Donald Trump has suspended sanctions against Russia, just a week after making a deal with Vladimir Putin to stock the US with over 300,000 tons of diesel fuel ahead of the midterm elections.
The President wrote to Congress that the move was in the national interest, undoing legislation he signed just last month and named in honor of the late Senator Lindsey Graham.
The Executive Order, issued late on Friday night, came just two days before a deadline that was set in the law for its own implementation.
Trump announced an agreement to purchase diesel from Russia to try to bring down global energy prices, despite that potentially hurting Ukraine in its war with Russia.
Gas prices and the overall unpopularity of the war in Iran have seen Trump's approval ratings sink to near-historic lows, as pressure is mounting with Republicans trying to hold control of both chambers of Congress.
The Graham Act had sought to clamp down more quickly on the flow of financial resources fueling the war against Ukraine.
The package had been meant to starve Russian President Vladimir Putin of the resources Moscow needs to continue its war after invading its neighbor more than four years ago.
The bill, also drafted by Democrat Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, had sought to sanction Russian officials, banks and a shadow fleet of tankers that keeps Russian energy moving.
Donald Trump suspended sanctions against Russia in an Executive Order on Friday
The move came a week after making a deal with Vladimir Putin for over 300,000 tons of diesel fuel ahead of the midterm elections
It also directed Trump to impose up to 100 percent tariffs on the top five importers of Russian oil or natural gas, with an exception for countries that import less than 15 percent of Russia's natural gas exports and have taken significant steps to reduce those imports.
Blumenthal 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.'
'These waivers have nothing to do with our national security, and everything to do with sucking up to Vladimir Putin,' Blumenthal said.
Democratic Virginia Congressman Don Beyer noted on social media shortly after the announcement of the sanctions being suspended that he and others had 'warned' Trump might make such a move.
The veteran congressman, who spoke out against the bill as it was debated, called on Congress to 'fix this flawed law to stop Trump from capitulating to Putin and ensure that it truly supports Ukraine.'
Graham, a close ally and friend of the president, had just returned from Ukraine when he unexpectedly died in July.
His colleagues in Congress responded with bipartisan support after his death and Trump attached his signature to the legislation - then changed his mind Friday.
Graham had advocated for stricter US sanctions against Russia as a way of pressuring it to end its war in Ukraine.
The President wrote to Congress that the move was in the national interest, undoing legislation he signed just last month
The law was named in honor of the late Senator Lindsey Graham (pictured right), a fierce advocate for supporting Ukraine
His sister Darline faces a reelection battle for his seat in just over two weeks, with the sanctions having become a campaign centerpiece for her as she runs to retain Lindsey's old seat permanently.
Darline Graham said in a statement after Trump signed the bill, 'I wish Lindsey were here to celebrate this historic day.'
In a debate earlier this week with Democratic nominee Annie Andrews, Graham - who has Trump´s endorsement and is expected to campaign with him in South Carolina next week - said she had been 'so proud' to help get the measure passed.
She acknowledged, however, that it was the President's purview as to how he implemented it.
'It gives the president tools that he can use if he so chooses, to end the war through economic sanctions,' Graham said Sunday during a 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.'
The decision was posted on the White House website late in the evening, and the notification noted that the report explaining the decision had been submitted to Congress.
Still, it comes as Trump has increasingly lashed out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, blaming him for failing to make a deal with Putin to end the fighting.
Graham's sister Darline (pictured) faces a reelection battle for his seat in just over two weeks, with the sanctions having become a campaign centerpiece for her as she runs to retain Lindsey's old seat permanently
The Trump administration, meanwhile, had remained mostly quiet since the passage of the bill with large majorities in the House and Senate following Graham's sudden death - with lawmakers urged ahead by Zelensky.
Under last week's agreement, Trump said Russia would immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel, followed by an additional 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons 'immediately thereafter.'
Trump's striking a diesel deal with Putin has been pilloried by Republicans and Democrats alike who say it will help Russia execute its war against Ukraine - without making a difference to global fuel prices.
Zelensky trashed the deal as a 'gift to Putin', and Kyiv was caught off guard by the announcement, an official told Axios.
'Gifts to Putin will not bring peace or any benefit to the civilized world. Russia will "repay"' the diesel with further terror and treachery,' Zelensky said. 'Allowing Russia to sell petroleum products is an investment in a war that must be ended, not prolonged.'
The initial 300,000 tons works out at roughly 2.2 million barrels, less than two hours' worth of global diesel demand, according to calculations based on International Energy Agency figures.
Even the 500,000 tons promised for November amounts to around 125,000 barrels a day, about an eighth of the roughly 1 million barrels of diesel Russia was exporting daily before Ukraine's refinery blitz.
Trump claimed that the agreement, in combination with America's 'total control of the Strait of Hormuz,' would bring down diesel prices for the world.
The President has blamed the diesel spike on Ukraine, rather than his own war with Iran, telling reporters at his golf resort in Ireland on September 13: 'This isn't done by the Middle East, this is done by what's happening with Russia and Ukraine.'