Four Republican senators joined Democrats on Sunday, Oct. 11, in a public demand that President Trump’s administration “immediately reverse course” on letting Russian diesel back onto the market. The four Republican senators Russia diesel deal opponents now point to are Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Thom Tillis and John Curtis. Reuters called the statement a shift from the party’s near-unanimous backing of Trump’s foreign policy, coming weeks before the Nov. 3 midterms.
Where it stands: Trump did not back down. On Monday, Oct. 12, he said, “I made the right choice for the American People—always America first,” according to TIME. His Treasury secretary says critics in Congress have the law wrong, and the Senate’s No. 2 Republican, John Barrasso, is defending the deal on television.
The four GOP senators Russia diesel deal critics are counting on
Each of the four Republicans put a name to the joint statement. Three of them also went further on their own.
Susan Collins (Maine) tied her objection to the newer sanctions law Trump signed in September. “I oppose President Trump’s decision to lift sanctions on the purchase of diesel from Russia,” she said, adding: “I was a co-sponsor of the Russian sanctions law, which the President recently signed, but is now not following.”
Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) argued the administration already holds tougher tools. “The President should be using those authorities instead of allowing Russia to export diesel, rake in revenues, and continue its catastrophic war in Ukraine,” she said, as quoted by TIME.
Thom Tillis (North Carolina) went furthest. On NBC’s Meet the Press he said, “I do believe there’s a legitimate case for saying the president’s not following the law.” He also said the deal would put American lives at risk, and of Putin: “This guy has a murderous rap sheet. He cannot be trusted,” Newsweek reported. CNN said he warned of “deadly consequences.” Reuters noted that Tillis is retiring and leaves the Senate in January.
John Curtis (Utah) signed the statement. None of the coverage reviewed for this article quoted him separately.
Six signers or seven? The outlets disagree
News organizations did not agree on how many senators signed. The Associated Press, carried by PBS and the Boston Globe, listed six. Reuters, CNN and TIME listed seven, with Oregon Democrat Ron Wyden as the extra name. We report both counts and do not pick one.
| Outlet | Count | Democrats named |
|---|---|---|
| AP (via PBS) | Six: 4 R, 2 D | Shaheen, Blumenthal |
| Reuters | Seven: 4 R, 3 D | Shaheen, Blumenthal, Wyden |
| CNN | Seven, four of them Republicans | Not all named |
| TIME | Seven: 4 R, 3 D | Shaheen, Wyden, Blumenthal |
Every version agrees on the four Republicans. That is the politically significant part for Trump: GOP senators putting their names on a document that says he is out of step with a statute.
What the statement accuses the administration of
The signers made a legal argument, not just a policy one. “Congress was clear: the U.S. should not import oil from Russia until it ends its aggression against Ukraine and ceases threats against our NATO Allies,” they wrote, per AP. “President Trump’s decision to allow Russian diesel imports to the U.S. runs directly counter to that law.”
They also accused the administration of skipping steps: AP reported their complaint that it did not consult Congress or provide any justification, as the statute requires. And they closed with a demand: “The United States should not provide Putin with a financial lifeline while Russia continues to kill Ukrainian civilians. The Administration must immediately reverse course.”
The law they mean is Public Law 117-109, the Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act. Its core sentence reads: “All products of the Russian Federation classified under chapter 27 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States shall be banned from importation into the United States.” Whether a Treasury license can sit alongside that ban is disputed, and no court has ruled; our breakdown of the legal fight sets out both sides.
House Republicans and a former vice president pile on
The senators were not alone. In the House, Nebraska’s Don Bacon wrote on X on Oct. 9: “We need lower diesel prices for American farmers, ranchers and consumers, but buying Russian fuel is the wrong answer.” Reuters quoted another Bacon line from the same day, that “propping up Putin’s war economy is morally wrong as he uses that money to bomb cities.”
Texas Republican Michael McCaul, a former Foreign Affairs Committee chairman, told CNBC he was worried that easing sanctions “will only fund the Kremlin’s war machine—emboldening more violence and destruction, as we have seen in recent days.”
Pennsylvania’s Brian Fitzpatrick went from criticism to procedure, announcing a bill to block Russian oil purchases that he wants to force to the floor with a discharge petition. Bacon says he will co-sponsor it, insisting that “Congress must make a stand.” What that route would take is laid out in our explainer on whether Congress can block the deal.
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Outside Congress, former Vice President Mike Pence called the move “a betrayal of the legacy and leadership of the late Senator Lindsey Graham” and urged Trump to “rescind this deal immediately.” Newsweek, citing The New York Times, added Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers and Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan to the list of Republicans breaking with Trump on the deal.
Critics and defenders alike voted for the 2022 ban
The 2022 roll calls add context. The Senate passed the import ban 100 to 0 on April 7, 2022, and Collins, Murkowski and Tillis are recorded as yes votes, as are Democrats Shaheen, Blumenthal and Wyden. Curtis was then a House member from Utah; the House Clerk’s roll call shows him voting yes when the House cleared the final version 413 to 9 the same day.
