Several Republican lawmakers have publicly distanced themselves from the agreement negotiated by the Trump administration with Russia to import diesel, and they also rejected the president’s call for Ukraine to replace its leader, Volodimir Zelenski, according to reports from The Hill and Axios published this Saturday.
The agreement, announced on Friday, authorizes Russia to supply over 300,000 tons of diesel immediately to the United States and global markets, with additional deliveries of 500,000 tons expected in November and up to three million tons more contingent on the capacity of Russian refineries.
Trump presented the pact as a measure to ease fuel prices, which have surged due to the energy shortage caused by U.S. military operations against Iran and the ongoing war in Ukraine, although energy analysts expressed skepticism about its actual impact on prices.
The reaction within the Republican ranks was immediate and forceful.
The senator John Kennedy (R-Louisiana) stated that, while he supports the president's goal of reducing fuel prices, he does not agree with "his decision to import it from Putin."
"Vladimir Putin is a butcher. He is a butcher of his own people and of the good people of Ukraine," Kennedy stated, adding that what would really lower diesel prices would be "the end of the war in Iran."
The former representative Mike Rogers (R-Michigan), a candidate for the Senate from that state, was more direct: "No, not importing it from Russia. In fact, I have called for a temporary ban on exports to try to provide some relief while the farmers are in the middle of harvest."
The representative Michael McCaul (R-Texas), former chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, warned that lifting sanctions on Russian oil "will only finance the Kremlin's war machinery, encouraging more violence and destruction."
Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) stated on social media platform X that Trump "should use those authorities instead of allowing Russia to export diesel, accumulate revenue, and continue its catastrophic war in Ukraine," referring to the Lindsey O. Graham Act on Sanctions Against Russia and Iran, which Trump himself signed just 21 days prior.
"We can talk about Russia's return to global energy markets once the war is over, but in the meantime, we need to cut off everything that fuels it," he added.
That law, approved with broad bipartisan support, authorizes tariffs of up to 100% against the main buyers of Russian energy, making the diesel agreement a direct contradiction to the newly enacted legislation.
The representative Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pennsylvania), co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, announced this Saturday a bipartisan legislative initiative called the "Ronald Reagan Peace Through Strength Act" to block Russian oil purchases, with the intention of bringing it to the floor through a discharge petition.
"It will be brought to the plenary through a discharge and will pass overwhelmingly," Fitzpatrick wrote on social media, where he also defended Zelensky: "The Ukrainian president has the overwhelming support of the U.S. Congress, the American people, and the Ukrainian people."
The representative Don Bacon (R-Nebraska), who is retiring from Congress, confirmed to Axios that he has already agreed to sign Fitzpatrick's discharge petition.
Zelensky, for his part, described the agreement as "unfair and dishonest", stating that it amounts to a gift to Putin that would fund the war against his country. Trump responded this Saturday by calling for Ukraine to replace Zelensky with a leader willing to negotiate with Russia.
The legislative path of Fitzpatrick faces significant hurdles: the House is not scheduled to meet until after the November 3rd midterm elections, and any bill that is approved would also need the Senate's approval and could face a presidential veto.
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