Warren, Shaheen, Schumer Release Joint Statement Urging Trump Administration Not to Extend Sanctions Relief for Russian Oil

Warren, Shaheen, Schumer Release Joint Statement Urging Trump Administration Not to Extend Sanctions Relief for Russian Oil

Washington, D.C. - Today, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) issued the below statement urging the Trump Administration not to extend the Department of Treasury's General License 134, which removed sanctions risk for any person purchasing Russian oil loaded on vessels as of March 12, 2026:

"When Treasury's ill-conceived license expires tonight, Treasury must not renew it. Russia and its enablers were already making an estimated additional $150 million per day, or more than $4 billion to date, due to President Trump's costly and reckless war against Iran. Instead of aiming to limit that Russian windfall, Treasury helped the Kremlin and its evasion network increase their profits. Even before the United States issued its latest sanctions relief, many of Russia's oil cargoes were already moving to market thanks to the Trump administration's failure to impose counter-evasion sanctions for the last 14 months.

"It remains far from clear that the extraordinary step of providing sanctions relief to Russia provided any relief for U.S. consumers or eased the global energy crisis. Instead, even as Russia supported Iran in targeting Americans, the Trump Administration has rewarded the Kremlin while Russia has continued to launch strikes at Ukraine-including a barrage of 1,000 strikes in late March.

"As evidence of the benefit to Russia, a sanctioned Russian official, who previously claimed that Treasury's license was proof of Russia's systemic role in energy markets, is once again meeting with the Trump Administration to seek its renewal.

"In addition to flouting notification requirements to Congress under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act before relaxing sanctions on the Kremlin, Secretary Bessent characterized the license as a temporary and 'short term' measure that would not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government. But Russia's decision to cancel its planned budget cuts demonstrates that, as we warned, Russia is directly benefiting from the administration's sanctions relief. It is incumbent on the Trump Administration to reverse this dangerous policy, ensure that Russia does not reap any additional benefit and prevent the United States from further boosting Putin's war machine."

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