TURNING TIDES

Trump Hands Putin Major Win With Late-Night Order

The president made yet another move in favor of Russia that drew bipartisan outrage.

President Donald Trump has betrayed his longtime friend to hand Vladimir Putin a massive win.

Trump quietly signed an executive order late Friday night waiving sanctions and tariffs on Russia two days before they were set to take effect—under a law named after the late Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham.

The Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, passed by Congress last month, sought to target Russian officials, oligarchs, and financial institutions and increase duties on Russian goods. Graham, a Russia hawk, lobbied for the bill before he died in July at age 71.

“I am hereby waiving the application of such sanctions, restrictions, and duties provided for in the Graham Act,” Trump wrote in the executive order. “I have submitted to the Congress a certification that the issuance of such a waiver at this time is in the national interests of the United States.”

The move followed Trump’s widely criticized decision to import Russian diesel in a bid to ease the global oil crisis sparked by his war against Iran, signaling continued coziness with Moscow as he called on Ukrainians to “get a new president.”

Trump’s executive order swiftly drew bipartisan condemnation.

Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina called the move “beyond irresponsible.”

“What part of enforcing a law passed 86-11 by the Senate does the President and his advisors not understand?” he wrote on X. “It’s unconscionable that this administration is capitulating to a Russian dictator who illegally invaded Ukraine and butchers innocent civilians every single day. If 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.”

Democratic Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia similarly called Trump’s order a “surrender” to Putin.

“Trump’s latest surrender to Putin again betrays our Ukrainian partners and defies clear congressional intent of legislation designed to punish Russia for its illegal war of aggression,” he said. “Congress must fix this flawed law to stop Trump from capitulating to Putin and ensure that it truly supports Ukraine.”

Trump’s latest concession to Putin comes amid his efforts to pin rising gas prices in the U.S. on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he has accused of not doing enough to end the four-year war with Russia.

“I suggest they get a new leader who can make a deal because he could have made many deals and for some reason he never does,” Trump said last weekend.

“That’s a war that should have never started,” he added, without mentioning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “And I think it’s time for Ukraine to get a new president.”

Zelensky, for his part, appeared to mock Trump by posting photos of himself with Graham, writing on X, “Thank you for everything, Lindsey!”

“Sanctions relief will continue. I think the diesel deal and the move regarding the Lindsey Graham Act are not the end of it. Unfortunately,” he said in another post, praising Graham.

“It’s difficult without him, I’ll be honest,” he added. “I want to thank both Democrats and Republicans who supported his bill. That was a major victory: this truly bipartisan support. And now, the decision to undo all of this, to block all of it, seems wrong to me. And it definitely helps only the Russians. It only fuels their satisfaction and their desire to keep killing people. This certainly does not stop the war.”

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Julia OrnedoReporter

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