Daniel Wolfram
The deal struck by Trump and Putin has seen politicians from both aisles joining forces to stop it.
It came as a shock to the American people and the rest of the world when President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he had struck a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to import 300,000 tons of diesel from Russia in order to push consumer prices down before the midterms.
Trading with Russia has been strictly prohibited ever since it started to invade Ukraine in 2022.
A prominent group of senators from both the Democratic and Republican parties has formed a joint task force trying to stop the announced deal.
A bipartisan effort against Trump
A bipartisan group of seven senators is demanding an immediate halt to the Russian diesel imports that Trump announced over the weekend. Four Republicans and three Democrats issued a joint statement calling on the administration to stop the diesel deal with Russia.
“The United States should not provide Putin with a financial lifeline while Russia continues to kill Ukrainian civilians. The Administration must immediately reverse course,” the senators stated, according to Reuters.
The senators include Republicans Susan Collins (Maine), Thom Tillis (North Carolina), John Curtis (Utah), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Democrats Jeanne Shaheen (New Hampshire), Richard Blumenthal (Connecticut), and Ron Wyden (Oregon).
“Congress explicitly banned Russian energy imports in 2022 to prevent American dollars from financing [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s brutal war against Ukraine,” they added.
‘Betrayal’
The dispute comes three weeks before the midterm elections as high diesel prices have made it more expensive for everyday Americans.
During an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Thom Tillis warned the deal might be illegal. “I do believe there’s a legitimate case for saying the president’s not following the law,” Tillis said.
Thom Tillis, who is also out with a new book and will retire at the end of the year, is known for drawing the ire of the president for going against some of his policies.
Former Vice President Mike Pence called the move a “betrayal,” while Representative Don Bacon posted on social media that “propping up Putin’s war economy is morally wrong as he uses that money to bomb cities.”
MAGA defending the deal
On Fox News, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent strongly defended the White House agreement. “We’re going to do it with all the legal authorities we have. So, you know, anyone in Congress who says whether it’s an old bill or the current Lindsey Graham bill [that] prohibits us from doing it is wrong,” Bessent said.
However, some MAGA loyalists have fallen in line and agree with the deal. Senator John Barrasso told CBS’ “Face the Nation” that the “president is balancing and has to make tough decisions.”
Neither the White House nor the president has yet given a statement on this criticism from the bipartisan group.
