US House votes to scrap Caesar Act sanctions, opening door to post-Assad reset in Syria

The US House of Representatives has moved to roll back one of Washington’s toughest sanctions regimes on Syria, voting to repeal the Caesar Act as part of the annual National Defense Authorization Act.

“With this NDAA, as many know, we are repealing sanctions on Syria that were placed there because of Bashar al-Assad and the torture of his people,” said Republican Representative Brian Mast, who once opposed lifting the measures. “We’re giving Syria a chance to chart a post-Assad future.”

Mast stressed that the White House could still “reimpose sanctions if the president views it necessary”.

The bill now heads to the Senate, where lawmakers are expected to vote before year’s end.

The move would unwind the 2019 Caesar Act, enacted during Donald Trump’s first term to punish atrocities committed amid Syria’s 13-year civil war. A repeal would also obligate the administration to issue regular reports certifying that Syria’s new leadership is countering Islamist groups and protecting ethnic and religious minorities.

Rights advocates have long argued that the sweeping sanctions hinder reconstruction more than they punish perpetrators, especially after rebel forces toppled Bashar al-Assad in late 2024, sending him into exile in Russia.

Since returning to office, Trump has already lifted several executive-level sanctions and welcomed new Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to the White House, but removing the Caesar Act requires congressional action.

If passed, the repeal becomes the most significant shift in US Syria policy since the start of the war.