GOP senators and House speaker push back as cabinet defends move with contradictory arguments; diesel prices and Iran war deepen Trump's dilemma ahead of midterms

US President Donald Trump greets Russian President Vladimir Putin upon his arrival at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, last year. [Getty Images]
US President Donald Trump greets Russian President Vladimir Putin upon his arrival at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, last year. [Getty Images]

Donald Trump's abrupt decision to waive tariffs and restrictions targeting major importers of Russian crude oil and natural gas has exposed a deepening rift within the Republican Party and his own administration.

The dispute began Friday (local time), when Trump announced he would exercise his authority to exempt countries from the restrictions and tariffs under the Graham-Russia-Iran Sanctions Act — commonly known as the Graham Act. Named after the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina who had been one of Trump's closest congressional allies, the law imposes tariffs of up to 100 percent on all goods entering the United States from the top five importers of Russian oil and gas.

Trump himself had signed the bipartisan bill — passed in Graham's memory — on Sept. 18, only to pull back its enforcement just before it was set to take effect 30 days later.

The reversal drew criticism not only from Democrats but also from within Republican ranks. Even House Speaker Mike Johnson, widely regarded as a Trump loyalist, expressed reservations.

Johnson appeared on Fox News Sunday and said members of the House Intelligence and Foreign Affairs committees had raised concerns about Trump's move. "We need to carefully examine the unintended consequences that could follow from it," he said.

Sen. Darlene Graham of South Carolina — the late senator's sister and the Republican candidate seeking to succeed him in the midterm elections — publicly opposed the decision Sunday. "I would choose to keep the pressure on Russia to end the war and bring down gas prices," she said.

Other Republican senators piled on. Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said the move "goes beyond irresponsible." Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said the late Graham "would have been appalled." Sen. Ted Cruz, also of Texas, called it "a mistake."

Cabinet members spent two consecutive days defending Trump's decision, arguing it was designed to push Russia to flood the United States and global markets with diesel fuel — the same rationale the administration offered when Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to a "diesel deal" on Oct. 9.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews on Sunday, said the Russian diesel "was going to be sold one way or another." Energy Secretary Chris Wright, appearing on ABC the same day, insisted the waiver was not an "economic lifeline" for Russia but rather "a carrot we're offering to end the war."

"This is an incentive for Russia," Wright said. "If Russia can reduce the conflict with Ukraine — if it can achieve an energy truce or scale back the fighting enough to free up diesel fuel for export — we're saying we'll allow that to flow into world markets."

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking on NBC, pushed back against critics by pointing to European behavior. "European nations have given more money to Russia and Putin than they have to Ukraine. They continue to greedily consume Russian energy," he said.

Axios noted that Rubio's argument — that the fuel would have been exported anyway — and Wright's argument — that the waiver is an incentive to end the war — appeared to contradict each other.

The intraparty tensions reflect the dilemma facing Trump and Republicans as diesel prices soar ahead of the midterm elections. They also point to the limits of US foreign policy, which has yet to find a path out of either the Iran war or the war in Ukraine.

Trump has attributed the surge in diesel prices to Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries rather than to the Iran war, for which he would bear direct responsibility. Experts point to the Iran conflict as the larger driver, but acknowledging that would contradict Trump's own declaration that the Strait of Hormuz remains open.

Trump appears to be seeking a way out by pressing Russia and Ukraine toward an "energy truce" and by using the recent diesel deal and the Graham Act waiver as leverage. But Republicans who backed the bipartisan law will find it difficult to accept the reversal, and the administration risks a backlash for appearing to side with Russia at the expense of its allies.

As diesel prices climb and the Iran war drags on, the prospect of Republican losses in the midterms may only widen the gap between the Trump administration and the members of his own party trying to distance themselves from it.


yckim6452@heraldcorp.com