Is the Russian diesel deal legal? On October 9 the Treasury Department issued a license letting Russian diesel be sold and imported into the United States, and by the weekend Republican and Democratic lawmakers were saying it collides with a 2022 statute that bans Russian energy imports. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says anyone in Congress making that argument is wrong.
Where it stands: On Monday, October 12, Rep. Lloyd Doggett, a Texas Democrat whose name is on the 2022 law, issued a release saying the deal directly violates that statute. The same day President Trump said he had “made the right choice for the American People.” No court has ruled, and none of the reporting we reviewed mentions a lawsuit.
We do not decide the question here. What follows sets out what the statute says, how the executive order beneath it works, what the critics argue, how the administration answers, and the questions that remain open. Every legal conclusion below belongs to the person who stated it.
What the 2022 statute says
Public Law 117-109, titled the Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act, is short. Its core sentence bans “all products of the Russian Federation classified under chapter 27 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule” from entering the country. Doggett’s office notes that chapter 27 covers diesel.
Congress also wrote an exit. The president “is authorized to terminate the prohibition” if he sends lawmakers a written certification. That certification must find that Russia has reached a withdrawal and ceasefire deal Ukraine accepts, no longer threatens any NATO member, and respects Ukrainians’ right to choose their government. Consultations with four committees and a report must come no less than 45 days before it. Even then the ban lifts only after 90 days, and Congress can block it in that window by enacting “a joint resolution of disapproval.” Our plain-English guide to the 2022 law walks through each step and the votes that passed it.
The executive order underneath the ban
The statute does not work alone. It applies its ban “in a manner consistent with any implementation actions issued under Executive Order 14066,” the order President Biden signed in March 2022 to bar Russian oil, fuel, gas and coal.
That order contains a carve-out of its own. Its prohibitions apply “except to the extent provided by statutes, or in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order.” General License 135 is a Treasury license. How the statute’s phrase about EO 14066 interacts with the order’s licensing carve-out is one textual question the dispute raises. None of the administration statements we found cites either provision, so we flag it as a question, not as Treasury’s argument.
The license itself is plain about scope. NBC quoted its operative language, which covers “importation, including importation into the United States, of diesel fuel of Russian Federation origin” through April 7, 2027.
The critics’ case
Doggett’s release says the president lifted sanctions “without satisfying the specific legal conditions” the law sets. His office lists the certification, the committee consultations, the 45-day report and the 90-day wait, then adds: “None of these steps has occurred, and none of the conditions has been met.” No administration source we found says whether any certification was sent.
Senators made a similar point on Sunday, October 11. Their statement said the decision “runs directly counter to that law,” and the AP reported that they faulted the administration for skipping consultation and failing to file the justification the statute demands. The AP counted six signers; Reuters counted seven, four Republicans and three Democrats.
Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, a retiring Republican, went furthest on television. “I do believe there’s a legitimate case for saying the president’s not following the law,” he told NBC’s Meet the Press, per Reuters. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine aimed at the newer statute: “I was a co-sponsor of the Russian sanctions law, which the President recently signed, but is now not following.”
The administration’s answer
Treasury framed the license as an executive decision. Its post on X said OFAC was acting “at President Trump’s direction” to allow Russian diesel onto the global market.
Bessent made the legal case on Fox on October 11. “We’re going to do it with all the legal authorities we have,” he said, according to Reuters. He went on: “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 said the administration was acting within both its legal authority and its political mandate. He did not name the specific authority in the reports we read.
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Senate Republican Whip John Barrasso defended the policy rather than the legal reasoning, calling it “another point of leverage for the president to use against Putin,” the AP reported.
Is the Russian diesel deal legal? The arguments side by side
| Question | Critics say | Administration says |
|---|---|---|
| Does the 2022 ban cover diesel? | Yes: chapter 27 includes it (Doggett) | Not addressed directly |
| Was a certification sent? | No; no step was taken (Doggett, senators) | No public statement either way |
| Was Congress consulted? | No, though the statute requires it (senators) | No public statement |
| Is the license lawful? | Conflicts with the 2022 law (senators, Tillis) | Yes; critics are wrong (Bessent) |
| Does the Graham Act forbid it? | Collins: Trump is not following it | Bessent: neither law prohibits it |
The Graham Act wrinkle
Collins also points to the Graham Act, the Russia sanctions law Trump signed in September. Its text cuts in two directions. A rule of construction in Section 114 says nothing in that title affects “the authority of the Secretary of the Treasury to extend or issue new general licenses.” In a September client alert, Akin Gump said the act leaves OFAC free to grant and extend such licenses “without congressional review.”
