Rubio Puts a 60-Day Clock on the Russia Sanctions Trump Waived
The executive order that switched off the Graham Act carried no end date. A day later the Secretary of State said the President will use up to 60 days to weigh the measures, as Republicans who voted for the law broke with him.
"I think the president wants to take the 60-day period of time to sort of analyze what imposing both sanctions and tariffs will mean to the global economy and even to the US economy." Secretary of State Marco Rubio to reporters on Saturday, before leaving for Uzbekistan, a day after the order waiving the Graham Act's duties and sanctions, Reuters reported. On the diesel deal: "That diesel is going to be sold one way or the other. The only difference is how much of it the United States was going to get."
"A lot of you don't know what my decision is yet, but we'll figure it out, and you'll figure it out." President Trump to reporters at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday.
The order itself says the waivers last until the President or the Secretary of State decides otherwise.
From the news"Personally, I would choose to keep the pressure on Russia. Because I don't trust Putin and I don't trust Russia." Senator Darline Graham of South Carolina, whose late brother wrote the law, who says she will raise it with the President when he campaigns for her this week.
"The President is prolonging the war, not ending it." Representative Don Bacon of Nebraska on X on Friday, joined in criticism by Senators Thom Tillis and John Cornyn, Politico reported.
The order itself says the waivers last until the President or the Secretary of State decides otherwise. We think a 60-day review announced from an airport tarmac is a weaker commitment than a sunset written into the order, and that the Senate, back on 9 November, now has a date to hold the administration to: 15 December.
The Semaform
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on 17 October that President Trump will use up to 60 days to weigh the Russia sanctions and tariffs he waived a day earlier, while Trump said he had not yet made a final decision and Republican lawmakers criticised the waiver.
A verbal 60-day review is weaker than a sunset in the order itself; Congress now has a date to test whether the waiver was a pause or a settlement.
Rubio says the review protects partners such as India and the US economy from a tariff shock; Zelensky and lawmakers from both parties say the waiver emboldens Moscow and defies the intent of a law Congress passed overwhelmingly.
Sources
- The White House, Executive Order: Implementing the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, 16 October 2026
- Reuters, Rubio says Trump to take up to 60 days to weigh Russia sanctions, 17 October 2026
- Politico, Trio of Republicans bashes Trump's sanctions pullback, 17 October 2026
- AP, Trump's decision to waive Russian sanctions outrages Congress, 17 October 2026
- Sox News, Trump Signed the Graham Act in September. On Friday Night He Switched It Off, 17 October 2026
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