US Republican Senator Thom Tillis has said President Donald Trump may be violating federal law through his Russian diesel deal, exposing divisions within the Republican Party over the administration’s approach to Moscow and the use of economic sanctions.
Tillis made the remarks during an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, a week before Trump faces an October 18 deadline to decide whether to impose punitive duties on major buyers of Russian oil under legislation passed by Congress.
Asked by NBC journalist Kristen Welker whether Trump was breaking the 2022 law banning Russian oil imports, Tillis said, “I believe that he may be.”
The North Carolina senator added that there was “a legitimate case for saying the president’s not following the law”.
Tillis cited the Senate’s overwhelming support for the sanctions legislation named after the late Senator Lindsey Graham, saying the diesel agreement appeared to contradict the law’s intent.
“That was 86 votes, if I remember. That’s a universal position of the US Senate. And the president’s actions and his comments over the last 24 hours are the exact opposite of the intent of that bill,” he said.
He also warned that the agreement was “tarnishing Lindsey Graham’s efforts to try and get the sanctions bill through”.
Later on Sunday, Tillis joined six other senators in a statement urging the administration to reverse course, arguing that Trump’s decision “runs directly counter to that law”.
The statement was also signed by Republicans Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and John Curtis, along with Democrats Jeanne Shaheen, Richard Blumenthal and Ron Wyden.
However, Senate Republican Whip John Barrasso defended the President during an appearance on CBS’ Face the Nation. Asked whether Trump’s actions undermined the sanctions legislation, Barrasso said the law was designed to give the President additional leverage against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“This is just another point of leverage for the president to use against Putin in an effort to get a long-term solution in that part of the world,” Barrasso said.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also defended the administration’s position, telling Fox News that lawmakers who argued the Graham legislation prohibited the diesel purchases were “wrong”.
The dispute has implications for countries continuing to purchase Russian energy, including India. The legislation, signed by Trump on September 18, 2026, requires the President within 30 days to raise duties to as much as 100 per cent on goods from qualifying countries that continue buying Russian crude oil or natural gas.
However, Section 113 of the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 specifically counts crude oil and natural gas purchases, rather than refined products such as diesel, when determining which countries may face the duties.
The law also allows the President to waive the duties after certifying to Congress that doing so serves US national interests.
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