Washington, May 6, 2026
A group of US senators has accused the Trump administration of handing Russian President Vladimir Putin a financial windfall by pausing sanctions on Russian oil exports during a global energy crisis.
In a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, 13 top Democratic senators urged the Trump administration to immediately restore sanctions on Russian oil deliveries and intensify efforts to curb Moscow’s energy revenues amid the ongoing Ukraine war.
“We urge the Trump Administration to resume the Russia oil sanctions your Department recently paused by issuing and then extending a General License on deliveries of Russian oil,” the senators wrote.
“We also urge the Administration and your Department to take immediate, additional steps to limit the windfall profits Russia and its intermediaries continue to earn due to elevated energy prices stemming from President Trump’s unauthorized war with Iran.”
The letter was led by Senator Michael Bennet and signed by Senators Adam Schiff, Alex Padilla, Elizabeth Warren, Tammy Baldwin, Richard Blumenthal, Jeff Merkley, Raphael Warnock and others.
The lawmakers argued that the administration underestimated the impact of the Iran conflict on global energy markets, especially the risk to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global oil and gas supplies.
“Despite warnings from US government and outside experts, the Trump Administration failed to anticipate or plan for the likelihood that an open-ended war with Iran would spike global energy prices,” the senators wrote. They noted that nearly 20 per cent of the world’s oil and gas passes through the Strait of Hormuz.
According to the senators, higher oil prices have directly benefited Moscow.
“The President’s self-made global energy crisis has predictably increased average national gasoline prices by over 85 cents a gallon and also raised the price of Russian oil, risking the replenishment of funding for Putin’s war machine,” the letter said. “Estimates suggest that Russia’s oil revenue has doubled in April.”
The senators also criticised the administration’s March decision to temporarily ease restrictions on Russian oil cargoes already at sea. They said the move weakened international pressure on Moscow without significantly lowering fuel prices in the United States.
“Pausing these sanctions has had and will continue to have, at best, a limited effect on domestic gasoline costs or global oil prices,” the lawmakers wrote. “Doing so instead removed the stigma that had been driving discounted prices for Russian oil and allowed Russia to sell or resell cargoes to buyers now willing to pay higher prices.”
The letter also accused the administration of quietly extending the waiver despite earlier public statements suggesting it would not be renewed.
“When the initial sanctions pause expired after 30 days, you stated publicly that the Administration would not seek further extension,” the senators wrote. “Despite this, just days later in late April, the Administration extended the pause for another 30-day period without explanation on the reversal of policy.”
The lawmakers warned that easing sanctions while reducing pressure on Russia’s oil networks and “shadow fleet” vessels could embolden Moscow and undermine US allies.
“Failure to put more pressure on the Kremlin … would embolden Putin to continue waging his war against Ukraine, aiding Iran’s attacks on US troops, and threatening our NATO allies,” the letter said.(Agency)
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