Bipartisan Senators Challenge Legality of Trump's Russian Diesel Deal — SkimNews
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- Trump announced on October 9, 2026, after a phone call with Putin, that Russia would immediately supply 300,000 tons of diesel to the U.S. and global markets.
- Seven bipartisan Senators — Jeanne Shaheen, Richard Blumenthal, Ron Wyden (Democrats), Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Thom Tillis, and John Curtis (Republicans) — issued a joint statement on October 11 calling the decision illegal.
- The 2022 ban explicitly prohibited Russian energy imports until Moscow ends its war in Ukraine and ceases threats against NATO allies, the Senators said, and Trump's move 'runs directly counter to that law.'
- The Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, passed overwhelmingly by Congress weeks earlier, gave the President authority to impose sweeping sanctions and 100% tariffs on Russia's top five oil and gas trading partners, including India and China.
- The Trump Administration failed to consult Congress or submit the statutory explanation required to justify the import decision, according to the Senators.
- The Senators demanded the administration 'immediately reverse course,' warning that U.S. energy purchases would provide Putin 'a financial lifeline' while Russian forces continue killing Ukrainian civilians.
Why it matters: The bipartisan pushback — three Democrats and four Republicans — highlights that Trump's $300,000-ton Russian diesel deal collides not only with the 2022 import ban but also with the freshly passed Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, which mandates 100% tariffs on Russia's top five oil trading partners. Reversal would cut a revenue stream for Moscow while the Ukraine war continues; continuation would test how far Congress and the White House are willing to escalate their confrontation over Russia policy.
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