Bipartisan Senators Condemn Trump Administration’s Deal to Ease Sanctions on Russian Energy Exports
In a rare show of bipartisan unity, four Republican senators—Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, John Curtis of Utah, and Susan Collins of Maine—joined Democrats on Friday to condemn the Trump administration’s deal to ease sanctions on Russian energy exports. The senators urged the 80-year-old president to “immediately reverse” the plan, which would effectively lift sanctions imposed on Russia after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The deal, which would allow Russia to sell diesel to the United States, has sparked outrage from Ukraine and its allies, who view it as a significant concession to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The backlash comes as Trump faces bipartisan criticism for making a deal that could significantly benefit Putin, especially as the president seeks to prevent an electoral wipeout for Republicans in the midterms. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denounced the decision as “weak,” while Republican congressman Michael McCaul of Texas noted that the Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act had given the president “significant authorities and leverage against China and Russia to bring Putin’s war to an end with a negotiated settlement.” Instead, the administration struck a deal with Putin to buy diesel, weeks after signing a Russia sanctions law. The move has left many questioning the administration’s commitment to holding Russia accountable.
The condemnation extended beyond the sanctions deal. A number of prominent Republicans also joined Democrats in criticizing the Pentagon’s plan to livestream the execution of the former army major who carried out the Fort Hood attack in 2009. The United Nations called the livestreaming of an execution tantamount to torture, and death penalty experts noted there is no “regulation or precedent” for such a move. Trump later suggested that a final decision had not been made on whether the execution would be streamed live, but the plan had already provoked fierce backlash across the political divide.
As Republican senators met with Zelenskyy to discuss tougher sanctions on Russia, Trump struck a deal with Putin to buy diesel—a timing that underscores the administration’s conflicting signals. The deal, touted by Moscow and Washington as a way to ease sanctions and reopen fuel flows, leaves many
Shimanta Das 
