Senator Thom Tillis has raised questions about whether President Donald Trump acted within legal bounds by temporarily easing sanctions on Russian diesel, a move tied to efforts to address elevated fuel prices amid an ongoing military conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran. On a Sunday broadcast, Tillis contended that the sanctions relief might run contrary to federal law, expressing his view that a legitimate case exists for concluding the president has not acted in accordance with it.
Wariness has taken hold among at least a portion of Republican lawmakers who have supported Ukraine's defence efforts since Russia launched its full-scale military offensive in February 2022, with Trump's position on the matter drawing that unease to the surface. Within the Republican Party, Tillis has positioned himself as a distinct voice by publicly challenging what he characterises as overreach on the part of the Trump administration.
Tillis conveyed to reporters that any White House request for military operations funding or year-end spending above baseline levels would need to wait until the president first recognised that the deportation policy had shortcomings — a position Tillis noted was held by a number of fellow Republican lawmakers as well. Tillis declared in June 2025 that he would not contest the November 3 midterm elections, a decision that came after Trump put forward the prospect of a primary challenge against him in North Carolina. The mandate tied to that post runs out once January arrives.
On that same Sunday, Tillis added his name to a cross-party Senate letter calling for sanctions relief extended to Russia to be reversed. Among those present were Republicans Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and John Curtis of Utah, alongside Democrats Jeanne Shaheen and Richard Blumenthal, with one member of the group arguing that extending any form of financial support to Russia while its forces continue targeting Ukrainian civilians would run counter to American interests. In their written statement, the senators called on the Administration to change direction without delay.
Outgoing Republican Representative Don Bacon told reporters on Friday that allowing revenue to flow toward the Russian president contradicts basic ethical principles, pointing to the way those funds are directed at populated areas. Disagreement among Republican lawmakers over how to respond to Russia's military action in Ukraine has brought underlying fault lines within the party into view. Within the party, those aligned with its establishment tendency have broadly advocated for sustained backing of Kyiv, whereas another bloc of members has questioned whether Washington should maintain its commitment to Ukraine.
Trump expressed pointed views about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, calling on Kyiv to replace its leadership on the grounds that the current administration had, in his view, passed up repeated opportunities to reach a negotiated settlement — remarks he delivered on Saturday, noting that the war need not have begun and that new presidential leadership would better serve Ukraine's path toward peace. The day before, Trump had announced that a telephone conversation with Putin had produced an arrangement for 300,000 tonnes of diesel to enter the global marketplace, with a further 500,000 tonnes scheduled for delivery in November.
Speaking on a Sunday television interview, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent put forward the case that rolling back certain sanctions against Moscow would help bring down elevated diesel prices, adding that the administration intended to draw on every available legal authority to carry out that course of action. Whether prices would actually fall over time remained a matter of debate among analysts, with most viewing such an outcome as improbable.
Some opponents, including Tillis, have drawn attention to earlier prohibitions on importing Russian fuel, among them an executive order issued in 2022. A measure passed the month prior — named in honour of the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham — prohibits the flow of American investment into Russia's energy sector.
Analysts and economists have pointed to military hostilities between the United States and Iran, which broke out in February, as a contributing factor behind the upward movement in global fuel costs recorded so far this year. Vessel movements through the Strait of Hormuz — a waterway that carries a substantial share of global fuel shipments — have been curtailed by Iran in the wake of that conflict.
Tillis, in remarks to a television news outlet, argued that resolving tensions with Iran and acknowledging Putin's role in initiating the conflict with Ukraine were the two steps most likely to ease pressure on energy supplies — a position he framed by stating that responsibility for energy prices tied to that region rested with Putin rather than Zelenskyy. Separately, the office of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney released a statement following a Sunday call with Zelenskyy, describing Trump's decision as contrary to efforts by Ukraine, Canada, and allied nations to bring about peace and stability in Europe, and asserting that it would channel additional revenue toward Russia and help sustain what Carney's office characterised as an unlawful and unjustifiable military campaign against Ukraine.
