Seven U.S. senators from both parties denounce Trump’s diesel deal as an “illegal move”

[Financial News] Seven U.S. senators from both parties issued a joint statement condemning U.S. President Donald Trump’s unilateral announcement of imports of Russian diesel, calling it an illegal act that disregarded Congress.
According to U.S. political outlet Politico on the 11th (local time), three Democratic senators—including Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Ron Wyden of Oregon—and four Republican senators—Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and John Curtis of Utah—issued a joint statement that day condemning Trump.
Trump had earlier posted on Truth Social on the 9th that he was temporarily lifting sanctions on Russian diesel exports. He then claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin had promised to supply diesel to the U.S. and international markets. Trump stressed, “Russia has agreed to immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel fuel to the U.S. and world markets, an additional 500,000 tons in November, and 1 million tons shortly thereafter.” He also said, “Russia will then supply an additional 3 million tons of diesel fuel within a short period, taking into account the condition of its domestic diesel refineries.”
However, in an April 2022 vote, the U.S. House and Senate passed the “Russian Oil Import Ban Act” with overwhelming bipartisan support, banning all U.S. imports of Russian-origin crude oil, refined petroleum products, liquefied natural gas (LNG), coal products and other goods. Under the law, before lifting the measure, the president must demonstrate to Congress that Russia has ended hostilities against Ukraine and direct military threats against NATO.
In their statement, the senators said, “In 2022, Congress explicitly banned imports of Russian energy to prevent U.S. funds from going toward Putin’s war in Ukraine.”
They added, “Congress’s position was clear,” stressing, “The United States must not import Russian oil until Russia ends its aggression against Ukraine and stops threatening NATO allies.”
They said, “The president’s decision to allow imports of Russian diesel directly contradicts the law,” adding, “The administration neither consulted Congress as required by law nor submitted an explanation justifying its decision.” They then called on Trump to immediately reverse the measure. Republican Thom Tillis said in an NBC interview that day that if the administration pressed ahead with its diesel purchase plan, there would be sufficient grounds to argue that the president was violating the law.
That same day, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defended the legality of the agreement in an interview with Fox News. He said, “We will use every legal authority we have to pursue this.”
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