A bipartisan group of seven Senate Foreign Relations Committee lawmakers has condemned President Trump’s recent agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin to lift energy sanctions.
The deal would allow Russian oil and diesel fuel to flow back into the global economy, directly contradicting legislation Congress passed in 2022.
“Congress explicitly banned Russian energy imports in 2022 to prevent American dollars from financing Putin’s brutal war against Ukraine,” the group wrote in a statement released Sunday.
The senators added that “the U.S. should not import oil from Russia until it ends its aggression against Ukraine and ceases threats against our NATO Allies.”
The statement was signed by Democrats Sens. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, and Ron Wyden of Oregon, along with Republicans Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, and John Curtis of Utah.
The bipartisan group also accused the Trump administration of bypassing Congress entirely, stating it “failed to consult with Congress or submit any explanation to justify its decision as required by statute.”
Trump announced Friday on Truth Social that following a direct conversation with Putin, Russia would “immediately supply over 300,000 Tons of Diesel Fuel to the American and Global Marketplace.”
The Treasury Department confirmed it would lift sanctions on Russia to allow the fuel’s release, just weeks after Trump signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act imposing further sanctions on Moscow.
Sen. Murkowski broke with the president publicly, urging him to use existing law to increase sanctions and tariffs on Russia “instead of allowing Russia to export diesel, rake in revenues, and continue its catastrophic war in Ukraine.”
Rep. Steny Hoyer called it “outrageous for the president to purchase tons of diesel from Russia when he recently signed legislation that imposed the toughest sanctions on its oil and gas.”
Hoyer added on X that “Congress must take action against this action to fuel the very war of aggression in Ukraine that our sanctions are meant to stop.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accused the president of striking “a deal with the devil” to try to save his “flailing political fortunes.”
Schumer wrote on X that “this filthy deal will only aid and abet the same Putin who is helping the Iranians to target and try to kill American troops in the Middle East and who illegally and viciously invaded our ally Ukraine.”
The growing bipartisan backlash signals significant congressional resistance to Trump’s approach toward Russia, as lawmakers from both parties insist the administration must immediately reverse course.
