Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), a Marine Corps combat veteran who fought in Iraq, said Saturday that President Donald Trump’s new diesel agreement with Russia will give Moscow the money to keep attacking Ukraine, and he singled out Secretary of State Marco Rubio by name. In a post on X, Gallego predicted the arrangement “will go down as one of the biggest betrayals and failures” and said the world is stunned by the move. The post came one day after the Treasury Department temporarily lifted U.S. sanctions on Russian diesel, reversing the pressure campaign Washington had built around Russia’s energy revenues.
What Gallego Said
Gallego’s post, published Saturday, October 10, 2026, read in full:
“Trump’s diesel “deal”will give Russia the money to continue attacking Ukraine.
.@SecRubio this will go down as one of the biggest betrayals and failures. The world is stunned at the stunning stupidity of this move.”
The post makes three claims. It calls the diesel arrangement a “deal” in quotation marks, argues that it will finance Russia’s attacks on Ukraine, and addresses Rubio directly, framing the outcome as a personal failure of the nation’s top diplomat. Gallego also asserted that international reaction has been one of astonishment.
The Deal Gallego Is Attacking
The agreement was announced Friday, October 9. Trump said on social media that he had a “highly successful” discussion with Russian President Vladimir Putin in which they agreed Russia would immediately supply more than 300,000 metric tons of diesel to the U.S. and global markets, equal to about 2.25 million barrels. Trump said Russia would supply another 500,000 tons in November and a further 1 million tons “immediately thereafter,” with more to follow depending on the condition of Russian refineries damaged by Ukrainian attacks.
The legal mechanism is Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which issued General License No. 135 on October 9. Signed by OFAC Director Bradley T. Smith, it authorizes transactions otherwise prohibited under the Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions Regulations and the Ukraine-/Russia-Related Sanctions Regulations that relate to “the sale, delivery, offloading, or importation, including importation into the United States, of diesel fuel of Russian Federation origin.” The authorization runs through 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on April 7, 2027. The license does not authorize debits to accounts of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the National Wealth Fund, or the Ministry of Finance.
The money at stake is the heart of Gallego’s objection. The United States imposed sanctions on Russian oil companies in October 2025 over the war that began in 2022, and the diesel exports could provide Moscow with billions of dollars in revenue that could help Putin continue the war. Kirill Dmitriev, an envoy for Putin, praised U.S.-Russian cooperation in a post on X after the call. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, whose delegation was in Washington when the deal was announced, called it a “weak decision on the part of strong partners.” Republican Rep. Don Bacon also objected, saying Congress’s recently passed sanctions should be used to squeeze Putin rather than “reward a dictator by putting more money in his hands.”
Trump framed the move as a response to fuel costs, calling lower prices for farmers, ranchers and truckers “my Greatest Priority.” Diesel prices have risen 70% since the U.S. and Israel launched the war with Iran on February 28 and averaged $6.28 a gallon on Thursday. Diesel futures fell almost 5% after the announcement to $4.64 a gallon, but analysts doubted the effect would last. Rory Johnston of CommodityContext.com called the deal “a nothing burger,” noting Russia typically exports far more diesel than the volumes involved when its refineries are not under attack. The stakes are also political: high fuel prices threaten Republicans ahead of the November 3 congressional elections, which will determine control of Congress.
Rubio’s Role and Gallego’s History With the Secretary
The license itself was issued by the Treasury Department, not the State Department, and Trump announced the arrangement after his call with Putin. Gallego’s post tags Rubio because the Secretary of State leads the administration’s diplomacy with Moscow. On July 23, after meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of an ASEAN gathering in Manila, Rubio said the United States was prepared to play a “constructive role” in ending what he called a “senseless war” in Ukraine.
This is not the first time Gallego has aimed at Rubio. In Madrid on May 29, 2026, he said Rubio has an “obsession” with Cuba and predicted an attempt to change the government there. Earlier, in a 2025 op-ed, Gallego condemned Trump and Rubio over the termination of the humanitarian parole program for Venezuelans and Cubans, titling it “The Great Betrayal,” a word he echoed Saturday.
Gallego’s Record on Russia and Ukraine
Gallego’s position on Ukraine has been consistent throughout 2026. Speaking at the McCain Institute’s Sedona Forum on May 2, he said: “Ukraine can win, Ukraine is winning right now, and our government should make decisions to make sure that happens.” He urged the U.S. to arm Ukraine and give it intelligence and “capabilities to reach deep into Russia.” His office said he has been “a leading voice in the Senate supporting Ukraine and pushing back on the Trump administration’s decisions to ease pressure on Russia.”
Weeks later, Gallego traveled to Odesa, Ukraine, for the Black Sea Security Forum and toured the city’s port, a prosthetics center and a high-voltage substation. Speaking at the forum on May 30, he said it would be “a moral stain upon our country” if the United States was not present when Ukraine “can truly say that they’re free and they’re sovereign.” The release noted Russian drone attacks have repeatedly struck the nearby ADM terminal in Chornomorsk, most recently in April and May.
His legislative response to earlier sanctions relief came on April 28, when he and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced the No Oil Profits for Enemies (NOPE) Act, joined by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, Tim Kaine, Richard Blumenthal, Roger Wicker and Thom Tillis. The bill would extend the congressional review framework under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act to the sanctions imposed since Russia’s 2022 invasion. “By easing sanctions on Russia, Donald Trump is bankrolling Putin’s war in Ukraine and helping Iran target American troops in the Middle East,” Gallego said. The bill was referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The diesel deal is not the first time Gallego has objected to easing Russian oil sanctions during the Iran war. On March 6, he joined 11 Senate Democrats in a joint statement criticizing the administration’s “sweeping general license” easing sanctions on Russian oil companies and the shadow fleet. The senators said the license flew in the face of a requirement under CAATSA to notify Congress 30 days before such action, and wrote that “now is not the time to clear the way for sales for Russian oil majors and Russian-owned and shadow fleet vessels.”
Gallego and the Iran War
Gallego’s criticism of the Russian arrangement is tied to his opposition to the Iran war, which began February 28. In a statement that day, he said Trump “has illegally dragged us into another one without congressional authorization and no long term strategy,” recalling that he “watched brave young men die in Iraq for a mission that was never clearly justified.” He had joined Sen. Tim Kaine’s (D-VA) War Powers Resolution, introduced January 29, and had voted to advance a similar Kaine resolution the previous June. When the Senate rejected the resolution 47-53, Gallego said the public did not want “another forever war” and that Trump had “started a foreign war that is not in our best interest” while Americans struggled with high prices.
What Comes Next
The diesel license comes about three weeks after Trump signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 on September 18. The law targets Russia’s energy and defense industries and its “shadow fleet” of tankers, and authorizes tariffs on Russia’s biggest trading partners. Whether the administration will impose the sanctions the law envisions is now an open question. Trump is also expected to direct agencies in the coming days to find ways to control diesel prices, potentially invoking the Defense Production Act, as the November 3 elections approach.