Trump’s diesel deal with Putin draws criticism from a frustrated Congress

The deal that President Donald Trump reached with Russian President Vladimir Putin to import tons of Russian diesel is drawing concern from Congress WASHINGTON (AP) — The House speaker stood before Donald Trump during his first term at the White House and pointed a finger declaring that with this president, “All roads lead to Putin.” as a way to ease sky-high prices at the pumps for Americans ahead of the midterm elections.Trump’s diesel deal with Putin has been criticized by both Republicans and Democrats as fueling Russia’s war against Ukraine, violating existing U.S.

It joins a growing list of instances where the president has sided with Putin, often at the expense of Ukraine — and America’s own standing.“The harm to the Ukrainians is real,” said William Taylor, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, now a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, in an interview Monday.“And the cost to us, the United States, is high.”It’s not at all clear the Trump-Putin deal will deliver the supply boost the president is seeking to bring down prices. Energy experts have said the flow of Russian diesel is unlikely to lower prices in the U.S., which have escalated largely due to disruptions from the U.S.

But the agreement underlines a message at home and abroad that Trump is an unreliable ally as Ukraine battles Russia.A bipartisan group of six senators urged Trump over the weekend to reverse course, saying the U.S. “should not provide Putin with a financial lifeline.” Trump, however, held fast to his deal with Putin and lashed out, blaming Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for America's high diesel costs and asserting he should step aside — something Ukraine's leader has no intention of doing.“Anything that could help our farmers, our ranchers, I like,” Trump said Monday outside the White House.Asked about Republican criticism of the Russia deal, Trump said they "can’t really be serious.”Trump also insisted that an energy ceasefire is in place for Ukraine and Russia, despite Zelenskyy saying that Moscow continued to strike his country’s energy sites.An AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll published Oct. 1 found that Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of the Iran war and blame him for higher prices.Congress voted to halt Russian im…