President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order putting on hold most of the sweeping Russia sanctions package he himself signed into law just last month. The move effectively shelves bipartisan legislation aimed at squeezing Russia's oil revenues, and it comes as Trump openly courts Moscow in a bid to bring down energy prices before the November 3 midterm elections.
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| President Donald Trump (official portrait, file photo) |
The Executive Order
The announcement came Friday night in an executive order. According to reports, Trump told Congress in a certification that waiving implementation of most aspects of the law was "in the national interests of the United States."
The law in question is the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, named for the late Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. It passed the House with bipartisan backing — a majority of Republicans along with 58 Democrats — and Trump signed it into law just last month.
The legislation would have allowed tariffs of up to 100% on goods imported from the top five countries that import the most Russian crude oil or gas. It also targeted countries that bought Russian fossil fuels within 30 days of the law taking effect. According to the Wall Street Journal, Friday's executive order halts implementation of most of those sanctions.
A Reversal on His Own Signature
The waiver is striking because Trump personally signed the legislation only weeks ago. The law was designed to cut off the financial resources fueling Russia's war against Ukraine, which has been raging for nearly five years and is now nearing what analysts describe as a critical juncture for Kyiv.
Trump's decision marks another turn in his broader pivot toward Moscow as he seeks to end the war in Ukraine. In recent days, he has openly sided with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to USA Today — a remarkable posture for an American president during an active European war.
The president has also escalated a public feud with Zelenskyy. Trump has blamed Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries for rising prices at the pump, which he is under intense pressure to bring down ahead of the midterms.
Why Now: Diesel, Gas Prices and the Midterms
Energy costs are the driving force behind the move. With Election Day on November 3 — less than three weeks away — voters are feeling the pain of fuel prices that have climbed sharply in recent months. ABC News reported this week that the national average for a gallon of gas hit $4.30, up 25 cents from last month's average.
Earlier this month, Trump announced a surprise deal with Putin under which Russia would release millions of tons of diesel into the global market. Trump has framed the arrangement as a way to bring down soaring fuel prices for American consumers.
Critics on both sides of the aisle have blasted that agreement. Bipartisan lawmakers urged Trump to abandon the diesel deal and instead enact the new sanctions package against Russia. He has now done the opposite, and the diesel arrangement has drawn particular scrutiny because it effectively puts money into the Kremlin's coffers even as Russia's war chest dwindles.
An AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll published on October 1 found that Americans disapprove of the president's handling of the Iran war and blame him for higher prices. Trump's approval ratings have sunk to near-historic lows, raising the stakes for Republicans trying to hold control of both chambers of Con
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| The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. (file photo) |
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Reaction in Washington
The executive order drew immediate condemnation from supporters of Ukraine in Washington. Representative Don Beyer, a Democrat from Virginia, described the decision as a "surrender to Putin" and accused Trump of attempting to "twist this law and abuse the powers it conferred on him."
The legislation had reflected broad congressional support for Ukraine. The bipartisan backing in the House signaled that many lawmakers — from both parties — wanted tougher pressure on the Kremlin's energy trade.
Trump, however, has shown little patience for that approach. According to reports, the administration has calculated that cheaper energy at home is a more urgent political priority than economic pressure on Russia, especially with voters heading to the polls in a matter of days.
What This Means
Friday's waiver is more than a single policy reversal — it signals how Trump intends to handle the Russia-Ukraine war in the final stretch before the midterms. By setting aside the sanctions Congress passed, the president is choosing energy prices and his diplomatic outreach to Putin over the pressure campaign that bipartisan majorities in Congress demanded.
The decision also underlines a growing split between the White House and Capitol Hill on Russia policy. Congress moved decisively to sanction Russia's trading partners, including the prospect of triple-digit tariffs on major importers of Russian oil. The president has now unilaterally hit pause on that entire framework.
For Ukraine, the timing could hardly be worse. According to reports this week, Kyiv is facing severe pressure on the battlefield, and the sanctions package was seen as one of the most powerful economic levers available to the United States. Waiving it removes a tool that Ukraine's supporters in Washington had counted on.
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| The Moscow Kremlin at night (file photo) |
What Happens Next
Whether the waiver holds beyond the election is an open question. The executive order pauses implementation of the sanctions; it does not repeal the underlying law. A future administration — or a shift in political incentives after the midterms — could revive enforcement.
Congress could also attempt to respond. Lawmakers who backed the Graham Act with bipartisan majorities may look for ways to compel enforcement, though any such effort would face steep obstacles with the White House opposed.
For now, the immediate effect is that the sanctions targeting Russia's oil trade — including the potential 100% tariffs on goods from the largest importers of Russian crude — will not take effect as Congress intended. Energy markets, already rattled by the war in Iran and supply disruptions, will be watching how the diesel arrangement with Russia plays out and whether American consumers see any relief at the pump.
With the midterms just days away, the political fallout may come even faster than the economic effects. Trump's bet is that lower fuel prices will matter more to voters than a sanctions package most Americans have never heard of. His critics are betting the opposite: that siding with Putin over Congress will carry a cost of its own.
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