Tillis: Trump Russia diesel deal undermines Graham sanctions — SkimNews
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- Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) publicly slammed President Trump's deal with Russia for diesel on Sunday, framing it against ongoing U.S. energy struggles.
- Tillis called on Trump to move forward with a sanctions bill Congress already sent him, saying the agreement to pursue Russian oil is "essentially tarnishing" Sen. Lindsey Graham's sanctions work.
- The deal has split the GOP's Russia hawks: while Tillis attacks it, Rep. Massie has publicly backed the arrangement, per The Hill's coverage — a rare intra-Republican rupture on Russia policy.
- Bipartisan senators argue Trump's Russia diesel deal breaks a 2022 law, per India Today World, suggesting the legal basis of the arrangement is itself under fire, not just the politics.
- The market is watching too: oil prices slipped and Asian markets traded mixed in the wake of the backlash, per India Today World, giving the deal a concrete financial signal beyond the political fight.
Why it matters: Tillis is a sitting Republican senator publicly telling the president to sign the sanctions bill Congress sent him — exactly the kind of intra-party defection that can turn a bottled-up bill into a veto-proof vote. If Trump's Russian diesel purchase is simultaneously alienating his own Russia hawks, drawing bipartisan legal challenges, and nudging oil prices lower, the political cost of the deal is mounting faster than its energy-strategy upside.
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