More Republicans are beginning to publicly oppose U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to allow Russia, under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, to temporarily export diesel to global markets. The backlash from both parties caused by this arrangement is growing.
Six Republican senators, together with six Democratic colleagues, urged Trump in a letter on Tuesday to cancel this arrangement. The arrangement allows Russia to supply 4.8 million tons of diesel by mid-April next year, which is approximately 36 million barrels.
The MPs wrote: 'This agreement is a gift to our opponents and a betrayal of our allies; it should be revoked.'
The Republican senators who signed this letter include Tom Tillis from North Carolina, Susan Collins from Maine, Alan Armstrong from Oklahoma, Lisa Murkowski from Alaska, Mitch McConnell from Kentucky, and John Cornyn from Texas. This move further expands the list of Republican members of Congress who have previously questioned the agreement announced by Trump last Friday. Armstrong has close ties to the energy industry and once served as the CEO of Williams Company, which is the largest natural gas-focused company in the United States.
They signed this letter together with Democratic senators Richard Blumenthal, Jeanne Shaheen, Dick Durbin, Chris Coons, Sheldon Whitehouse, and Jack Reed.
The White House did not immediately respond to the request for comment on this letter from CNBC.
Collins, Mulkowski, and Tillis had previously voiced their opposition. On Sunday, they issued a joint statement with Democrats, urging Trump not to “provide a financial lifeline to Putin while Russia continues to kill Ukrainian civilians.”
Utah Republican Senator John Curtis also joined that statement.
Trump announced this Russian diesel agreement after a call with Putin. The announcement quickly attracted rare and sharp criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who expects the United States to continue providing support for his military. Trump then counterattacked Zelensky, saying that Ukraine should have a different president.
In his announcement on Friday, Trump claimed that this agreement would help to rapidly and significantly reduce diesel prices, which are at record highs. However, oil analysts do not believe that Russia's supply is sufficient to have a meaningful impact on prices.
Twelve senators who jointly wrote a letter to Trump on Tuesday hold the same view. They stated that this agreement "will not achieve a just goal, nor will it benefit Americans."
Senators told Trump: "Allowing diesel fuel of Russian origin to enter the global market will have little to no mitigating effect on Americans."
They wrote: "The impact on fuel prices is negligible, but the revenue obtained by the Kremlin from this agreement will undoubtedly provide funding for the protracted conflict it desires and advance its security cooperation with China, Iran, and North Korea."
Senators also pointed out that, as other critics have said, this diesel agreement contradicts the bipartisan Russia sanctions law signed into law by Trump a few weeks before announcing the deal, which requires the lifting of existing sanctions against Russia.
The letter states: 'These authorizations require you to exert economic pressure on Russia and its main supporters of the war, especially China, in order to strengthen your negotiating position and to swiftly bring an end to this destructive conflict.'
They wrote: "Putin is a tyrant. Withdraw from this agreement, revoke General License No. 135, and take action in accordance with the powers granted by the 2026 Lindsey O. Graham Act on Sanctions against Russia and Iran."
"Maintain our traditions – and the responsibility that the United States bears as a leader of the free world."
On Monday, Trump added fuel to his defense of his decision on Truth Social, saying: "I made the right choice for the American people – always, America First!"
