WASHINGTON – Today, Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) spoke on the Senate floor calling on the Senate to pass his resolution condemning the Trump administration’s recent decision to ease sanctions on the Russian Federation while it continues aiding actions that threaten United States troops and assets.

Republican Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) objected and blocked the resolution’s passage.

Senator Gallego has been leading the fight against the administration’s sanctions relief for Russia. On Friday, the day the administration’s decision was announced, he joined colleagues in a statement calling out the dangers this will cause U.S. servicemembers. On Monday, Gallego and Rep. Sam Liccardo (CA-16) sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent demanding answers on how the decision came together, and yesterday, Gallego led colleagues from the Senate Banking committee calling on Chairman Tim Scott to convene a hearing with Secretary Bessent.

Watch Senator Gallego’s remarks here and read them below:

“Mr. President, 12 days ago, Donald Trump took us to war against Iran. Since then, seven American servicemembers have been killed and 140 more have been wounded. Instead of protecting our troops, Trump is making it easier for enemies to kill them.  

“None of us are mourning Ayatollah Khamenei. The moment this war started, oil prices spiked. Anyone who has looked at a map knows that a war in the Middle East affects oil prices. It has happened every single time, but apparently no one at the White House looked at the map.  

“So now American families who are already struggling to put food on the table are paying 20% more for gas because of Trump’s war. The administration’s response to the crisis they created is to back off sanctions on Russian oil. So American families are hurting while Trump is making more money for Vladimir Putin. The administration has given Russia a lifeline just as they needed it.  

“U.S. officials confirmed last week that Russia’s sharing intelligence with Iran to help target U.S. service members. Russia is telling Iran where our troops are and where the military assets are.  

“Just think about that. Russia is giving Iran a map to find and kill Americans. And our response [is] we’re going to allow them to sell their oil to other countries to fund their war machines. All while Steve Witkoff, the president’s envoy, is happy to take Putin, a professionally trained liar, at his word when he says they aren’t sharing Intel with Iran. We started a war with Iran, and we’re now rewarding the ones that are helping shoot us.  

“How is this putting America first? How many times do we have to remind this president that Putin is not our friend?  

“This is what happens when the administration starts a war without a plan. They’re scrambling to clean up their mess and thinking twice about the consequences. I know the consequences because I lived them.  

“21 years ago, I was a Marine infantryman in the al-Anbar province of western Iraq. Every day someone was trying to kill us. I lost a lot of best friends there. And that’s why I’m standing together with you here today, because I know what happens when we send soldiers into harm’s way without thinking through what comes next and what we’re asking these kids to do.  

“And I know the people who pay for wars are never the politicians who started them. It’s the American people, the kids from working-class neighborhoods who enlisted and their families.  

“What this administration did was not just wrong, it was illegal. In 2017, Congress passed the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, signed by Trump himself, requiring the White House to notify Congress before making any significant change to U.S. policy towards Russia. We passed that law because we understood that decisions of this magnitude, decisions that touch our national security and affect the safety of our troops, require transparency and accountability. They require someone to be able to look at the American people in the eye and explain themselves.  

“But this administration did not notify Congress. Apparently, this administration doesn’t think it owes anyone any explanation. They don’t think they owe the troops they’re putting in danger any explanation at all, and they don’t think they owe the families of the seven Americans who are not coming home an explanation.  

“They’re making it up as they go and asking Americans to pay for it with their lives. If this administration wants to bring gas prices down, stop the war.”