Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Saturday blasted President Trump for waiving new sanctions on Russia just days before they were set to take effect, accusing him of handing Russian President Vladimir Putin a political and economic lifeline.
“By giving the Russian economy life support, Trump’s deal with the devil keeps getting dirtier,” Schumer wrote on the social platform X. “There’s nothing America First about Trump caving in to Putin and exempting Russia from US sanctions.”
The sanctions in question were part of a broad legislative package Trump signed into law last month, which would have imposed tariffs of up to 100 percent on the top five purchasers of Russian fuel. Trump’s executive order, issued late Friday, puts those penalties on hold indefinitely.
This move follows Trump’s decision last week to lift sanctions on Russian diesel, allowing the country to export 300,000 tons to the U.S. and global markets “immediately” amid fuel shortages. That earlier relief drew swift bipartisan criticism, with lawmakers from both parties accusing the president of undermining U.S. leverage against Moscow.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that the sanctions relief will only embolden Russia and endanger his citizens as the war grinds on. In a social media post Saturday, he said the “sanctions relief will continue” and expressed grief over the death of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), the namesake of the sanctions bill and a staunch advocate for Ukraine aid.
“It’s difficult without him, I’ll be honest,” Zelensky wrote. “I want to thank both Democrats and Republicans who supported his bill. That was a major victory: this truly bipartisan support.” He added, “And now, the decision to undo all of this, to block all of it, seems wrong to me. And it definitely helps only the Russians. It only fuels their satisfaction and their desire to keep killing people. This certainly does not stop the war.”
Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), the top Democrat on Congress’s Joint Economic Committee, issued a statement Friday night condemning the executive order. “Trump’s latest surrender to Putin again betrays our Ukrainian partners and defies clear congressional intent of legislation designed to punish Russia for its illegal war of aggression,” Beyer said. He also warned that the law gives Trump dangerous new trade powers that could be weaponized against allies, urging Congress to fix the flawed legislation.
Several Republican lawmakers joined the criticism. Retiring Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) posted on social media that “Lindsey would be appalled,” referencing his late colleague. Outgoing Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a frequent Trump critic, called the relief “beyond irresponsible.”
“It’s unconscionable that this administration is capitulating to a Russian dictator who illegally invaded Ukraine and butchers innocent civilians every single day,” Tillis said. “If the President wants to actually bring down energy prices, he can do it by solving the Iran problem, not by doing a solid for Vladimir Putin.”
The controversy comes as Trump continues to face scrutiny over his approach to Russia, including his recent denial of involvement in a Starlink outage that affected Ukraine’s military communications. The sanctions waiver also follows clashes between Trump and Zelensky over diesel and Starlink deals, as the Ukrainian leader pushes for continued U.S. support.
With the midterm elections approaching, the political fallout could be significant. Some Republicans worry about turnout if the party is seen as too cozy with Moscow, while Democrats are already using the issue to paint Trump as weak on foreign policy.
