Senator Lindsey Graham said on January 27, 2026, that he plans to introduce legislation dubbed the “Save the Kurds Act” to impose “crippling sanctions” on any government or group engaged in hostilities against Kurdish forces and communities in Syria, arguing that abandoning U.S.-aligned Kurds would damage American security and credibility.
Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, said on January 27, 2026, that he will introduce a bill called the Save the Kurds Act aimed at imposing what he described as “crippling sanctions” on any government or group “engaged in hostilities against the Kurds,” as fighting and political tensions intensify across parts of northern and northeastern Syria.
In a post on X, Graham wrote: “Watching the deteriorating situation in Syria with great concern. The Kurds are under threat from the new Syrian government that is aligned with Turkey. It would be a disaster for America’s reputation and national security interests to abandon the Kurds, who were the chief ally in destroying the ISIS caliphate. Therefore, I will be introducing legislation this week designed to impose crippling sanctions on any government or group engaged in hostilities against the Kurds. The Save the Kurds Act, I believe, will receive strong bipartisan support and must have teeth to make it effective. Stay tuned.”
Graham has not publicly released the full legislative text, and details such as the exact sanctions triggers, the list of intended targets, and any enforcement timelines were not specified in his post.
The announcement comes amid renewed concern in Washington about security in Kurdish-administered areas, where the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have long partnered with the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS. The SDF played a major role in ground operations that culminated in ISIS’s territorial defeat in Syria in 2019, after the group had earlier lost Mosul in Iraq in 2017.
In recent days, U.S. Central Command said it launched a mission on January 21, 2026, to transfer ISIS detainees from northeastern Syria to Iraq, beginning with 150 detainees moved from Hasakah and with plans that could ultimately involve up to 7,000 detainees. CENTCOM said the operation is intended to reduce the risk of prison breaks amid instability.
Separately, news reports in mid-January described a prison break in Shaddadi during clashes and competing claims over responsibility and the number of escapees.
Graham’s statement also linked the Kurdish security situation to Syria’s new leadership under President Ahmed al-Sharaa and to Turkey’s stance toward Syrian Kurdish groups. Turkey has long viewed key Syrian Kurdish militias, particularly the YPG, as linked to the PKK insurgency and has conducted repeated cross-border operations in northern Syria.
