Trump Unites Congress With Putin Diesel Deal
President Donald Trump unified Congress this week by arranging a Russian diesel deal so objectionable that lawmakers briefly resumed operating as a legislative branch. Trump announced that Vladimir Putin’s government would release more than 300,000 tons of diesel immediately, followed by 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons later, while the Treasury Department temporarily eased sanctions that Congress had imposed under its outdated assumption that federal laws apply after passage.
Six Republican and six Democratic senators responded by demanding that Trump rescind the agreement, producing Washington’s largest outbreak of bipartisanship since both parties agreed that congressional cafeterias should sell food. The White House described the revolt as the deal’s principal benefit, noting that cheaper fuel was merely a secondary objective and had not yet complicated the administration’s success. “This is what leadership looks like because I make one perfect deal, and suddenly Republicans and Democrats are holding hands, writing letters and remembering they have laws,” Trump said. “Nobody has ever brought Congress together by ignoring Congress as successfully as I have.”
The agreement follows Congress’s 2022 ban on Russian energy imports and another sanctions measure approved last month, both of which remain fully binding on anyone who is not currently announcing an exception. Administration officials said Trump’s signature on a law represents a ceremonial endorsement rather than consent to be inconvenienced by its contents. Constitutional scholars have classified the policy as the wet-signature expiration doctrine, under which legislation remains valid until the president wants something else, sees a favorable television segment or remembers that Putin has diesel.
Putin will receive renewed access to fuel markets, Trump will receive another deal bearing his name, and Americans will receive the priceless sight of senators discovering that statutes are more than decorative PDFs. Officials said the president is considering additional unity initiatives, including proposing Saudi management of Yellowstone and recommending Putin for Federal Reserve chairman, each carefully designed to make Democrats and Republicans clutch the same copy of the Constitution. The diesel agreement has therefore already achieved its central purpose: Donald Trump restored bipartisan government by giving both parties an identical reason to stop him.
* None of the quotes in this article were spoken by an actual person. More info.