WASHINGTON – Six Republican senators slammed President Donald Trump over his decision to ease sanctions on Russia amid growing opposition within the president’s own party to his deal with Vladimir Putin to import Russian diesel.
A bipartisan group of 12 senators urged the White House to back out of the deal in a letter on Oct. 13, saying that lifting sanctions on Russia’s diesel exports would be “a betrayal of the people of Ukraine.”
The diesel deal “only provides Putin with more fuel to finance his war machine and enables Russia to continue its brutal attacks on Ukrainian civilians,” the letter stated. It was signed by GOP Sens. Alan Stuart Armstrong of Oklahoma, Susan Collins of Maine, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska,
John Cornyn of Texas, and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
In total, at least seven Republican senators have explicitly opposed the diesel deal. Sen. John Curtis of Utah joined Collins, Tillis and Murkowski in a statement on Oct. 11 that argued that Trump’s proposed deal with Putin would violate a law banning Russian energy imports.
The growing Republican dissent comes after Trump stunned Ukraine and European allies when he moved to ease sanctions on Russia just weeks after Congress passed legislation designed to increase pressure on Moscow.
Trump agreed to import Russian diesel as he seeks to lower fuel prices ahead of the midterm elections on Nov. 3. Record-high diesel prices in the United States are threatening Republican chances to maintain control of the House and the Senate.
In reality, experts say that Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran is the primary reason for skyrocketing energy prices. However, the U.S. president has insisted that Ukraine and its strikes on Russian oil refineries are to blame.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy drew Trump’s ire after he defended strikes against Russian energy targets and condemned Trump’s diesel agreement with Putin as a “weak” deal. Trump called for leadership change in Ukraine on Oct. 10, saying that Ukraine should “get a new leader who can make a deal” to end the war.
Collins is running for re-election in Maine against Democratic challenger Troy Jackson in one of the most competitive races in the country. Murkowski’s home state of Alaska is home to another highly competitive race that could determine whether Democrats retake the Senate majority.
The senators wrote that Trump’s diesel deal will “offer limited to no relief to Americans” while helping Putin to finance the war. The current phase of the war started in February 2022, when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“Granting Moscow the ability to sell Russian diesel freely in global markets damages American security interests and is a betrayal of the people of Ukraine, who continue to defend themselves from Putin’s murderous, illegal war,” the letter stated. “This deal is a gift to our adversary and a betrayal of our Allies.”
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi, has also voiced opposition to the decision to allow Russia to export diesel. Speaking at the Warsaw Security Forum on Oct. 13, he said that “there’s not a very high likelihood” Trump’s deal with Putin takes effect.
“I think there’s a much better way, in the near term, to lower energy prices,” said Wicker, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'A betrayal': More Republicans condemn Trump's diesel deal with Putin