Bacon, Fitzpatrick and McCaul voted yes on that House roll call too. So did the deal’s defenders: Barrasso in the Senate and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer in the House. In other words, the Republicans now defending the license and the Republicans attacking it supported the same statute four years ago.
| Republican | Stance on the deal | 2022 ban vote |
|---|---|---|
| Collins, Murkowski, Tillis | Signed statement | Yes (Senate) |
| Curtis | Signed statement | Yes (House) |
| Bacon, Fitzpatrick, McCaul | Oppose | Yes (House) |
| Barrasso | Defends | Yes (Senate) |
| Emmer | Defends | Yes (House) |
How the White House and its allies answered
Trump’s own reply was general. TIME reported his Oct. 12 defense of the decision and said it had asked the White House for comment. When Newsweek asked about Republican criticism, a White House official pointed the magazine to Trump’s public comments. In the coverage reviewed here, Trump did not name Collins, Murkowski, Tillis or Curtis; the attack he did make over the weekend was on Ukraine’s leader, telling reporters “it’s time for Ukraine to get a new President.”
The detailed defense came from others. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox that “anyone in Congress who says whether it’s an old bill or the current Lindsey Graham bill (that) prohibits us from doing it is wrong.” CNN reported that he described the purchase as within both the administration’s legal powers and its political mandate.
Barrasso, on CBS, said “the president is balancing and has to make tough decisions” and called the deal “just another point of leverage for the president to use against Putin.” In the same appearance, AP reported, he pressed the president to put September’s Russia sanctions statute to work. Emmer defended the agreement on ABC, according to Newsweek, as an effort to cut fuel costs while pursuing an end to the war.
Why the split lands now
Reuters framed the break against Trump’s slide in the polls, reporting that congressional Republicans have been distancing themselves from him on issues from Iran to the Canada trade war. Newsweek pointed out that Bacon’s home state leans heavily on agriculture and trucking, two of the sectors hit hardest by diesel costs, which is why his objection opened with farmers and ranchers.
The next test is a date already in law. The Graham sanctions act Trump signed on Sept. 18 generally requires its sanctions and tariffs to be in place within a month, “by October 18, 2026,” according to law firm Baker Botts. Our guide to that deadline covers what it demands, and our explainer on the diesel deal covers what Treasury actually signed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Republican senators oppose Trump’s Russian diesel deal?
Maine’s Susan Collins, Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, North Carolina’s Thom Tillis and Utah’s John Curtis signed the Oct. 11 bipartisan statement asking the administration to reverse course. Collins, Murkowski and Tillis also criticized the deal in their own words.
How many senators signed the statement against the Russian diesel deal?
It depends on the outlet. AP counted six, four Republicans and two Democrats. Reuters, CNN and TIME counted seven, adding Democrat Ron Wyden of Oregon.
How did Trump respond to Republican criticism of the diesel deal?
Trump said on Oct. 12 that he made the right choice for the American people. A White House official referred Newsweek to his public comments. Coverage reviewed for this article does not show him naming any Republican senator.
Did the Republican critics vote for the 2022 Russian oil import ban?
Yes. Collins, Murkowski and Tillis voted yes when the Senate passed the ban 100 to 0 in April 2022, and Curtis, Bacon, Fitzpatrick and McCaul voted yes in the House. So did the deal’s defenders Barrasso and Emmer.
Which Republicans defend the Russian diesel deal?
Senate Republican No. 2 John Barrasso called it a point of leverage against Putin, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer defended it on ABC, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said critics in Congress are wrong about the law.
Sources
- Bipartisan group of senators calls on Trump to ‘reverse course’ on Russian diesel plan — PBS News (Associated Press), October 11, 2026
- US Republicans, Democrats want Trump to reverse course on Russia diesel — Reuters (via The Star), October 11, 2026
- Republicans Denounce Trump’s Diesel Deal With Russia’s Putin Amid Mounting Backlash — TIME, October 12, 2026
- Trump’s US-Russia diesel deal draws bipartisan criticism — CNN, October 11, 2026
- Republicans Move to Block Trump’s Putin Diesel Deal Amid Legality Questions — Newsweek, October 11, 2026
- Trump-Putin diesel deal contradicts Russia sanctions law, critics say — CNBC, October 9, 2026
- Public Law 117-109 — Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act — U.S. Government Publishing Office (govinfo), April 8, 2022
- Roll Call Vote 117th Congress – 2nd Session, Vote Number 132 — U.S. Senate, April 7, 2022
- Roll Call 125 | Bill Number: H. R. 6968 — Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, April 7, 2022
- President Trump Signs Graham Sanctions Act, Expanding Russia Sanctions and Tariff Authorities — Baker Botts L.L.P., September 2026
This article is news reporting and analysis based on the public sources listed above, as they stood on the dates shown. Where officials, lawmakers or analysts disagree, including on whether an action is lawful, their positions are attributed to them; Donald Trump Class Action is not a court and nothing here is legal advice. Facts in a developing story can change.