Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) on Sunday threw his support behind President Donald Trump's decision to allow Russia to sell diesel fuel to the United States and global markets — a rare moment of agreement between two Republicans who have spent Trump's second term at odds.
"In 2022 I voted against Russia sanctions," Massie said, according to the Washington Examiner. The Kentucky Republican argued the U.S. should lift sanctions on all petroleum products, not just diesel.
The deal, announced by Trump on Friday, would see Russian President Vladimir Putin release 300,000 tonnes of diesel immediately, followed by 500,000 tonnes in November and one million more after that, according to the Washington Examiner. A further three million tonnes would be delivered "within a short period" depending on the condition of Russia's refineries, which have been targeted by Ukraine throughout the ongoing war.
"Lower prices for Americans, especially our Great Farmers, Ranchers, and Truckers, is my Greatest Priority," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post announcing the arrangement.
Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak confirmed the figures to Tass, the country's state-owned news agency, saying export volume could eventually reach three million tonnes per month. The U.S. Treasury is suspending sanctions on Russian diesel exports until April 7 as part of the agreement, though other Russian assets held in American banks remain frozen.
Bipartisan Backlash
Seven senators — four Republicans and three Democrats — signed a statement Sunday urging Trump to "reverse course," arguing the deal violates U.S. law.
"The United States should not provide Putin with a financial lifeline while Russia continues to kill Ukrainian civilians," the lawmakers said. They noted that Congress "explicitly banned Russian energy imports in 2022 to prevent American dollars from financing Putin's brutal war against Ukraine."
The statement was signed by Republicans Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Thom Tillis and John Curtis, along with Democrats Jeanne Shaheen, Richard Blumenthal and Ron Wyden.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News the agreement would work through existing legal channels the U.S. has to help bring prices down, according to the Washington Examiner.
Fraught History
Massie's support for the diesel deal marks a rare alignment with Trump. The two have clashed repeatedly during Trump's second term over the White House's handling of the Epstein files, the conflict in Iran, and federal spending.
Massie was one of only two House Republicans to vote against Trump's signature legislative achievement, the One Big Beautiful Bill. He also stalled a Trump-backed stimulus package during the COVID-19 pandemic.
While the headline decision may put Massie in Trump's corner on energy policy, the Kentucky congressman's broader record of opposing sanctions and foreign entanglements has placed him well outside the Republican mainstream on Russia policy for years.
Our Take
Here's the thing about the bipartisan freakout over this deal: the same senators clutching their pearls about "financing Putin's war" had no problem watching American families get crushed by energy prices for years while Washington chased its foreign policy fantasies.
Massie gets it. Trump gets it. The American farmer paying through the nose to fuel his combine gets it.
Lower energy costs aren't a geopolitical concession — they're a lifeline for working Americans who've watched their purchasing power evaporate while politicians in both parties lecture them about Ukraine's borders. Trump ran on ending the forever wars and putting America first. Bringing cheap diesel to the global market does exactly that.
The four Republicans who signed that letter — Collins, Murkowski, Tillis, Curtis — are the usual suspects. The same crowd that's spent years rubber-stamping endless aid to foreign conflicts while American communities crumble. They talk about "American dollars" and "Putin's war" as if the only way to fight Russia is to make sure the American trucker can't afford to fill his tank.
Trump's priority is clear: American farmers, American ranchers, American truckers. That's not a betrayal of anything — that's the job.
The question now is whether the Senate's war hawks will try to handcuff the president over a diesel deal that every American consumer should be celebrating. Patriots, keep your eyes on this one — because the same crowd that's screaming about Russia today will be the first to blame Trump when gas prices creep back up tomorrow.
