Darline Graham: ‘I would choose to keep the pressure on Russia’

Sen. Darline Graham (R-S.C.) said she would rather keep sanctions on Russia after President Trump signed an executive order to waive the penalties.

“The president and I share the same goal, which is to end the war, get gas and diesel prices down, and the sanctions bill is one of the tools we can use to do that. It’s up to him whether or not he chooses to use it,” she said Saturday in an interview with The Associated Press, referring to Trump’s upcoming visit to South Carolina.

“Personally, I would choose to keep the pressure on Russia to end the war and get the gas prices low, because I don’t trust Putin and I don’t trust Russia,” she added.

The president has defended the move , which is allowed under Section 115 of the Lindsey O. Graham Sanction Russia and Iran Act. He signed the law, which was named after the senator’s late brother, in September.

The freshman senator, who was endorsed by Trump, succeeded her brother Lindsey after his unexpected death in July. The late Republican, a vocal war hawk , fought for the bill to put sanctions on Russia in an attempt to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.

Darline Graham said she would have preferred to keep the sanctions in place because she did not trust Putin or Russia. She added that the legislation “meant a lot” to her late brother.

Trump ordered the sanctions pause on Russian energy just two days before they were set to take effect. The legislation passed both chambers of Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright also defended the waiver Sunday, arguing that it was meant to add pressure to end the war and was not an “economic lifeline” for Russia.

The halt drew criticism from several Republicans , including Sen. Thom Tillis (R- N.C.), who called it “beyond irresponsible.”

“It’s unconscionable that this administration is capitulating to a Russian dictator who illegally invaded Ukraine and butchers innocent civilians every single day,” Tillis wrote on social platform X.

Republicans have also spoken out against the president’s diesel deal with Moscow to import around 2.2 million tons of Russian diesel into the U.S. market.