Trump Signs, Putin Cashes In: Congress Learns What Its Own Laws Are Worth

86 senators voted in favor, 11 against. Donald Trump put his signature on it. A month later, America's sanctions law against Russia has been put on ice, before its most important provisions even had a chance to take effect. With an executive order issued Friday evening, the president suspended the measures indefinitely. They were supposed to take effect on Sunday. The White House cites national security interests as its justification. With an overwhelming bipartisan majority, Congress had tried to cut off the money funding Putin's war. Trump has turned the tap back on before any pressure could even build up in the pipes.

The law bears the name of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who died this summer. He had spent nearly 1 year fighting to get Trump on board. The legislation called for steep tariffs on countries importing large quantities of Russian crude oil and other energy products. The goal was to choke off the revenue Moscow uses to finance its war of aggression, now in its 4th year. Graham had finally won the president over, but even during congressional deliberations, lawmakers doubted Trump would actually enforce the provisions. Volodymyr Zelenskyy had personally watched the Senate vote from the visitors' gallery after Graham's death. Back then, a broad majority stood behind sanctions against Russia. Now Trump has suspended the measures before they could even take effect. For Ukraine, that means the promised economic pressure on Moscow is off the table for now.

The opposition is coming from Trump's own party, too. Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina called the decision "beyond irresponsible." He wanted to know what part of a law passed by an 86-11 vote Trump and his advisers failed to understand. He said it was unconscionable that the administration was capitulating to a Russian dictator who had illegally invaded Ukraine. John Cornyn, a Republican senator from Texas, said Lindsey Graham would be appalled. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate minority leader, described Trump's actions as an increasingly dirty deal with the devil that was keeping the Russian economy on life support.

Then there's the latest deal with Putin. Trump announced Russian diesel shipments to the United States to bring down soaring fuel prices. Ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, those prices have become a serious political liability for his party. Tillis countered that Trump should end the war with Iran, which has contributed significantly to the price surge, instead of doing Putin a favor. While American drivers watch the numbers climb at the pump, Moscow stands to gain new business. Of course, the bill for the political benefits has yet to come due.

Elizabeth Warren, the Democratic senator from Massachusetts, accused Trump of openly defying Congress and enabling Putin to continue his war of aggression. She called for countermeasures. Gregory Meeks, the leading Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, introduced legislation Friday to block the diesel deal. He called the agreement corrupt and accused Trump of cozying up to Putin and striking self-serving deals when the United States should be increasing pressure on the Kremlin. Meeks had opposed the Graham legislation at the time because he already feared Trump would simply disregard it.

Just last week, senators from both parties demanded tougher action against Russia's shadow fleet, whose tankers transport oil while evading existing sanctions. Instead, the new measures are now being suspended. Zelenskyy continues to hope they will be reinstated and called on supporters to speak out publicly in their defense. Ukraine faces a brutal winter. Russian attacks are hitting the country's energy infrastructure, and outages could leave homes without heat and cities without electricity.

Read also our article: Trump Spares Putin and Suspends Russia Sanctions: Our Investigation Into the Law With the Built-In Escape Hatch Has Been Confirmed

A swift response from Congress is hardly possible. Both chambers are in recess until after Election Day. Whether there will be enough political will for countermeasures afterward remains uncertain. The law still bears Graham's name. Its enforcement rests with a president who has just demonstrated how little his own signature on it means to him.