Trump waives nearly all Graham Act Russia sanctions two days before they were to kick in

President Donald Trump signed an executive order late Friday evening waiving nearly every substantive sanction, tariff, and trade restriction that Congress had written into the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, acting two days before the law's first major enforcement deadline. The move immediately drew condemnation from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, rare bipartisan anger on Capitol Hill, and a public celebration from a senior Russian government official.

The timing was stark. Trump signed the executive order late on October 16, citing the national interest, just two days before the sanctions package was due to take effect on October 18. The law is a bipartisan measure aimed at pressuring Russia to end its war against Ukraine.

What the Graham Act actually required

On September 18, Trump had signed the Graham Act into law. The legislation codifies and expands existing U.S. sanctions targeting Russia, broadening designation authorities including secondary sanctions, and introduces new tariff authorities with a particular emphasis on Russian energy exports.

The Senate passed the bill 86 to 11 on August 7. The House agreed to the Senate's version 262 to 159 on September 16. Those are not close votes. The bill moved with the kind of margin that, in normal circumstances, would make a presidential waiver politically costly.

Trump's October 16 waiver suspended an additional 500 percent tariff on Russian goods and 100 percent tariffs on imports from countries meeting specified criteria for Russian energy purchases or sanctions evasion. The order temporarily waived those 100 percent tariffs on major buyers of Russian oil and gas, including China, India, and Turkey, ahead of the October 18 implementation deadline.

The law had specifically directed the president, by October 18, to review persons and entities for possible sanctions, and required blocking and "menu" sanctions against Sberbank, VTB Bank, Gazprombank, and any other Russian financial institutions owned in whole or in part by the Russian government. The Friday order suspended that requirement as well.

Trump's waiver suspended major additional sanctions against Russia under the Graham Act. Existing, pre-Graham U.S. sanctions remain in force.

The stated rationale and what was left unsaid

The White House offered little public explanation. The order did not specify why the decision served the national interest, and stated that the waiver will remain in effect until the Trump administration determines that "further action is appropriate."

The legislation states that before the administration waives the new sanctions, it must submit an unclassified report to Congress explaining its basis. In his executive order, Trump said the White House has sent the report to Capitol Hill. That report had not been made public as of Saturday morning.

The executive order's practical effect appears linked to a separate energy deal. The move came after Trump last week announced a deal allowing Russia to resume diesel exports, saying Moscow would immediately supply more than 300,000 metric tons, or 2.25 million barrels, to U.S. and global markets. The move also comes as the Trump administration pushes efforts to lower fuel prices, which have risen amid the U.S. war in Iran.

Analysis: No explicit rationale was specified in the order, but it appeared to be part of a deal for Russian diesel fuel, which has been in short supply globally due mainly to disruption caused by the 2026 Iran War. The White House has not confirmed that connection.

Zelenskyy condemns it. A Russian official celebrates.

The international reaction divided sharply along predictable lines. Fast.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded on October 17 by saying that it was an unfortunate decision to backtrack on the sanctions at a time when "pressure is needed." Speaking to reporters in Brussels on Friday, Zelenskyy had warned that the U.S.-Russia diesel agreement could set a precedent for further sanctions relief, while highlighting Ukraine's continued reliance on U.S. military technology and intelligence. "Sanctions will be lifted after gas," Zelenskyy said. "They will be lifted on something else. Then this will come to the banking system, certain individuals, chemical industry."

Kirill Dmitriev, a senior Russian government official, said in a social media post: "The Trump administration's suspension of the Graham Act is an important and truly historic moment."

Bipartisan pushback, named

On Capitol Hill, criticism came from members of both parties, though Congress is in recess and neither chamber is scheduled to vote until November 9.

Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat who was among the drafters of the Graham Act, condemned the latest waiver. The decision to ease sanctions drew pushback in Congress more broadly. Earlier this week, a bipartisan group of senators had called the diesel waivers a "betrayal of the people of Ukraine," and urged Trump to enforce the sanctions and tariffs laid out in the Graham law.

The law carries the name of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. The legislation was signed into law by Trump in September and was named posthumously for Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a prominent congressional supporter of Ukraine who died on July 11.

Since the beginning of 2025, peace efforts led by Trump to resolve the Russian-Ukrainian war have repeatedly failed to achieve a peace treaty. Trump's approach was characterized as lenient toward Russia, with most of the pressure falling on Ukraine, creating little incentive for President Vladimir Putin to compromise. As Trump conceded to more of Russia's demands, Putin refused to compromise and his conditions for ending the war expanded.

The December fiscal wall, looming in the background

The Russia decision lands as Congress faces a separate, ticking clock on the fiscal side. Both chambers are on recess through the midterm elections on November 3, and the Senate's next scheduled vote is not until November 9 at 5:30 p.m. Congress passed a continuing resolution on September 2 to avert a government shutdown. It funds the government through December 11, 2026.

The United States is hurtling toward a pair of potential financial crises in December: a possible debt ceiling standoff and a potential government shutdown. The debt ceiling currently stands at $41.1 trillion, having been lifted to that level by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed into law on July 4, 2025. Treasury debt is on track to hit the current $41.1 trillion ceiling in December. It hit $40.0 trillion on August 18 and had reached $40.2 trillion by month-end.

The recent jump in Treasury yields has highlighted how vulnerable the U.S. debt outlook is to the bond market. With the 10-year Treasury yield now at 5.27 percent, it has already blown past long-term forecasts from the Congressional Budget Office, which saw them at 4.3 percent from 2028 to 2031.

Scope Ratings said in a recent report: "While Scope's baseline assumes that policymakers will ultimately agree to raise or suspend the debt limit, the post-midterm political landscape could increase the scope for prolonged partisan standoffs." The ratings agency added that "repeated debt-ceiling episodes continue to highlight weaknesses in fiscal governance and contribute to periodic market volatility."

What to Watch

• The unclassified report to Congress. The Graham Act requires the White House to submit a written explanation of why the national-interest waiver was justified. That document had not been released publicly by Saturday. Watch for its contents, and for whether pro-Ukraine members of either party call hearings around it when Congress returns November 9.
• Zelenskyy's next move in Washington. Ukraine's president warned in Brussels that sanctions relief on diesel could cascade into banking, then individuals, then industry. Whether Kyiv responds by pulling back from any ongoing intelligence-sharing or procurement negotiations with the Pentagon will tell a great deal about the state of the relationship.
• The bipartisan senators' letter. A cross-party group called the earlier diesel waivers a "betrayal." Watch for whether they escalate after this broader executive order and whether they attempt to use the lame-duck session after November 3 to attach enforcement language to must-pass spending legislation before the December 11 government-funding deadline.
• The December 11 fiscal cliff. With the continuing resolution expiring that day, a Congress potentially reshuffled by midterm results will have a matter of days to fund the government and navigate a debt ceiling approaching $41.1 trillion. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said he thinks peak deficits are behind the country; the bond market, at 5.27 percent on the 10-year, is pricing something less optimistic.

Sources: White House executive order, Oct. 16, 2026 | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty | CNBC | CNN | CBS News | NBC News | The Hill | Wikipedia (Graham Act legislative history) | Debevoise & Plimpton (legal analysis) | Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget | Fortune/Scope Ratings | U.S. Senate Daily Press