That clause concerns the 2026 law, not the 2022 one. Baker Botts, writing before the diesel license, observed that the Graham Act left the older import prohibitions standing and that EO 14066 still separately barred Russian petroleum fuels. Its new tariff tools, the firm wrote, did not by themselves make those products importable. What the newer law requires by its October 18 deadline is covered in our explainer on the Sanctioning Russia Act.
What would settle it
Neutral observers have left the question open. Reuters wrote that “legal questions also arise” from the 2022 act. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty said whether that law covers the diesel arrangement “remains a key question.” Ship & Bunker reported that the 2022 act is still in force, with the license viewed as a “temporary executive waiver.”
The expedited congressional vote written into the 2022 law only switches on once a president certifies, and no source reports a certification. That leaves critics with ordinary legislation, a possible court challenge, or political pressure on Treasury to withdraw the license. Our report on whether Congress can block the deal weighs those options, and our explainer of what was announced covers the license’s dates and Trump’s tonnage claims.
The 2022 law’s only stated route to lifting the ban starts with a certification that Russian forces have agreed to withdraw under a deal Ukraine accepts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Trump’s Russian diesel deal legal?
It is disputed and no court has ruled. Lawmakers from both parties, including Rep. Lloyd Doggett and a bipartisan group of senators, say the Treasury license conflicts with the import ban Congress passed in 2022. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says critics who claim any law prohibits it are wrong.
What does the 2022 Russian oil import ban require before it can be lifted?
A written presidential certification that Russia has agreed to withdraw under a deal Ukraine accepts, poses no immediate threat to NATO members, and recognizes the right of Ukrainians to choose their own government. The president must consult four committees and report at least 45 days before certifying, and the ban ends 90 days later unless Congress enacts a joint resolution of disapproval.
Did Trump certify anything to Congress about Russian diesel?
Doggett says none of the required steps has occurred, and senators say Congress was not consulted. No administration statement we found says whether a certification was sent.
What legal authority does Treasury claim?
Bessent said the administration will act with all the legal authorities it has and is working within its legal authority and political mandate, according to Reuters and CNN. He did not name a specific provision in the reports we reviewed.
Has anyone sued over the Russian diesel license?
None of the reporting we reviewed through October 13 mentions a lawsuit, and no court has ruled on the license.
Sources
- Public Law 117-109 — Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act — U.S. Government Publishing Office (govinfo), April 8, 2022
- Executive Order 14066 — Prohibiting Certain Imports and New Investments With Respect to Continued Russian Federation Efforts To Undermine the Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity of Ukraine — Federal Register (via govinfo), March 10, 2022 (signed March 8, 2022)
- H.R. 5334 Enrolled Bill — Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 — U.S. Government Publishing Office (govinfo), September 2026
- Doggett: Trump’s Russian Diesel Deal Violates the Law — Office of Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), October 12, 2026
- Trump says Putin will release diesel fuel into global market — NBC News, October 9, 2026
- 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
- Trump administration claims Russian diesel deal is ‘perfectly legal’ — Reuters (via Cyprus Mail), October 11, 2026
- Trump’s US-Russia diesel deal draws bipartisan criticism — CNN, October 11, 2026
- Republicans Denounce Trump’s Diesel Deal With Russia’s Putin Amid Mounting Backlash — TIME, October 12, 2026
- US Lifts Sanctions on Russian Diesel for Six Months After Trump-Putin Call — Ship & Bunker, October 9, 2026
- House Republicans Move To Block Trump’s Russia Diesel Deal — Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, October 10, 2026
- President Trump Signs Graham Sanctions Act, Expanding Russia Sanctions and Tariff Authorities — Baker Botts L.L.P., September 2026
- Newly Enacted Law Targeting Russia Creates Novel Tariff Authority over Third-Country Imports, While Reinforcing Existing U.S. Sanctions Framework — Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, September 23, 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.