President Trump defended his deal to bring in Russian diesel as the right choice for Americans facing high fuel costs, even as bipartisan senators demanded an immediate reversal and Ukraine’s president called the move weakness.
President Donald Trump doubled down Monday on a deal to import Russian diesel, saying he made the right call for the American people and pointing to Europe’s own long record of buying Russian energy.
In a Monday morning social media post, Trump noted that the “European Union paid Russia 250 Billion Dollars for Energy” and declared, “I made the right choice for the American People, ALWAYS, AMERICA FIRST!” ABC News reported the president’s defense came after a Friday announcement of an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin to import 300,000 tons of Russian diesel right away, with millions more tons promised.
The move aims to ease spiking diesel and fuel prices in the United States. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, a vocal Ukraine supporter who previously backed sanctions on Russia, stood with the president on Sunday and framed the deal as practical relief for households and businesses.
Emmer told ABC News’ “This Week” co-anchor Jon Karl the decision was “another example of our president thinking out of the box.”
"He's listening to the American people, Jon. The American people are hurting because of this world market when it comes to diesel and fuel in general."
Emmer added that he saw the step as part of broader efforts to resolve the Russia-Ukraine situation. Trump’s team has described the plan as lifting Russian oil sanctions enough to bring in a new diesel supply while prices climb at home.
Estimates from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air on European Union spending for Russian fossil fuels since the start of the war with Ukraine roughly align with the $250 billion figure Trump cited, though he did not specify the exact period covered.
A bipartisan group of senators pushed back hard on Sunday. Republican Sens. Susan Collins, Thom Tillis, John Curtis and Lisa Murkowski joined Democratic Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, Richard Blumenthal and Ron Wyden in a joint statement urging the administration to reverse course at once.
"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 senators argued the decision runs counter to the Ending Importation of Russian Oil Act that Congress passed in April 2022. That law bans imports of Russian energy products. It allows a president to lift the ban under certain conditions, but requires justification to Congress first. The senators said that consultation and explanation never came.
"President Trump's decision to allow Russian diesel imports to the U.S. runs directly counter to that law. The Administration has also failed to consult with Congress or submit any explanation to justify its decision as required by statute."
Weeks before the diesel announcement, Trump had signed the bipartisan Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act. That measure authorizes tariffs on countries that keep buying Russian oil. Some senators said the new import deal undercuts the thrust of that effort.
Sen. Thom Tillis went further on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. He said he completely rejects the agreement.
"I completely reject it."
Tillis argued that if the goal is to ease energy strain, the administration should focus first on Iran and recognize that Vladimir Putin started the war, not Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He said Putin owns the responsibility for energy prices tied to that region. Tillis also said the purchase deal was “essentially, I think, tarnishing Lindsey Graham’s efforts to try and get those sanctions bill through.”
Over the weekend, Zelenskyy sharply criticized the decision in an ABC News interview. He called the deal an “obvious weakness.”
"It plays into Russia’s hands -- allowing it to kill more, wage war for longer, have even less respect for America, and inflict even greater losses and damage on the world."
Zelenskyy said Ukraine counts on fair American support for its defense and on the United States holding a strong conversation with Russia, “A strong one, not a weak one.”
Trump has not retreated. On Monday he restated the core case: American drivers and businesses come first, Europe already spent heavily on Russian energy, and the diesel supply is meant to blunt price pressure here at home. The Friday deal with Putin set an immediate 300,000-ton shipment with far larger volumes still to come.
Critics in the Senate and in Kyiv want the imports stopped. The White House is treating high diesel costs and the need for supply as the immediate problem to solve. Trump’s public line remains the same one he posted Monday morning, America First, and he made the right choice.
When fuel prices climb, voters notice long before foreign capitals do. A president who puts American wallets first will always draw fire from those who prefer a different priority list.
