President Donald Trump’s agreement to allow Russian diesel into the United States and global markets was not well received. It has triggered rare bipartisan condemnation in Congress. The lawmakers are accusing the White House of undermining sanctions legislation Trump himself signed just weeks ago.
Congress questions Russian diesel imports after new sanctions legislation
Donald Trump announced on Friday that Russia will “immediately release 300,000 tons of diesel to address concerns over rising energy costs due to the global fuel shortage.” He said the arrangement followed “a highly successful discussion” with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump added that Russia will send “another 500,000 Tons during the month of November, and 1,000,000 Tons immediately thereafter.”
Moreover, the Treasury Department will lift sanctions on Russia to let the fuel flow. This step comes just weeks after Trump approved the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act, which tightened restrictions on Moscow. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected the deal outright. He called it a “birthday gift” to Putin meant to “kill us, kill our children.”
Lawmakers echoed that alarm. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, joined a bipartisan group in warning against giving Putin a “financial lifeline while Russia continues to kill Ukrainian civilians.” Furthermore, “Congress explicitly banned Russian energy imports in 2022 to prevent American dollars from financing Putin’s brutal war against Ukraine,” the lawmakers said in a Sunday statement.
Several Republicans broke with the White House. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) pressed Donald Trump to raise sanctions and tariffs on Russia “instead of allowing Russia to export diesel, rake in revenues, and continue its catastrophic war in Ukraine.” Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said on X that Washington should “squeeze Putin’s war machine, not reward a dictator by putting more money in his hands.”
Democrats were just as direct. Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) called the purchase “outrageous” given the sanctions Trump recently signed. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) accused the president of wanting to “bankroll Putin’s illegal war against Ukraine by buying diesel from him.”
All in all, the dispute unfurled before Trump announced on Truth Social an energy ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia.
