center, talks with reporters in the Senate subway during a vote at the Capitol, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
President Donald Trump, accompanied by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, left, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., speaks with reporters while in flight on Air Force One, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, as returning to Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
NEW YORK (AP) — Luigi Mangione’s federal death penalty trial in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson could begin before the end of the year, a judge said Friday while weighing a defense bid to bar the government from making it a capital case.
U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett said she expects Mangione’s trial to begin in December — or possibly January 2027, as federal prosecutors suggested — if the death penalty is still on the table. If not, she said, Mangione could stand trial in October.
Either way, Garnett said, she expects jury selection to begin around Sept. 8. No trial date has been scheduled in Mangione’s parallel state murder case. Prosecutors previously said they anticipated the state trial to be first.
Garnett said she would issue a written schedule after looking at her calendar and reviewing notes of conversations she's had with the court’s jury coordinator.
The judge said she would rule at a later date on the defense's requests to prevent prosecutors from seeking the death penalty, throw out some charges and exclude certain evidence. Another pretrial conference is scheduled for Jan. 30.
Mangione’s lawyers contend that authorities prejudiced his case by turning his December 2024 arrest into a “Marvel movie” spectacle and by publicly declaring their desire to see him executed even before he was formally indicted.
At the same time, they are asking Garnett to throw out two of the four charges against him, including the murder by firearm charge that has enabled the government to seek the death penalty. They argue that it is legally flawed.
Federal prosecutors say Mangione’s lawyers are wrong on both fronts, countering that the murder charge is legally sufficient and that “pretrial publicity, even when intense” is hardly a constitutional crisis. Any concerns about public perceptions can be alleviated by carefully questioning prospective jurors about their knowledge of the case, prosecutors wrote in a court filing.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to federal and state murder charges, which carry the possibility of life in prison.
Friday's hearing was Mangione’s first trip to Manhattan federal court since his April 25 arraignment.
A cause célèbre for people upset with the health insurance industry, Mangione again drew supporters to the courthouse. Some wore green clothing and carried signs such as “Free Luigi" and “No Death For Luigi Mangione."
Mangione, wearing a beige jail uniform, was attentive but didn’t speak once during the nearly three-hour proceeding. After entering the courtroom, he greeted his lead attorneys, Karen Friedman Agnifilo and Marc Agnifilo, with handshakes. He nodded along while reading documents, sometimes sipping from a plastic water bottle.
In addition to the death penalty issue, Garnett is weighing a defense request — similar to one in his state case — to bar the government from using certain items found in a backpack during his arrest. The defense argues that the search was illegal because police had not yet obtained a warrant.
Those items include a gun that police said matched the one used to kill Thompson and a notebook in which Mangione purportedly described his intent to “wack” a health insurance executive.
Garnett said she is not inclined to hold a separate hearing on the evidence issue like one last month that took three weeks in Mangione’s state murder case. The judge in that case said he won’t rule until May.
Prosecutors contend police were justified in searching the backpack to make sure there were no dangerous items and that the gun, notebook and other evidence would have eventually been found anyway.
Thompson, 50, was killed Dec. 4, 2024, as he walked to a Manhattan hotel for UnitedHealth Group’s annual investor conference. Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting him from behind. Police say “delay,” “deny” and “depose” were written on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.
Mangione, 27, the Ivy League-educated scion of a wealthy Maryland family, was arrested five days later at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 230 miles (about 370 kilometers) west of Manhattan.
He's already had success paring down his state case. In September, a judge threw out state terrorism charges against him.
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced last year that she was directing federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty, declaring that capital punishment was warranted for a “premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America.”
Mangione’s lawyers argue that Bondi’s announcement, which she followed with Instagram posts and a TV appearance, showed the decision was “based on politics, not merit.” Her remarks tainted the grand jury process that resulted in his indictment a few weeks later, they said.
In this courtroom sketch, Luigi Mangione, center, flanked by his attorneys Karen Agnifilo, left and Marc Agnifilo, right, during his court appearance in Manhattan federal court, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)
Marc Agnifilo, attorney for Luigi Mangione, arrives at Manhattan federal court, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Supporters of Luigi Mangione raise signs outside Manhattan federal court, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
US Marshall Service officer stand while people wait in line outside Manhattan federal court ahead of a hearing for Luigi Mangione, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Legal team of Luigi Mangione including Karen Friedman Agnifilo, center, and Marc Agnifilo, second right, arrive at Manhattan federal court, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
