Bennet, Kaine, Gallego, Colleagues Press Trump Administration on Decision to Ease Sanctions on Russia and Iran

Apr 2, 2026| Press Releases

Denver - Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, joined U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), and 22 of their Senate colleagues in a letter pressing President Trump on his decision to ease sanctions on Russian and Iranian oil exports and the lack of planning regarding the economic fallout of his unauthorized war against Iran. Since the war began, the price of U.S. crude oil has risen by more than 50 percent, and the average price of gasoline has increased by more than a dollar per gallon largely due to Iran's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz- an outcome experts had warned the President and his advisors about before he started this war.

"We write with deep concern and confusion over your administration's recent decision to ease sanctions on Russian and Iranian oil exports," wrote the senators. "These actions speak once again to the troubling lack of strategic foresight that has marked your administration's decision-making prior to and during its war of choice with Iran, jeopardizing the lives of our servicemembers across the region and raising costs for Americans here at home."

"Open source reporting suggests that prior to starting this war of choice, you and your administration were regularly briefed on, and dismissed, the potential economic fallout of a conflict with Iran. These warnings included the regime's likely closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the resulting severe spike in global oil prices," the senators continued. "Now that those impacts are being felt in Americans' pocketbooks, your administration is scrambling - and failing - to contain this fallout."

In the letter, the senators also raise concerns about easing Russian sanctions, given recent reporting that Russia has been sharing intelligence with Iran regarding the movements of U.S. forces in the Middle East, and the risks both of these decisions pose to U.S. servicemembers.

The senators wrote, "The economic effects of the war are already raising costs, with Americans being asked to pay even more for gas, groceries, and travel. Relieving sanctions on U.S. adversaries during an active conflict is just the most recent indicator of an incoherent and disordered policy approach."

"We demand that you make senior officials of your Administration immediately available for public hearings in order to fully explain to the American people the rationale behind the decision to release these funds to the Russian and Iranian regimes," the senators concluded.

Bennet has persistently fought to rein in President Trump's unauthorized war with Iran. Two weeks ago, Bennet questioned President Trump's intelligence agency leaders, including Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, John Ratcliffe, about President Trump's failure to act on assessments regarding a war with Iran.

Bennet voted for several War Powers Resolutions to require President Trump to remove U.S. troops from waging war in or against Iran without explicit Congressional authorization. Senate Republicans blocked all of them.

Bennet joined Democratic colleagues to demand the Department of Defense investigate whether the United States was responsible for airstrikes on a school in Iran - which killed at least 168 people, mostly children - as well as other civilian casualties in the Trump Administration's unauthorized war.

Bennet joined U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) to co-sponsor the Sanctioning Harbors and Dodgers of Western Sanctions or SHADOW Fleets Act. This bill would work to vastly expand U.S. sanctions authorities to target a collection of older, reflagged oil tankers that Russia uses to circumvent existing U.S. sanctions on Russian oil and energy revenues.

Bennet joined U.S. Senators Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Jon Husted (R-Ohio), Chris Coons (D-Del.), and John Curtis (R-Utah) on the Decreasing Russia Oil Profits (DROP) Act of 2025, legislation requiring targeted sanctions on firms and individuals dealing in Russian oil. The DROP Act fills a gap in the U.S. sanctions approach to Russian-origin oil - the most important source of revenue propping up Russian President Vladimir Putin's unjust and unprovoked full-scale war on Ukraine.

In addition to Bennet, Kaine, and Gallego, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Tammy Duckworth (D-IlI.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Angus King (I-Maine), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Dick Durbin (D-IlI.), and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) signed the letter.

The text of the letter is available HERE and below.

Dear President Trump:

We write with deep concern and confusion over your administration's recent decision to ease sanctions on Russian and Iranian oil exports. These actions speak once again to the troubling lack of strategic foresight that has marked your administration's decision-making prior to and during its war of choice with Iran and had jeopardized the lives of our servicemembers across the region and raising costs for Americans here at home.

The administration's lack of strategic cohesion on the war in Iran is having a direct impact on the economy and is endangering our servicemembers. Open source reporting suggests that prior to starting this war of choice, you and your administration were regularly briefed on, and dismissed, the potential economic fallout of a conflict with Iran.[1] These warnings included the regime's likely closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the resulting severe spike in global oil prices. Now that those impacts are being felt in Americans' pocketbooks, your administration is scrambling - and failing - to contain this fallout. The administration's abrupt March 20 decision to waive certain sanctions on Iranian oil sales will do little to mitigate rising costs even while opening a massive source of new revenue - per press reports, as much as $14 billion - for the very regime that U.S. servicemembers are risking their lives to strike.[2]

Open source reporting also suggests Russia began sharing sensitive intelligence with the Iranian military within the first days of the start of this conflict, including targeting information for U.S. military forces in the Middle East.[3] Russia's direct military support for Iran would alone make shocking your decision to ease sanctions on their oil exports, but Russia is already set to make as much as $4.9 billion from surging oil prices alone- your sanctions waiver will undoubtedly add to that sum, enabling Russian President Vladimir Putin to redouble and extend pressure on our Ukrainian partners as they struggle to defend their country against his aggression.[4] [5]

The war in Iran is deeply unpopular, and Americans have made clear that they do not want another costly, protracted conflict in the Middle East.[6] The economic effects of the war are already raising costs, with Americans being asked to pay even more for gas, groceries, and travel. Relieving sanctions on U.S. adversaries during an active conflict is just the most recent indicator of an incoherent and disordered policy approach. Economic relief for Americans starts with the cessation of wars of choice, not the continuation of them.

We demand that you make senior officials of your Administration immediately available for public hearings in order to fully explain to the American people the rationale behind the decision to release these funds to the Russian and Iranian regimes.

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