Trump signed an executive order exempting Russia from the sanctions law Congress passed, and the new teeth of that law are now on hold while the old sanctions stay in force.
The Sanctions Law and the Exemption
The Graham-Blumenthal bill carried tariffs on Russian imports. It also imposed 100 percent duties on the biggest buyers of Russian energy. New personal and sectoral packages followed, with asset freezes and visa bans.
Trump put the new measures on hold, citing US national interests. Old sanctions stay in force. The new teeth do not.
The Senate Reacts
X is now flooded with reactions from senators of both parties. Here is what they are saying.
- Chuck Schumer said Trump just handed Putin the best birthday present he will get this year. He said the deal with the devil keeps getting dirtier, that Trump is rescuing the Russian economy while Americans face rising prices, and that the president is helping a dictator who helped Iran target US troops in the Middle East.
- Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, said Ukraine is fighting for survival. She said Starshield was slowed, Putin keeps hitting Ukrainian cities with ballistic missiles, and Congress spoke clearly. Now is the time to raise pressure on Putin, not lower it.
- Dick Durbin said Congress passed this bill with broad bipartisan backing to end Putin's war. Trump chose surrender to the Kremlin again.
- Richard Blumenthal went on CNN to push his letter demanding Trump cancel the diesel deal and keep backing Ukraine.
- Andy Kim said this serves no national interest, cuts no prices, and only emboldens Putin.
- Catherine Cortez Masto said Ukraine's partners counted on these systems to protect civilians. The administration betrays allies again by trying to buy diesel that bankrolls Putin's war.
- Mark Kelly said money is always found for what Trump and his allies want. It is never found for working families.
- Republican John Cornyn quipped that Lindsey would be freaking out. That one line from a Texas Republican says plenty.
The Republican Six
It's a fight that involves more than one party. Twelve senators sent Trump a formal letter demanding he cancel the October 9 diesel deal with Putin. Six signers are Republicans: McConnell, Collins, Murkowski, Curtis, Tillis and Alan Armstrong. They object to a deal struck without consulting Congress.
Mike Pence called lifting sanctions on Russian fuel senseless. He said it will continue for as long as Putin keeps striking civilian targets, and he framed it as a betrayal of Graham's legacy. Don Bacon called the decision disgusting and said the president has lost credibility at home and abroad. Seven senators led by Shaheen also accuse Trump of violating the 2022 law banning imports of Russian energy.
The Starshield Blackout
While Washington argues about sanctions, Ukrainian drones are going blind. Terminals inside Ukraine cut out above 161 km/h, while in the EU they hold past 180. Strike drones and air defense links dropped during Russian barrages.
The Telegraph, citing four people familiar with the talks, says Musk himself proposed limiting Starshield and Trump agreed. Trump says someone else did it, and he doubts it was Elon. Musk says the Pentagon and the president are to blame. Everybody denies it, and the cap still exists.
Thom Tillis now suspects the outage began inside Pentagon Starshield systems, not in Starlink or SpaceX. He doesn't expect Hegseth to be transparent, so he will ask the DOD Inspector General to investigate and report to Congress. Ukrainian civilians, American diplomats and US security personnel were put at risk without warning. In his words, the best case is unacceptable negligence, and the worst is a deliberate decision to clear the way for Russian attacks.
What the Record Shows
Moscow's envoy Kirill Dmitriev called Trump's decision a truly historic moment, and the Kremlin is celebrating. The party in power cannot explain to voters why it is helping the aggressor. This sequence arrives a month before the midterms. Republicans are running from a toxic president, while Democrats are openly arguing they can win the Senate.
Sanctions only work when they are enforced. Congress voted for pressure, and the White House froze it. Russia keeps its oil money. Ukraine's answer is already hitting refineries, depots and ports every night.
Real sanctions are the ones that burn.
If Washington won't apply them, Ukraine will continue striking with its own drones. Those drones need links that work.