Senate Democrats are pressing for a congressional hearing on the Trump administration’s decision to ease sanctions on Russian oil, arguing that the step could benefit Moscow even as the Kremlin is providing support for Iranian forces, according to a report by The Hill. 

Minority members of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee have formally asked Chair Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican, to hold a hearing with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent by the end of March, according to the news outlet, which cited a letter first published by Punchbowl News.

The March 10 letter follows the disclosure earlier this month that the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) was temporarily easing sanctions on Russian oil sales to India with a 30-day waiver intended to help cushion rising crude prices. The White House had previously accused India of helping to fuel Russia’s war efforts through oil purchases. 

The waiver applies only to Russian crude oil already in tankers at sea, Bessent said in a social-media post on Friday. 

“This deliberately short-term measure will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government because it only authorizes transactions involving oil already stranded at sea,” Bessent wrote on X.

On Tuesday, Senate Democrats questioned Bessent’s claim, arguing that the waiver would hand Moscow billions of dollars and incentivize further sanctions evasion by the network of oil trade traders and shadow-fleet tankers involved in the sale. 

“By unlocking payment for an estimated 145 million barrels of Russian oil, the license allows billions of dollars to flow into Russia and to Russian intermediaries right as U.S. officials have confirmed that Russia is providing Iranian forces the locations of U.S.  assets, including warships and aircraft,” the lawmakers wrote. 

“The Trump Administration cannot simultaneously claim to be prioritizing U.S. military operations while offering sanctions relief to Putin,” they said. 

Democrats also argued the action may violate the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, which requires the president to notify Congress 30 days before changing sanctions on countries, including Russia, The Hill reported. 

Read more at The Hill