A bipartisan group of six senators called on the administration Sunday to abandon a reported plan to purchase diesel from Russia, arguing the move would help ease fuel prices for consumers. On Friday, a post to social media from Trump described an agreement reached with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a telephone conversation between the two leaders.
According to the statement, Russia would move roughly 300,000 tons of diesel onto American and world markets at once, with a further 500,000 tons to follow in November and another 1 million tons arriving shortly after that, while an additional 3 million tons were pledged for delivery within a brief window beyond those initial tranches.
A joint statement opposing the deal drew signatures from six lawmakers — four Republicans and two Democrats — when it was released on Sunday. Critics contended that the administration had bypassed the statutory requirement to consult with Congress or provide any written justification for its decision, while one lawmaker argued that extending financial support to Russia while its forces continued targeting Ukrainian civilians ran counter to American interests.
In their written statement, the group called on the administration to change its current policy direction. The four Republican senators who signed the statement were Collins of Maine, Murkowski of Alaska, Tillis of North Carolina, and Curtis of Utah. The two Democratic senators were Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut.
In a Sunday television interview, Tillis put forward the position that the administration would be acting outside legal boundaries if it proceeded with the diesel purchase plan, while also stating that Russia bore responsibility as the party that initiated the conflict. Tillis argued that the path to ending the conflict lay with Russia withdrawing from the territories it had seized.
The announcement came several weeks after Congress passed a law directing the president to impose high tariffs on the top importers of Russian oil and natural gas, with an exemption carved out for countries that source less than 15 percent of their gas supply from Russia and have taken steps to reduce those purchases. The legislation took aim at reducing the revenue Russia draws from petroleum and natural gas exports, money that has helped sustain its military operations in Ukraine.
The six lawmakers pointed to a 2022 congressional prohibition on Russian energy imports — enacted to keep federal spending from underwriting the conflict — and argued that permitting Russian diesel to enter the country stands at odds with that statute. Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, asked about the legal question, steered toward the broader context of energy costs, saying the president faces difficult trade-offs in setting energy policy. Barrasso put forward the view that the president holds the sanctions legislation — passed by Congress the previous month — as a tool available for applying pressure on Putin toward a lasting settlement in the region.
