Washington, Dec. 17 (SANA) The US Senate voted on Wednesday to pass the Department of Defense budget bill for fiscal year 2026, including a provision stipulating the repeal of the Caesar Act imposed on Syria since 2019. The bill won the support of 77 senators, with 20 voting against it, and was then sent to President Donald Trump to be signed into law.
Mohammed Alaa Ghanem, head of political affairs at the Syrian American Council, said in a statement to SANA that the Senate’s approval of the bill—after it had been passed by the House of Representatives last week—means that Congress has effectively repealed the Caesar Act, which was enacted in 2019.
Ghanem added: “The legislation is now heading to the US president’s desk to be signed within days, signaling a victory for Syrians and the end of this difficult era, and freeing Syria from sanctions that have shackled it for decades.”
In this context, US Representative Joe Wilson expressed his appreciation to the Senate for approving the full repeal of the law. In a post on X , Wilson said: “President Trump is expected to sign it soon… I had previously affirmed that the president would resolve this issue to make Syria great again.”
Path to repeal
Steps toward repealing the Caesar Act began when the US president announced during his visit to Saudi Arabia on May 13 that sanctions on Syria would be lifted. However, formal repeal required approval by both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
On Oct. 10, the Senate voted in favor of repeal within the budget bill, followed by the House of Representatives on Dec. 10. The bill then returned to the Senate due to amendments unrelated to Syria, before being approved in its final form on Tuesday, pending President Trump’s signature in the coming days.
Background of the law
The US Congress enacted the Caesar Act in December 2019 to sanction the deposed regime over war crimes and crimes against humanity against the Syrian people. The law entered into force in June 2020.
The act was named after Syrian photographer Fareed al-Madhhan, who leaked thousands of graphic images of detainees who died under torture in the prisons of the deposed regime. The law imposed broad sanctions targeting individuals, companies and institutions linked to that regime. While it was at times circumvented, Syrians and the national economy bore the brunt of its impact.
Repeal of the Caesar Act is expected to help open the door to the return of foreign investment and aid to support reconstruction and improve Syria’s economic situation, following the removal of what supporters describe as the largest obstacle to recovery.
