U.S. Sen. Andy Kim, a New Jersey Democrat who spent his early career in national security and diplomacy at the White House, the State Department and the Pentagon, said President Donald Trump’s decision to shelve sweeping Russia sanctions does nothing for Americans and only strengthens Vladimir Putin. Kim posted his reaction on X on Friday, October 16, 2026, hours after the White House published an executive order waiving key provisions of a sanctions law Trump signed only a month earlier. The move came just two days before a deadline in the law itself.
Kim’s Full Statement
Kim’s post directly challenged the justification Trump gave Congress for the waiver, which the White House framed as being in the “national interests of the United States.” The senator rejected that premise in a short, pointed message.
Kim’s post read in full:
“This isn’t in our “national interest.”
It doesn’t lower our prices or create opportunities for Americans —
It just actively emboldens Putin in his illegal and immoral war against Ukraine. Enough.”
Kim attached to the post an Associated Press report on the decision. The AP reported that Trump signed an executive order putting on hold a sweeping new sanctions package aimed at the Russian economy, telling Congress the pause was in the national interest. The report noted that the order drew sharp condemnation from congressional Democrats.
What the Executive Order Does
The order, titled “Implementing the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026,” is dated October 16, 2026. It states that Trump signed the Graham Act into law on September 18, 2026, and that Section 115 of the act lets the president waive sanctions, restrictions and duties if he submits to Congress a written certification that doing so is in the national interest, along with a report explaining the basis for it.
Section 4 of the order invokes that authority broadly. It waives the duties set out in sections 112 and 113 of the Graham Act, the sanctions provision in section 102(d), and a long list of other sanctions provisions, including sections 102(a), 102(e), 103 through 111 and 117. The order says the waivers remain in effect until the president, or the Secretary of State in consultation with the Treasury Secretary and the U.S. Trade Representative, determines that further action is appropriate.
The order also restates the duties the Graham Act calls for, including a 500 percent increase on goods from the Russian Federation and 100 percent increases on goods from the five largest importers of Russian crude oil and natural gas and from the top five facilitators of Russian oil sanctions evasion. Each is made subject to the waivers in Section 4. The order adds that it does not affect sanctions already in place under earlier executive orders addressing Russia’s harmful foreign activities.
A Reversal Days Before a Deadline
The timing sharpened the criticism. The legislation, named for the late South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, had drawn bipartisan support after Graham’s death in July. Trump signed it on September 18, according to the White House order. The new duties on the biggest buyers of Russian oil and gas were set to apply to new purchases made on or after October 18, 2026, a date written into the executive order itself.
The White House did not immediately explain how pausing the sanctions served the national interest. The decision was posted on the White House website late in the evening, with a notice that the explanatory report had been submitted to Congress.
The Russian Diesel Deal
The waiver follows a separate decision a week earlier that has also drawn criticism. Trump announced that the United States had agreed to purchase diesel from Russia in an effort to lower global energy prices. Under the arrangement as Trump described it, Russia would immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel, followed by 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons immediately thereafter.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control put a legal framework around such transactions on October 9. General License No. 135, signed by OFAC Director Bradley T. Smith, authorizes transactions otherwise prohibited under U.S. Russia sanctions regulations that relate to the sale, delivery, offloading or importation of Russian-origin diesel fuel, including importation into the United States. The authorization runs through 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on April 7, 2027. It does not authorize any debit to accounts of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the National Wealth Fund or the Ministry of Finance at U.S. financial institutions.
Bipartisan Criticism of the Diesel Arrangement
The AP reported that the diesel deal has been criticized by Republicans and Democrats alike, who say it will help Russia carry out its war against Ukraine without making a difference to global fuel prices. Those prices, the report said, are elevated mostly because of Trump’s war on Iran. A poll by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research published October 1 found that Americans disapprove of the president’s handling of the Iran war and blame him for higher prices.
That backdrop gives added weight to Kim’s argument that the Russia moves do not lower costs for Americans. It also places the decision within a difficult political environment: Trump’s approval ratings have fallen to near-historic lows, and Republicans are working to keep control of both chambers of Congress in the November 3 midterm elections.
Democrats Respond
Kim was not the only Democrat to react. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, who helped draft the legislation, said in a statement that Trump was turning his back on “the majority of Americans, their representatives in both houses of Congress, and our European allies.” He added: “These waivers have nothing to do with our national security, and everything to do with sucking up to Vladimir Putin.”
Rep. Don Beyer, a Virginia Democrat who had spoken against the bill during debate, said on social media that he and others had “warned” Trump might make such a move. Beyer called on Congress to “fix this flawed law to stop Trump from capitulating to Putin and ensure that it truly supports Ukraine.”
Blumenthal had pressed for the measure for months. Reuters reported in August that, during a visit to Kyiv, he called the sanctions bill a “sledgehammer” that could have the kind of force Putin understands.
The Graham Family Stake
The sanctions had also become a campaign centerpiece for Sen. Darline Graham, the late senator’s sister, who was appointed to serve out the remainder of his term and is now running for the seat. After Trump signed the bill, she said, “I wish Lindsey were here to celebrate this historic day.” In a debate this week with Democratic nominee Annie Andrews, she said she was “so proud” to help get the measure passed, while acknowledging that how it is implemented is the president’s call.
“It gives the president tools that he can use if he so chooses, to end the war through economic sanctions,” Graham said at the debate in Columbia. “So that’s up to him as to whether or not he wants to use it, or whether he wants to use something else, but I think the purpose of it is to bring down the gas prices and ultimately end the war. And when the war ends, gas prices will fall.” Graham, who has Trump’s endorsement, is expected to campaign with him in South Carolina next week.
Kim’s Record on Ukraine and Russia
Kim’s criticism of the Trump administration’s Russia policy is not new. On March 4, 2025, he issued a statement condemning Trump’s freeze on military aid to Ukraine. “The only people celebrating this decision tonight are leaders in Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran,” Kim said. “By abandoning our partners in Ukraine, President Trump has sent a signal to every one of our allies that we cannot be trusted, and to every one of our adversaries that America’s word means nothing.”
The next day, Kim reacted to reports that the administration had paused intelligence sharing with Ukraine. “Abandoning America’s partners is not smart and it’s not a sign of strength,” he said. “Curtailing intelligence sharing will degrade Ukraine’s ability to defend itself from Russia’s illegal aggression. We should be clear about what stopping intelligence sharing is: appeasement.” He added that “the only path forward is standing strong with our Ukrainian partners by making sure they have the support they need and a seat at the table in determining their own future.”
Where the Sanctions Fight Stands
Kim’s record on the Graham sanctions bill itself is more nuanced than his statements on Ukraine aid. In a July 28 procedural vote to begin consideration of the measure, the Senate voted 86-12, and Kim was among the 12 senators who voted no. Reuters reported that some Democrats had voiced concern the bill would give Trump leeway to impose additional tariffs. The reasons for individual senators’ votes were not detailed in the material available for this article.
The waivers remain in effect until the administration decides otherwise, leaving the sanctions package in limbo as Congress weighs its response and the midterms approach. Kim’s post, which ends with the single word “Enough,” puts him among the Democrats seeking to make Trump’s handling of Russia, Ukraine and prices a defining issue of the campaign season.