Seven Senators Say Trump's Russian Diesel Deal Breaks U.S. Law. Treasury's Bessent Says It Doesn't

On Friday, Oct. 9, President Donald Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed on a phone call to send diesel to "the American and global marketplace." Two weeks later, the deal is still drawing fire from both parties.

The terms, as Trump laid them out on Truth Social: more than 300,000 tonnes released immediately, 500,000 in November, and 1 million in December. Another 3 million tonnes could follow, Trump said, depending on the condition of Russian refineries that Ukraine has been hitting.

Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak confirmed the figures to the state news agency Tass and said export volume could reach 3 million tonnes per month. The Russian government said Saturday, Oct. 10, that it had partially lifted its diesel export ban with immediate effect.

The price problem Trump is trying to fix

The Energy Information Administration put the average U.S. retail diesel price at $6.28 a gallon on Oct. 9. Fuel prices have climbed since the U.S.-Israel war with Iran began at the end of February and disrupted crude supplies.

"Lower prices for Americans, especially our Great Farmers, Ranchers, and Truckers, is my Greatest Priority," Trump wrote.

The midterms are weeks away, and fuel costs are a political liability for the White House. Former U.S. officials told CNN it is unclear whether Putin has the volume Trump cited. Energy market analysts cited by CNN said the promised amount is unlikely to move global diesel prices much.

Senators cite the 2022 ban

On Sunday, Oct. 11, seven senators issued a joint statement demanding the administration "immediately reverse course." The Republicans were Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and John Curtis of Utah. The Democrats were Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Ron Wyden of Oregon.

"Congress explicitly banned Russian energy imports in 2022 to prevent American dollars from financing Putin's brutal war against Ukraine," they wrote. They said the administration neither consulted Congress nor submitted the justification the statute requires.

"The United States should not provide Putin with a financial lifeline while Russia continues to kill Ukrainian civilians," the statement said.

Tillis, who is retiring after this term, said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that the deal risks "deadly consequences" by giving Putin the sense that Washington is easing off the pressure. He also said it is "tarnishing Lindsey Graham's efforts." Congress passed a bipartisan sanctions bill last month targeting countries that buy Russian oil and gas, and Trump signed it just weeks before the diesel announcement.

The administration's response

Bessent said the purchases fall within the administration's existing legal authorities. He told Fox News that anyone in Congress saying otherwise was wrong, and described the deal as consistent with the mandate Trump won to work for the American people.

BBC reported that it understands the Treasury is suspending sanctions on Russian diesel exports until April 7 as part of the arrangement, while other Russian assets, such as those held in American banks, remain frozen. The Treasury has not publicly detailed the mechanism in the sources available here.

Support for the deal has come from at least one corner of the GOP. Rep. Thomas Massie, who has clashed with Trump on other issues, said the U.S. should lift sanctions on all petroleum products.

Ukraine and the war-funding argument

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the deal a gift to Putin and "an investment in a war that must be ended."

Retired Gen. Philip Breedlove, the former NATO supreme allied commander Europe, told Fox News Digital that Washington is "cutting a deal with the enemy." He said "all of this money will go into fueling Mr. Putin's continued attacks in Ukraine." Breedlove also warned that Moscow can use negotiations to buy time.

The diesel announcement was followed on Sunday, Oct. 11, by Trump declaring an "energy ceasefire" between Russia and Ukraine. "Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!" he wrote.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine had not been informed of a finalized agreement. He said Kyiv would stop hitting Russian energy facilities if Moscow did the same. He added that Putin had answered every Ukrainian de-escalation proposal with "nyet."

Zelenskyy said Russia carried out more than 200 strikes on Ukrainian power generation and transmission sites in the previous week, plus 17 on oil and gas infrastructure. He said the attacks killed more than 150 people and wounded more than 700.

What comes next

The dispute comes down to two questions. One is legal: whether buying Russian diesel fits within the sanctions law, as Bessent says, or breaks it, as seven senators say. The other is practical: whether Russia can deliver volumes large enough to dent a $6-plus diesel price.

The next checkpoint is November, when the 500,000-tonne tranche is due. If it arrives, it will show whether the deal moves fuel at all, and whether Congress follows its statement with any action.