Trump signed the Graham Act on Sept. 18 and suspended its penalties 28 days later; he says he can impose them "later, or any time that I want."
Max Miller (Rep-R Ohio) came out against Trump's waiver of the Graham Act's Russia sanctions on Monday, Oct. 19. A day earlier, the Wall Street Journal editorial board wrote that Trump had "stuck a shiv in the back" of the late Lindsey Graham's legacy. Trump signed the law himself on Sept. 18, then suspended its new sanctions and tariffs 28 days later, on Friday, Oct. 16.
Why Miller counts. He holds a swing seat that Decision Desk HQ gives him a 52% chance of keeping on Nov. 3, and his district includes Parma, home to more than 4,000 Ukrainians. "The Administration should not waive sanctions passed by Congress to punish Russia for its brutal war of choice in Ukraine," he wrote on X.
The Journal's number. The board called the diesel deal "a $4.5 billion windfall for Russian energy companies." Carnegie analyst Sergey Vakulenko puts Russia's best-case gain at $30–$40 a ton, or about $54 million–$72 million on the 1.8 million tons announced, since Russia could sell the diesel to existing buyers anyway.
What next. Secretary of State Marco Rubio calls the waiver a 60-day economic review, which would run to about Dec. 15. That is the administration's own timetable; the order sets no end date.
Catch up
- Sept. 21 — Trump pressed Zelensky to stop striking Russian refineries, citing high diesel prices; Zelensky then asked for a mutual halt on energy strikes.
- Oct. 4 — Putin added a sale of Lukoil's foreign oil assets to the talks; the buyers include business partners of envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
- Oct. 10 — Treasury lifted sanctions on Russian diesel until April 7, 2027, with no volume cap and no ceasefire condition.
- Oct. 11 — Russian glide bombs killed 20 in Zaporizhzhia; Putin told Trump peace talks would not resume soon.
- Oct. 12–13 — Twelve senators, six from each party, asked Trump to rescind the diesel deal; diesel averaged $6.27 a gallon, against $3.67 a year earlier, per AAA.
- Oct. 18 — Energy Secretary Chris Wright called the diesel deal a peace "carrot."
29 earlier issues
- CIA chief Ratcliffe makes rare Moscow visit
- CIA chief reportedly warned Moscow against a limited Russian attack on NATO
- CIA chief secretly met Russian intelligence officials in Moscow
- UpdateCIA chief told Moscow to end the Ukraine war before Russia’s military and economy worsen
- Russian drone hits ammunition depot near Kyiv, killing 38; four remain missing
- Russia's finance minister returned to the G20 in person for the first time since the Ukraine invasion
- Witkoff and Kushner meet Putin in Moscow Sept. 5, Zelensky in Kyiv Sept. 6, carrying a U.S. proposal to end the war
- UpdatePutin orders 72-hour halt to strikes on Kyiv while Witkoff and Kushner visit, after a three-hour Kremlin meeting
- UpdateWitkoff and Kushner hold first Kyiv talks of the war, agreeing on next steps but no terms; announcement promised in weeks
- UpdateWitkoff says Moscow-Kyiv trip produced 'substantive progress' on scheduling more talks, with no date set and no terms disclosed
- UpdateRussia resumed strikes on Kyiv after the truce, killing 7; Trump and Putin then talked for an hour
- UpdateTrump says Russia's president wants a Ukraine peace deal after their phone call
- House schedules vote next week on authorizing 100% tariffs on Russian oil buyers
- UpdateVladimir Putin warned that sending European troops into Ukraine means war with Russia.
- Trump announced a Russia-Ukraine energy truce Kyiv calls conditional
- UpdateThe House voted 214-211 to advance 100% tariffs on buyers of Russian oil
- UpdateCongress sends Trump a bill letting him impose 100% tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil
- UpdateTrump signs the bill authorizing 100% tariffs on buyers of Russian oil
- Trump and Zelensky agree to New York talks, expected Sept. 22
- UpdateZelensky asks Trump for a mutual halt on energy and port strikes
- Zelensky (President, Ukraine) urges countries to limit trade with Russia to cut war funding
- UpdatePutin added a sale of Lukoil's foreign oil assets to US-Russia Ukraine talks; the buyers include Witkoff and Kushner business partners
- UpdateTreasury lifts U.S. sanctions on Russian diesel until April 7, 2027, after Trump says Russia will send 4.8 million tons
- UpdateRussian glide bombs kill 20 in Zaporizhzhia a day after the U.S. suspended Russian diesel sanctions; Putin tells Trump talks won't resume soon
- UpdateFour Republican senators join Democrats in demanding Trump reverse his Russian diesel deal, saying he skipped steps the law requires
- UpdateTrump defends letting Russian diesel into the U.S. as analysts say the 300,000-ton first shipment is too small to lower prices
- Update12 senators, six from each party, ask Trump to rescind his deal lifting U.S. sanctions on Russian diesel
- Trump waives the Russian energy tariffs and sanctions required by the Graham law he signed last month
- UpdateBoth parties condemn Trump's waiver of the Graham Act's Russia tariffs and sanctions; Rep. Don Bacon says he won't fund Trump's agenda
How much diesel the deal lets Russia supply
- 300,000 tons of Russian diesel right away
- 500,000 more tons in November, then 1 million tons "immediately thereafter"