{"id":227921,"date":"2026-10-18T13:28:04","date_gmt":"2026-10-18T13:28:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/trump-doubles-down-after-waiving-new-russia-sanctions-calling-it-a-very-good-decision-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2026-10-18T13:28:04","modified_gmt":"2026-10-18T13:28:04","slug":"trump-doubles-down-after-waiving-new-russia-sanctions-calling-it-a-very-good-decision-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/trump-doubles-down-after-waiving-new-russia-sanctions-calling-it-a-very-good-decision-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump doubles down after waiving new Russia sanctions, calling it a \u2018very good decision\u2019 – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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President Donald Trump waived sweeping new sanctions against Russia passed by Congress, arguing in an executive order<\/a> Friday that the move \u201cis in the national interests of the United States.\u201d
Trump had signed the legislation, named for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., just last month. The bill took aim at Russia\u2019s largest buyers of oil and gas, allowing the president to impose tariffs on goods from those countries, which may include China and India.
Passed with bipartisan support<\/a>, the bill was intended to target Russia\u2019s revenue streams as the country continues to wage its war against Ukraine. Suspending the sanctions provides Russia a financial lifeline.
Asked by reporters Saturday evening why he waived the sanctions, Trump said, \u201cA lot of you don\u2019t know what my decision is yet, but we\u2019ll figure it out, and you\u2019ll figure it out.\u201d
\u201cIt\u2019s a very good decision, and it\u2019s going to be a decision that\u2019s good for the country, and I think good for the world because we\u2019re really at a world stage,\u201d he said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Saturday evening that the sanctions \u201cinclude tariffs, sanctions on other countries\u201d and that Trump wants to take 60 days \u201cto analyze their impact on the U.S. and global economy given the pressure on global energy supplies.\u201d
Trump\u2019s decision to put a hold on the sanctions package comes after he announced a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin <\/a>last week to release hundreds of thousands of tons of Russian diesel fuel onto the global market as fuel prices soar.
Trump has expressed frustration with Ukraine\u2019s attacks on Russian oil and gas infrastructure and has blamed them for the rise in fuel costs while downplaying the impact of the Iran war on the oil market.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday that lifting sanctions was \u201cwrong\u201d and \u201conly helps the Russians.\u201d
In a Telegram post, he decried what he called an \u201cAmerican sanctions blackout,\u201d adding that a \u201cweakening of pressure on the aggressor, effectively serving as a financial reward for Putin \u2014 only encourages him to continue his attacks.\u201d
\u201cIt seems to me that this won\u2019t stop Putin,\u201d he later told journalists in WhatsApp messages. \u201cOn the contrary, he feels joy and happiness that there is such support.\u201d
The decision to waive the Russia sanctions drew swift condemnation from critics in Congress.
Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., who\u2019s running for re-election in a competitive district, said on Fox News Saturday that he does not support Trump\u2019s decision, calling Putin \u201ca vile dictator and thug.\u201d
\u201cI fully understand the need to get oil and diesel prices down, and we want to do that, but not at the expense of putting money in the pocket of Vladimir Putin so that he can continue to wage this illegal war in Ukraine,\u201d Lawler said.
Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, who also faces a battle for re-election this November, said in his own Fox News interview that he does not agree with waiving the sanctions, though quickly shifted to acknowledge Trump\u2019s support for Alaska energy.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., called the move a \u201ccraven, cowardly action\u201d in a statement.
\u201cThese waivers have nothing to do with our national security, and everything to do with sucking up to Vladimir Putin,\u201d Blumenthal said.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said on Fox News Saturday that the decision \u201cwas a mistake,\u201d adding that \u201cthe current path, unfortunately, just, it benefits Putin, and that\u2019s not a good idea.\u201d
\u201cI think the president, understandably, is focused on diesel prices,\u201d Cruz said. \u201cThat being said, people are hurting. People are feeling real pain. But there are other ways to address gas and diesel prices.\u201d
\u201cBeyond irresponsible,\u201d Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who is retiring at the end of his term, wrote on X. \u201cWhat part of enforcing a law passed 86-11 by the Senate does the President and his advisors not understand?\u201d
\u201cIf the President wants to actually bring down energy prices, he can do it by solving the Iran problem, not by doing a solid for Vladimir Putin,\u201d he added.
Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., a staunch Ukraine ally who is also not seeking re-election next month, said \u201cthe president is prolonging the war, not ending it,\u201d in a post on X<\/a>.
\u201cLindsey would be appalled,\u201d Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who lost a primary <\/a>to a Trump-backed challenger earlier this year, wrote.
Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., who co-sponsored the bill named for her late brother, has touted its success as a key part of her campaign to win a full term in his Senate seat. Graham is a fierce Trump ally, as his endorsement was critical in her GOP primary win.
Asked about the president\u2019s decision during a campaign event, Graham did say she disagreed, though added, \u201cIt\u2019s up to him whether he chooses to use\u201d the sanctions bill.
\u201cPersonally, I would choose to keep the pressure on Russia to end the war and get the gas prices down, because I don\u2019t trust Putin and I don\u2019t trust Russia,\u201d Graham said.
The senator added that she plans to speak to the president about it, though repeated that she and Trump \u201cshare the same goal.\u201d
Zelenskyy thanked both Democrats and Republicans who supported the legislation and praised the late Graham for his prolonged vocal support for Ukraine.<\/a>
\u201cHe always supported us very strongly and pushed for as much assistance to Ukraine as possible. It\u2019s difficult without him, I\u2019ll say frankly,\u201d Zelenskyy said. \u201cAnd I am grateful to his friends who supported him.\u201d
The price of diesel fuel has shot up almost 70% <\/a>since the war with Iran began in February, and the sanctions waiver comes less than three weeks before the midterm elections, as the cost of living remains a top issue for voters.
Congress passed the legislation with strong majorities in both the House and Senate, though many Democrats opposed the bill because it granted the president new tariff powers.
The legislation states that before the administration waives the new sanctions, it must submit an unclassified report to Congress explaining its basis. In his executive order, Trump said the White House has sent the report to Capitol Hill.
Kyla Guilfoil is a breaking news reporter on the politics team for NBC News Digital.
Brennan Leach is an associate producer for NBC News covering the Senate.
Freddie Clayton is a freelance journalist based in London.\u00a0
© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n

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For YouSettings news AlertsThere are no new alerts at this timePresident Donald Trump waived sweeping new sanctions against Russia passed by Congress, arguing in an executive order Friday that the move \u201cis in the national interests of the United States.\u201dTrump had signed the legislation, named for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., just last month. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":227922,"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-227921","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\/227921","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=227921"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227921\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/227922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=227921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=227921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=227921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}