Trump put the Graham sanctions on hold.

WASHINGTON — President Trump on Friday signed an executive order that puts on hold a sweeping sanctions package aimed at the Russian economy, the Associated Press reported. He told Congress the pause was in the national interest. He had signed the bill himself last month. The waiver came two days before a deadline written into the law. In the order, Politico reported, he wrote: “I am hereby waiving the application of such sanctions, restrictions, and duties provided for in the Graham Act.” He certified that the waiver was “in the national interests of the United States.” The decision was posted on the White House website late Friday. The White House did not immediately explain the national-interest claim. Congressional Democrats condemned it.

The law is named for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who died in July after a trip to Ukraine. It was also drafted by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut. It was meant to sanction Russian officials, banks, and a shadow fleet of tankers, and to direct tariffs of up to 100 percent on the top five importers of Russian oil or natural gas, with a narrow exception. It passed both chambers by large majorities. Blumenthal said Trump was turning his back on “the majority of Americans, their representatives in both houses of Congress, and our European allies.” He said: “These waivers have nothing to do with our national security, and everything to do with sucking up to Vladimir Putin.” Rep. Don Beyer, Democrat of Virginia, said he had warned this could happen and called on Congress to fix the law.

These waivers have nothing to do with our national security, and everything to do with sucking up to Vladimir Putin.

The pause follows the diesel arrangement Trump announced last week. He said Russia would supply more than 300,000 tons at once, another 500,000 tons in November, and 1 million tons after that. The Associated Press reported that Republicans and Democrats alike have said the deal helps Russia wage the war without changing the fuel prices, which are high mostly because of the war in Iran. Sen. Darline Graham, the late senator’s sister, holds the seat for the rest of the term and is running to keep it. In a debate in Columbia she said the law “gives the president tools that he can use if he so chooses.” Zelensky’s answer, and the overnight strikes, are on the war page. The Dalton rally is the lead.

The photograph shows Trump on Friday, thumbs up, beside an aircraft, in the red cap he wore at Dalton. The order went on the White House site that night. This frame is not the document.