{"id":227325,"date":"2026-10-12T12:14:38","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T12:14:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/lawmakers-push-back-on-trumps-fuel-deal-with-russia-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2026-10-12T12:14:38","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T12:14:38","slug":"lawmakers-push-back-on-trumps-fuel-deal-with-russia-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/lawmakers-push-back-on-trumps-fuel-deal-with-russia-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawmakers push back on Trump\u2019s fuel deal with Russia – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Morning Rundown: Bad blood spills over in Texas Senate race, Kelly Clarkson sparks a viral debate, and the ending that left the NFL in disbelief<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told NBC News\u2019 \u201cMeet the Press\u201d on Sunday that President Donald Trump\u2019s decision to ease sanctions on Russia to allow it to release diesel fuel <\/a>to the global market may be breaking the law.
\u201cI do believe there\u2019s a legitimate case for saying the president\u2019s not following the law,\u201d Tillis said.
Trump announced Friday on Truth Social<\/a> that Russia would \u201cimmediately supply\u201d hundreds of thousands of tons of diesel fuel to the global marketplace, with more than 1 million additional tons soon on the way. The move drew sharp condemnation from Ukraine and critics of the Trump administration.
Following Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, lawmakers took a series of steps to try to financially punish the Kremlin. In 2022, the Senate unanimously passed a bill <\/a>to ban Russian oil imports, and Congress has not changed the law to reflect Trump\u2019s announcement.
Asked by moderator Kristen Welker whether he believes Trump is breaking the law with his Russia deal, Tillis said, \u201cI believe that he may be.\u201d
\u201cWe were very clear that Russia is the aggressor,\u201d he added. \u201cRussia is the one who can end this war by backing out of territory that they occupied.\u201d
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tillis\u2019 remarks.
Tillis referred to year-end congressional funding negotiations when he was asked what the Senate could do if he believes Trump is breaking the law.
\u201cIf the president wants my support, which I believe he should get for funding military operations and year-end funding beyond baseline funding, I think the president needs to understand this is a problem, and I\u2019m not the only Republican concerned with this,\u201d he said.
Asked whether Trump\u2019s deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin was putting American lives at risk, Tillis said, \u201cIt absolutely will,\u201d pointing to Russian funding of mercenaries and the Kremlin\u2019s relationship with Iran.
Tillis has just months left before his term expires. His retirement from the Senate created a high-profile battleground opening. Democrats are eyeing his seat as a prime target to flip as they seek control of the chamber.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., voted against the Russia sanction bill in 2022, and he backed Trump\u2019s decision. Massie said Sunday on X that he voted against the sanctions because they would lead to higher prices in the U.S.
\u201cGlad to see Trump came around to that reality this week,\u201d Massie said in the post. \u201cWe should lift sanctions on all petroleum products, and on raw metals like copper and aluminum.\u201d
Massie has frequently criticized Trump during the second Trump administration, and he lost his re-election bid<\/a> to a Trump-backed challenger.
Tillis, too, has been highly critical of aspects of the Trump administration, including the performance of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Tillis, who voted for Hegseth\u2019s confirmation, now says he regrets his vote.
Tillis on Sunday condemned the Pentagon\u2019s plan to livestream <\/a>the execution by firing squad of Nidal Hasan, who was convicted in the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas.
Tillis said the livestream plans would radicalize people and be used by terrorist groups as a recruiting tool.
\u201cThe Fort Hood shooter should be put to death, but there\u2019s a way to deal with this that\u2019s proper, and there\u2019s a way to deal with this that\u2019s more improper than I have ever observed in my life,\u201d he said.
\u201cThis is not who we are, and it\u2019s another example of why Pete Hegseth, in all of his bravado, needs to get the hell out of the Department of Defense, because he is a failed leader, and we need strong leadership supporting President Trump right now,\u201d he added.
Megan Brand is a politics reporter for NBC News.
Raquel Coronell Uribe is a politics reporter for NBC News.
© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n

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Morning Rundown: Bad blood spills over in Texas Senate race, Kelly Clarkson sparks a viral debate, and the ending that left the NFL in disbelief For YouSettings news AlertsThere are no new alerts at this timeSen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told NBC News\u2019 \u201cMeet the Press\u201d on Sunday that President Donald Trump\u2019s decision to ease sanctions […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":227326,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-227325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-us","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=227325"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227325\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/227326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=227325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=227325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=227325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}