On the evening of October 16, 2026, the White House posted an executive order implementing the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, which Trump had signed on September 18 after it passed both chambers by wide margins. The order formally set the tariffs the law requires, including a 500 percent duty on goods from Russia and 100 percent duties on major buyers of Russian oil and gas, and in the same document waived them, along with nearly all of the law's other Russia sanctions and restrictions. “I am hereby waiving the application of such sanctions, restrictions, and duties provided for in the Graham Act,” the order says, adding that the waivers remain in effect “until such time as the President or the Secretary of State” decides otherwise. Russia sanctions imposed under earlier executive orders stay in place.
The law lets the president waive its provisions if he certifies to Congress that doing so is in the national interest and explains why, and the order says that certification was sent. The waiver is legal under the statute. The White House did not publicly explain how pausing the sanctions served the national interest, AP reported. The provisions were set to take effect on October 18, a week after Trump's diesel deal with Putin (see Trump Lifts Sanctions on Russian Diesel After a Call With Putin, and Senators From Both Parties Say It Breaks a 2022 Law); no reporting has established a link between the two.
Republicans split. Sen. Thom Tillis called the move “beyond irresponsible” and asked, “What part of enforcing a law passed 86-11 by the Senate does the President and his advisors not understand?” Sen. John Cornyn wrote, “Lindsey would be appalled.” Rep. Don Bacon wrote, “The President is prolonging the war, not ending it,” and Rep. Michael McCaul urged Trump “to reverse course, use these sanctions, and return to the time-tested principle that lasting peace is secured through strength — not accommodation.” Rep. Thomas Massie, who voted against the bill, welcomed it: “Glad to see Trump has used the executive authority granted to him by Congress to waive almost all of the provisions of this stupid law that pertain to Russia.” Sen. Richard Blumenthal said, “These waivers have nothing to do with our national security, and everything to do with sucking up to Vladimir Putin.” Putin's economic envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, called it “an important and truly historic moment,” and Zelensky said, “This Act could have helped enormously — and still can!”
Update (October 18, 2026): asked about the waiver on October 17, Trump said, “We'll figure it out, and you'll figure it out. But it's a very good decision,” and Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested Trump would take 60 days to review, the AP reported. Sen. Darline Graham, Lindsey Graham's sister, who was appointed to his seat and helped pass the bill, said, “Personally, I would choose to keep the pressure on Russia.” Sen. Rick Scott said, “So it's not the first thing I would be doing.” Rep. Don Bacon wrote, “I think the agenda is dead. Many of us won't fund these things knowing he is propping up a dictator's invasion and throwing an ally under the bus.” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said, “Trump's deal with the devil keeps getting dirtier,” and Rep. Gregory Meeks introduced a bill to block the diesel deal. Congress is in recess until after Election Day.
Update (October 19, 2026): Trump defended the waiver on Truth Social on October 18: “I am in the process of negotiating Peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and don't want to do anything that will drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table,” and, “Signing that document at this time will do that, and I can sign it later, or any time that I want!” He wrote that Zelensky “doesn't want to end this war, and probably never did,” and ended, “I WANT THIS WAR END!” Speaker Mike Johnson said he told the White House to “carefully consider the unintended consequences,” The Hill reported, and the Wall Street Journal's editorial board wrote that Trump “stuck a shiv in the back” of Lindsey Graham's legacy.