WASHINGTON — Within hours of President Donald Trump announcing that Russia would flood American and global markets with diesel fuel, U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, the top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, answered on X with some of the sharpest language yet from a congressional Democrat. Pallone declared that “American money has no place in Putin’s pocket” and called the arrangement “a deal with the devil in every sense of the word.” The post landed on the same day the U.S. Treasury authorized imports of Russian diesel, temporarily easing sanctions designed to cut off Moscow’s war revenue.
What Pallone Wrote
Pallone posted the statement at 4:47 p.m. on Friday, October 9, 2026, about three hours after Trump’s own announcement. The full text reads:
“American money has no place in Putin’s pocket. This is a deal with the devil in every sense of the word, and it’s happening because Trump finds himself unable to end his war.
We deserve better than a President who sells our country out at every turn.”
The Trump–Putin Diesel Announcement
Pallone was responding directly to a Truth Social post from Trump at 1:46 p.m. that day. Trump wrote:
“I have just concluded a highly successful discussion with President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, wherein it was agreed that Russia will immediately supply over 300,000 Tons of Diesel Fuel to the American and Global Marketplace, another 500,000 Tons during the month of November, and 1,000,000 Tons immediately thereafter. Additionally, based on the condition of their Diesel Refineries, Russia will then deliver, within a short period of time, 3,000,000 Tons of Diesel Fuel. Between our TOTAL CONTROL of the Strait of Hormuz, and this great announcement on Russian Energy, Diesel Prices for Americans and, indeed, the World, will be COMING DOWN, IN RECORD NUMBERS, AND FAST! Lower prices for Americans, especially our Great Farmers, Ranchers, and Truckers, is my Greatest Priority. This is a very big and important announcement. Additionally, it must be understood, that Iran will not have a Nuclear Weapon! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP”
The first tranche of 300,000 metric tons equals roughly 2.25 million barrels, according to Reuters. The United States exports about 1.5 million barrels of diesel per day. The announcement came with the administration’s decision to temporarily lift U.S. sanctions on Russian fuel, which were imposed to deprive Moscow of revenue for its war on Ukraine. Kirill Dmitriev, an envoy for Putin, praised U.S.-Russian cooperation on X after the call. Sources familiar with the matter said Dmitriev had asked U.S. officials during a Washington visit last month to grant diesel export licenses to all major Russian oil firms.
Treasury Opens the Door
The legal mechanism is General License No. 135, issued Friday by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control and signed by Director Bradley T. Smith. It authorizes transactions otherwise barred under the Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions Regulations and the Ukraine-/Russia-Related Sanctions Regulations, so long as they relate to the sale, delivery, offloading or importation of Russian-origin diesel, including importation into the United States. The authorization runs through 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on April 7, 2027.
The license carries one carve-out. It does not authorize any debit to an account on the books of a U.S. financial institution belonging to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the National Wealth Fund or the Ministry of Finance.
Reaction at Home and in Kyiv
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy criticized the arrangement, which was announced while a Ukrainian delegation was in the United States to discuss ways to end the war. He called it a “weak decision on the part of strong partners,” adding that Russia would repay the diesel with further terror. Rep. Don Bacon, a fellow Republican, also objected, saying Congress’s recently passed sanctions should be applied rather than lifted and that Putin should not be rewarded while Russian forces continue to kill Ukrainian civilians. The United States imposed sanctions on major Russian oil companies in October 2025, and the diesel exports could give Moscow billions of dollars in revenue.
Fuel Prices and the Midterms
The political stakes are high for Washington. Diesel prices are up 70% since the United States and Israel launched the war with Iran on February 28, and the national average reached $6.28 a gallon on Thursday. Diesel futures fell almost 5% to $4.64 a gallon after the announcement, but analysts cautioned the volumes involved are unlikely to produce sustained relief. One oil market researcher said Russia typically exports far more diesel than the deal covers when its refineries are not under attack. The prices land less than four weeks before the November 3 congressional elections, which will decide control of a narrowly divided Congress. Three industry sources also said Trump is expected to direct department heads to find ways to control diesel prices, potentially using the Cold War-era Defense Production Act.
Pallone’s Record on the Iran War
Pallone’s reference to a war Trump cannot end follows months of public opposition to the conflict. On March 5, days after the first strikes, he issued a statement on his vote for a House war powers resolution. “I voted for the War Powers Resolution today because the Constitution is clear: only Congress can declare war,” he said, adding that he held the same view in 2002, when he voted against authorizing the Iraq War. He described Trump as spending billions on an “unauthorized war,” said even the Pentagon had acknowledged no imminent threat, and said American service members were already dead. “The American people did not vote for this war. Congress did not authorize it. And the Constitution does not permit it,” he said.
On May 6, Pallone joined Reps. Robert Garcia, Don Beyer and other House Democrats in a letter to Trump demanding answers on how the war was raising costs for American families. The lawmakers wrote that “your illegal war with Iran continues into its third month with on and off again negotiations and naval blockade” and said he had “unleashed chaos, undermined our national security” and escalated the conflict by threatening war crimes. The letter noted consumer prices had reached their fastest growth in almost two years and that the war cost taxpayers about $2 billion per day during its initial phase.
Pallone has linked Trump’s Iran policy to fuel costs before. In June 2018, speaking at a New Jersey service plaza, he said gas prices rose after Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal. “Gas prices shot up when the president pulled out of the Iran deal,” he said at the time.
Pallone on Russia and Ukraine
His criticism of Putin dates to the start of the full-scale invasion. On February 24, 2022, Pallone called the attack “an all-out assault on a sovereign, independent democracy” and said, “We must treat Putin as the bloodthirsty autocrat that he is and make him pay for the needless and unnecessary suffering his actions will cause.”
In October 2025, Pallone was among the lawmakers who signed a congressional letter to Trump on Ukraine. The letter credited the president’s efforts to secure peace while urging him to allow the sale of new weapons systems to Ukraine and to increase sanctions on Putin’s government.
The diesel license is not the first time Russian energy sanctions have been eased since the Iran war began. In April, Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Elizabeth Warren urged Treasury not to renew an earlier license for Russian oil. “Treasury must finally end its ill-conceived policy of helping Russia make even more money from President Trump’s reckless war in Iran,” they said.
Pallone and the Corruption Allegations
Pallone has also accused the administration of corruption. In July 2025, after the Federal Communications Commission approved Skydance’s merger with Paramount, he said “it’s clear that the FCC is in Trump’s pocket and that Skydance and Paramount have been engaging in a quid pro quo for months.” He added that “Trump demands allegiance from everyone around him” and announced an investigation into the approval. The same month, Energy and Commerce Democrats opened an inquiry into an arrangement between T-Mobile and Trump Mobile, citing potential conflicts of interest, and Pallone called the administration “Blatant Grifters” over its rescission of the EPA’s endangerment finding.
What Comes Next
The diesel license is set to expire in April 2027, and further Russian shipments are promised for November and beyond. How much of the promised fuel arrives, and whether it moves prices before November 3, will shape both the war debate and the midterm campaign. Pallone’s post sets out the Democratic line that Congress, not the president, should decide how the United States treats Russia’s war economy.