Bessent says the Graham Act gives Trump 60 days to assess
Scott BessentU.S. treasury secretary
Bessent said the Graham Act gives Trump flexibility and 60 days to assess the situation, and argued that European countries should share the burden of pressuring Russia.
“President Trump has made it clear he wants the killing to stop. And the so-called Graham bill gives the president the flexibility, gives him 60 days to assess the situation.”
Interview
Where this statement fits
Trump waives the Graham Act's Russia sanctions
The White House says waiving the Graham Act's Russia measures preserves room for peace negotiations. Lawmakers from both parties and Volodymyr Zelenskyy say relief weakens pressure on Russia. Thomas Massie welcomes Trump's use of the authority Congress granted.
Source and context
Interview
About this source
NBC News transcript of the October 18 broadcast, with interviews of Sen. James Lankford, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent by Kristen Welker.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Kristen Welker asked why the president was rewarding a dictator who invaded Ukraine, after Zelenskyy told the program the move was a big support for Putin.
After the quotation
Bessent said European countries continue to buy Russian energy and refused to join secondary tariffs on China and India. Later in the interview he said no sanctions were lifted on Friday and that the only thing lifted was the diesel embargo.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is Trump's waiver of the Graham Act Russia measures. Bessent defends the waiver as a use of the law's flexibility and says no sanctions were lifted.
- Recorded on
- Published here
More from this case
Read the full caseMike Rogers says he would have voted for the sanctions bill
“I don’t think we can give Putin an inch. And we will see. If the strategy works, hey, good on him, because that means we’re going to pay less for diesel here in the United States”Read statement
Lankford says Trump is choosing the American people first
“He’s trying to walk this fine balance between trying to be able to put pressure on Russia but also to be able to help the American people. So he is choosing the American people first, is what he’s doing.”Read statement
Pence says the waiver dishonors Lindsey Graham's legacy
“President Trump’s decision to waive sanctions against Russia as Putin continues his brutal war of aggression against Ukraine dishonors the legacy of the late Senator Lindsey Graham and is decidedly not in the national interests of the United States and should be reversed”Read statement
Share or embed this statement
The embed keeps its attribution link to The Dispute Index. Credit the image to The Dispute Index and link to the statement page.
Cite this record
- Publisher
- The Dispute Index
- Title
- Bessent says the Graham Act gives Trump 60 days to assess
- First published
- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/6141-bessent-said-the-graham-act-gives-trump-flexibility
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "Bessent says the Graham Act gives Trump 60 days to assess". First published: 2026-10-20. Last updated: 2026-10-20. https://disputeindex.com/events/6141-bessent-said-the-graham-act-gives-trump-flexibility