U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a longtime critic of Vladimir Putin, accused the Trump administration on Saturday of surrendering to the Russian president. His attack came less than a day after the White House shelved a sweeping sanctions law that the Senate passed by a vote of 86 to 11. The senator’s criticism of a president from his own party was blunt and left little room for interpretation.
Tillis posted his reaction on X at 6:40 AM on Saturday, October 17, 2026, and attached a news report on the sanctions suspension. The post read in full:
“Beyond irresponsible. What part of enforcing a law passed 86-11 by the Senate does the President and his advisors not understand? 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.”
The Executive Order Behind the Post
The senator was responding to an executive order Trump signed on October 16, titled “Implementing the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026.” The order states that Trump signed the Graham Act into law on September 18, 2026, and then invokes Section 115 of that same law. That section lets a president waive sanctions provisions, restrictions and duties, provided he submits to Congress a written certification that the waiver serves the national interest.
The order’s text sets out what is being set aside. It waives the duties in sections 112 and 113 of the Graham Act, along with the sanctions provision in section 102(d) and a long list of other sanctions provisions in sections 102(a), 102(e) and 103 through 111, plus section 117. It says the waivers stay in effect until the President or the Secretary of State decides further action is appropriate. It also states that existing sanctions under earlier Russia-related executive orders are not affected.
A Law Named for Lindsey Graham
The Graham Act carries the name of the late South Carolina Republican, who died unexpectedly in July just after returning from Ukraine. AP reported that Graham had long pushed for tougher sanctions on Russia as a way to pressure Moscow to end its war. After his death, Congress responded with bipartisan support, and the legislation passed with large majorities in both chambers.
The package was drafted with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). It sought to sanction Russian officials, banks and a shadow fleet of tankers moving Russian energy. It also directed the president to impose tariffs of up to 100% on the top five importers of Russian oil or natural gas. The White House did not immediately explain how the pause served the national interest, and the order was posted on its website late in the evening.
The Diesel Deal That Came First
The waiver followed another move that drew bipartisan criticism. About a week earlier, Trump announced that Russia would supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel immediately, followed by 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons shortly after. The announcement came as the administration sought to bring down global energy prices.
Critics in both parties said the arrangement would help Russia fund its war against Ukraine without meaningfully lowering fuel prices, which remain elevated largely because of the U.S. war with Iran.
A Treasury Department license dated October 9, 2026 made the deal possible. General License No. 135, signed by Office of Foreign Assets Control Director Bradley T. Smith, authorizes transactions related to the sale, delivery, offloading and importation of Russian-origin diesel fuel, including importation into the United States, through April 7, 2027.
Tillis Questioned the Diesel Deal’s Legality
Tillis had already questioned the diesel arrangement before the sanctions waiver. In a Sunday television interview after the announcement, he was asked whether Trump’s decision to ease sanctions and let Russia export diesel broke the law. He said he believed it was possible, and added that Congress had been very clear that Russia is the aggressor. He also pointed to upcoming budget negotiations as a place where the Senate could respond if a violation were established.
A Record of Sanctions Votes and Warnings
Tillis’s position on Russia stretches back years. In 2017, he issued a statement after voting for bipartisan sanctions on Russia, Iran and North Korea. In it he said the measures would “send a clear and unified message to the Russian, Iranian, and North Korean regimes that America will hold them accountable for their transgressions.”
When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Tillis released a statement saying, “History has repeatedly proven that appeasement never works.” He called for Putin to be “severely punished” and for NATO allies to ensure Ukraine’s military has the weapons it needs. A day later, he wrote that America must stand in solidarity with Ukraine and that sanctions on Russia needed to “hurt.”
“Putin Is a War Criminal”
In the weeks after the invasion, Tillis told North Carolina reporters, “Putin and his cronies’ war crimes must be investigated, and they must be held accountable for these despicable actions.” He also said the U.S. should do more to provide Ukraine with lethal aid, including MiGs and air defense, and that countries helping Russia evade economic sanctions should also be punished. The Senate unanimously passed a bipartisan resolution he co-introduced condemning war crimes by Russian forces and encouraging investigations into them.
“Playing Us Like a Piano”
Tillis, who co-chairs the Senate NATO Observer Group, renewed his warnings in 2025 as pressure grew on the White House to act on Russia. He said then that Russia was “really playing us like a piano right now,” and that Putin wanted to “string us along and kill and rape and murder more Ukrainians and it’s got to stop.”
His Position on the Iran War
The final line of Tillis’s post ties the sanctions fight to the Iran war, which began in February and has pushed fuel costs higher. Iran has continued to block the Strait of Hormuz, and gasoline prices were up roughly $1 per gallon by late March. Tillis, who announced in 2025 that he would not seek reelection, spoke on March 22, 2026, as the war entered its fourth week. He said he could see why the U.S. needed to “finish some of the work and go back in” after earlier strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, but described the weeks-long operation as “ambiguous” and its objectives as unclear. His Saturday post goes further and puts “solving the Iran problem” at the center of any effort to reduce energy prices.
Political Pressure Ahead of the Midterms
The sanctions suspension lands at a difficult moment for Republicans. An AP-NORC poll published October 1 found that Americans disapprove of the president’s handling of the Iran war and blame him for higher prices. Trump’s approval ratings are near historic lows, and Republicans are fighting to hold both chambers of Congress in the November 3 midterm elections.
Congressional Democrats condemned the waiver. Blumenthal said the waivers “have nothing to do with our national security, and everything to do with sucking up to Vladimir Putin.” Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) said he and others had warned Trump might make such a move and urged Congress to fix the law.
What Comes Next
The waivers have no expiration date. They remain in effect until the President or the Secretary of State determines further action is appropriate. The order also directs the U.S. Trade Representative to monitor Russian oil purchases and sanctions evasion and to recommend further action, and it sets up the duty framework the Graham Act created, though the duties are waived for now.
Tillis’s post leaves little doubt where he stands. He framed the dispute as a question of whether the administration will enforce a law passed 86 to 11 and whether it will confront Moscow or accommodate it. The White House has not yet explained how the waiver serves the national interest.