Bipartisan Senators Demand Trump Reverse Russian Diesel Deal, and Tillis Ties His Funding Votes to It

Two days after Trump announced on social media that he had struck a diesel deal with Vladimir Putin, the pushback from his own party has moved from remarks on a Sunday show to a formal joint statement and a threat over votes.

Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), John Curtis (R-Utah), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) signed the statement released Sunday, Oct. 11. Collins's office lists Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) among the signers as well.

What the senators say the law requires

The statement rests on a 2022 law. "Congress explicitly banned Russian energy imports in 2022 to prevent American dollars from financing Putin's brutal war against Ukraine," the senators wrote. "Congress was clear: The U.S. should not import oil from Russia until it ends its aggression against Ukraine and ceases threats against our NATO Allies."

They called Trump's decision to allow Russian diesel imports something that "runs directly counter to that law." They also said the administration failed to consult Congress or submit an explanation to justify the decision, as the statute requires.

"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 statement said.

The 2022 ban passed the Senate 100 to 0, as NBC host Kristen Welker noted to Tillis. Welker also said the law requires any changes to go through Congress.

The deal itself

Trump announced the arrangement Friday, Oct. 9, after a phone call with Putin. By his account, Russia will immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel to the American and global market. Another 500,000 tons would follow in November, then 1 million tons "immediately thereafter." A further 3 million tons would arrive "within a short period of time" after that.

Those figures come from Trump's social media post. The administration has not published terms.

Energy experts say the deal is unlikely to make a dent in high prices at the pump. Richard Nephew, a senior research scholar at Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy, noted that the total amount of diesel appears to be less than what the U.S. uses in a day. He argued that Iran and Russia might benefit more than the U.S. "The Iranians are probably very excited because it shows that there's a lot of pressure still on the U.S. And the Russians are excited because it puts a big hole in the sanctions regime," he said.

The announcement landed a few weeks after Congress passed legislation directing Trump to impose substantial tariffs on the top importers of Russian oil or natural gas. That bill exempts countries that import less than 15% of Russia's natural gas exports and have taken significant steps to cut those imports. Its stated aim was to shrink the revenue Russia uses to fund its war.

Tillis puts votes on the table

On Meet the Press, Tillis said Trump "may be" breaking the law. "I do believe there's a legitimate case for saying the president's not following the law," he said.

Then came the leverage. "If the president wants my support, which I believe he should get for funding military operations and year-end funding beyond baseline funding, I think the president needs to understand this is a problem, and I'm not the only Republican concerned with this," Tillis said.

Tillis is not seeking reelection. He announced in June 2025 that he would not run in the Nov. 3 midterms, after Trump threatened him with a primary challenge. His term ends in January, which means the threat comes from a senator with little left to lose politically but a vote still to cast.

The administration's position

The White House's case is about price. Fuel costs are at record highs, which Al Jazeera ties to the U.S.-Israel war against Iran, and Trump framed the Russian diesel as a way to ease the squeeze on American and global markets.

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) was asked on CBS's Face the Nation whether the move would violate U.S. law. He did not say yes or no. "The president is balancing and has to make tough decisions," he said, adding that Trump is focused on reducing the cost of energy. Barrasso also encouraged Trump to enforce the sanctions law Congress passed last month, calling the diesel deal "just another point of leverage for the president to use against Putin."

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Fox and Friends that the administration will carry out the arrangement "with all the legal authorities we have," arguing that easing some sanctions on Moscow was necessary to obtain relief from surging diesel prices.

The two sides are arguing past each other on one point. The senators say the statutes bar the imports and require consultation. The administration says it has authority and a price problem to solve.

What comes next

No court challenge or formal congressional action against the deal has been announced. The leverage Tillis described is concrete, though. Military funding and year-end spending bills are coming, and a bloc of Republicans willing to withhold votes matters in a closely divided Senate.

It is not yet known whether the White House answers the six-senator demand before those bills reach the floor.