Rubio Defends Trump's Waiver of New Russia Sanctions as Rick Scott Voices Doubts

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the former Florida senator from Miami, on Saturday defended President Donald Trump's decision to set aside a sweeping package of Russia sanctions and tariffs two days before it was due to take effect, saying the White House wants time to study what the penalties would do to the U.S. and global economies. The move drew criticism from members of both parties, including Florida Sen. Rick Scott, and a sharp rebuke from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Trump signed the executive order late Friday, Oct. 16, waiving nearly every operative Russia provision of the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, a law he signed on Sept. 18. The tariffs and new sanctions would otherwise have begun on Sunday, Oct. 18.

What the order does

The order, posted on the White House website, first sets out the duties the law requires and then waives them. Those include a 500% tariff increase on goods from Russia, a 100% increase on the five largest importers of Russian crude oil and natural gas if they make new purchases on or after Oct. 18, and a 100% increase on the top five facilitators of Russian sanctions evasion. The law's targets were expected to include major buyers of Russian energy such as China, India and Turkey.

The order also waives new restrictions involving Russian financial institutions, investment, energy transactions and sovereign debt. It leaves in place sanctions imposed under earlier Russia-related executive orders, and it does not repeal the law. Trump certified to Congress that the waivers are in the national interests of the United States, as the act requires, and the order says they remain in effect until the president or the secretary of state decides further action is appropriate. The U.S. trade representative is directed to monitor countries that buy Russian oil and gas or help Russia evade sanctions.

White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said enforcing the provisions now would impede U.S. efforts to negotiate a durable peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. Trump later called it a very good decision.

Rubio's defense: a pause to study the economy

Rubio, who as a senator was a reliable hawk on Russia, framed the waiver as a temporary step. Speaking Saturday, he said the president wants to use a 60-day period to analyze what imposing both the sanctions and the tariffs would mean for the global economy and for the U.S. economy. He tied the decision to stresses on world energy supplies, citing the war with Iran, Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and the war in Ukraine.

Rubio also argued that Russian diesel would reach the world market one way or another, and that the only open question was how much of it the United States would get. Despite his description of a 60-day review, the order itself sets no expiration date.

Bipartisan backlash, and a Florida senator's doubts

The law passed with broad support. The Senate approved it 86-11 in August, and the House followed 262-159 on Sept. 16. It was renamed for Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a longtime advocate of tougher Russia sanctions, after he died on July 11 at age 71 following what his office called a brief and sudden illness.

Scott, a Naples Republican and frequent Trump ally, told The Associated Press that Russia is the aggressor and that the United States has to do everything it can to put economic pressure on Moscow. Of the waiver itself, he said it was "not the first thing" he would be doing.

Other Republicans went further. Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina called the move "beyond irresponsible" on social media. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said Graham would be appalled, and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas called it a mistake. Sen. Darline Graham, the late senator's sister who was appointed to his seat, also criticized the president for exempting Russia from a law named for her brother. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the Connecticut Democrat who wrote the original bill with Graham, condemned the waiver. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky was among the few lawmakers who welcomed it.

The Florida Press found no public statement by Saturday from Sen. Ashley Moody or from Florida House members including Rep. Brian Mast, the Treasure Coast Republican who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar of Miami, Rep. Jared Moskowitz of Parkland or Rep. Vern Buchanan of the Sarasota area.

Zelenskyy and Moscow react

Zelenskyy, who had backed the law, said the decision was unfortunate and that the Graham Act could have helped enormously. In a post on X on Saturday, he wrote that undoing the measures "seems wrong to me," called the waiver a financial reward for Vladimir Putin and warned it would encourage further Russian attacks. Trump responded that Zelenskyy is "not a big fan."

In Moscow, Kirill Dmitriev, a Putin envoy on economic matters, called the suspension an important and historic moment.

The diesel deal and Florida fuel prices

The sanctions waiver is the second step in two weeks easing pressure on Russian energy. On Oct. 9, the Treasury Department authorized transactions involving Russian-origin diesel through April 7, 2027, as Trump announced a deal with Putin for Russian diesel to reach U.S. and world markets. The Florida Press covered that license on Oct. 10. On Tuesday, Republican Sens. Mitch McConnell, Tillis, Susan Collins and Cornyn were among senators who urged Trump to rescind the diesel arrangement and carry out the Graham Act, and a bipartisan group of senators called the diesel waivers a betrayal of the people of Ukraine.

For Floridians, the backdrop is fuel costs that remain far above last year's. AAA's survey put Florida's average diesel price at about $6.08 a gallon on Oct. 17, below the national average of about $6.33 and down from a Florida peak of $6.34 in September. Nationally, a LendingTree analysis of AAA data found diesel was up about 72% from a year earlier as of Oct. 6. Diesel moves nearly everything that arrives on Florida store shelves and job sites by truck, so its price feeds into grocery, construction and delivery costs across the state.

Zelenskyy has argued that diesel prices depend far more on the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz during the Iran war than on Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries. Whether the waiver and the diesel license bring relief at Florida pumps is not yet clear.

What's next

Congress has limited ability to respond quickly. The law includes a process for lawmakers to challenge a waiver, but both chambers are on recess until after the Nov. 3 election, and The Associated Press reported that no quick counter is expected before members return to Washington.

In the meantime, Rubio's State Department and the trade representative are charged with monitoring Russian energy buyers and sanctions evasion, and the administration says it is weighing the economic effects. Florida's delegation will be watched for whether more of its Republicans join Scott in questioning the move, and whether Rubio's 60-day framing holds once that period runs out in mid-December.