CODY — An oil deal with Russia proffered by President Donald Trump elicited split support from leading Wyoming politicians — namely, U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis and Gov. Mark Gordon versus U.S. Sen. John Barrasso and U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman.
The deal, announced last Friday, would see the immediate import of 500,000 barrels of Russian diesel and, over the next six months, an additional 1 million barrels of Russian oil exported globally. Analysts told CNBC that there was reason to be skeptical of Russia’s ability to meet the demand.
Further complicating matters is the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, which began in 2022. Since December of that year, the U.S. and its allies have imposed sanctions on Russian oil, raising questions as to the legality of the deal, despite the U.S. Treasury having issued a temporary general license to ease sanctions on Russian diesel exports through April 2027.
Just hours after the deal was announced by the Trump administration, Ukraine began bombarding Russian oil refineries in a continuation of a monthslong drone campaign targeting Russian energy infrastructure.
The deal drew criticism from elected officials, including Gordon and Lummis, for investing in Russia’s economy.
While officials agree that something must be done to lower the cost of fuel, they differed on strategy. Both Gordon and Hageman suggested stronger domestic production; Barrasso, during a television appearance, defended the deal and said that Democratic politicians have forced Trump to make the deal due to regulatory controls.
Wrong to buy Russian oil
Joe Jackson, a spokesperson for Lummis, told the Enterprise that the senator’s position had not changed. Lummis has previously issued statements condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine and told Fox Business last year that “All countries purchasing Russian oil are fueling Putin’s war.”
While oil and gas are not nationalized in Russia, the Russian state has heavy interest in the industry, with oil and gas accounting for almost a third of state revenue, and more than 60% of its exports, the BBC reported last year. Since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin has earned €883 billion, or more than $985 billion, from its oil and gas interests.
While Lummis “shares the administration’s goal of lowering diesel and gas prices for American families,” Jackson said she does not believe buying oil from Russia is “the right way to get there.”
Amy Edmonds, a spokesperson for Gordon, told the Enterprise that the governor “agrees with the president that we need to do all we can to bring down the price of oil and provide relief to hard-working Americans, which is why Governor Gordon this week signed three executive orders in an effort to do just that here in the Cowboy State.”
However, she said, Gordon added that “Russia has never been our friend, and the governor believes we should work to unleash North American energy” instead. The governor “encourage(s) the federal government to do all that it can to help unleash production right here in Wyoming, boosting oil production and refining for the entire nation.”
Last week, Gordon signed three executive orders to address the high costs impacting Wyomingites and especially agricultural producers. Those orders included emergency relief permits for transportation of oversize and overweight loads of agricultural products; the recognition and adoption of the federal motor carrier safety administration hours-of-service waiver for the intrastate transportation of gasoline and diesel fuel; and the extension of emergency relief permits for transportation of oversize and overweight loads of livestock feed and livestock.
Right to buy Russian oil
In a Sunday appearance on “Face the Nation,” Barrasso defended the deal, telling host Margaret Brennan that “The president is balancing and has to make tough decisions. He’s balancing his effort to stop Putin’s war in Ukraine and (lower) prices for American families.”
Barrasso said Democratic politicians have interfered with the production of “more American energy,” and the minority party was “blocking us long-term from doing what’s going to be best for the American people.”
Brennan challenged Barrasso, saying, “Letting Russia sell oil would seem to put money and more mobility to Vladimir Putin and not necessarily make a dent in diesel prices, according to most energy analysts that I’ve read,” and that former Vice President Mike Pence called the decision a “betrayal” of the legacy of late U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
Last month, the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, or “Lindsey Graham Law,” was passed by Congress and signed by Trump on Sept. 18. In July, Barrasso spoke in support of the bill, saying on the Senate floor that “Russia and Iran only respond to strength.”
“Doesn’t the president’s action make a mockery of that law you just passed?” Brennan asked Barrasso.
Barrasso said the law, which places penalties including tariffs on buyers of Russian oil, was passed “to give the president the flexibility and the firepower to use another tool against Vladimir Putin. … This is just another point of leverage for the president to use against Putin in an effort to get a long-term solution in that part of the world.”
Hageman blamed Democrats for “the regulatory shackles … placed on our critical industries,” and said regulatory controls had forced the Trump administration to look overseas.
She had previously voted against providing funds to Ukraine, citing government corruption; Ukraine was ranked 104th of 182 countries in the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index, while Russia was ranked 157th of 182 countries. She did not respond to a question from the Enterprise as to whether U.S. monies supporting the Russian oil industry and, by extension, the Russian government’s efforts in Ukraine, concerned her.
The state of play
The U.S. is the largest producer of oil and gas globally; it exported 55% of its domestic crude and natural gas in 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The U.S. primarily exports its crude due to a mismatch in oil types. U.S. refineries were upgraded to process heavy sour, a thick crude that contains a high sulfur content, while the U.S. produces and exports light sweet crude, which has a lower sulfur content, requires less refining and sells at a premium cost.
The mismatch between the oil types is directly related to the Shale Revolution, which occurred in the 1990s and early 2000s, and gave rise to hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
Previously, the U.S. was the world’s largest oil importer, but that boom allowed the country to shift and become the largest global exporter of oil and gas. While American refineries are capable of processing sweet crude, its refineries were purpose-built with secondary processing facilities — such as delayed cokers and hydrocrackers — for the complex task of refining heavy sour; consequently, oil companies deemed it more economically beneficial to export U.S. oil to the global market at a premium rate.
Last year, Reuters reported that U.S. refineries were considering a switch to greater domestic processing due to Trump’s proposed tariffs and lower demand. Subsequent reporting found that oil companies ultimately decided against that strategy.