Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) suggested President Donald Trump’s diesel fuel deal with Russian president Vladimir Putin may be illegal while appearing Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Tillis weighed in on Trump’s deal after host Kristen Welker mentioned the 2022 law passed by Congress that banned Russian oil imports unless certain stipulations were met, including Russia withdrawing from Ukraine.

“The law says any changes to that have to be run through Congress. Do you believe the president is breaking the law with this deal with Russia?” Welker asked Tillis.

Tillis replied, “I believe that he may be” before adding that the deal could yield “deadly consequences.”

“Giving Vladimir Putin any sense that we’re going to put our foot on the brakes versus put our foot on the accelerator to ending this war and ensuring peace in Europe, we’ve got to go back,” he continued. “And I do believe there’s a legitimate case for saying the president’s not following the law.”

Trump announced Friday in a Truth Social post that Russia will supply diesel fuel to the American and global marketplace. The president said that through the deal, record-high fuel prices will be “COMING DOWN, IN RECORD NUMBERS, AND FAST!”

Trump’s announcement came after years of U.S. pressure on Moscow over its war with Ukraine.

Tillis said “we were very clear that Russia is the aggressor,” before arguing, “Russia is the one who can end this war by backing out of territory that they occupied.”

Welker then brought up recent reports from NBC News that said “Russia is shipping explosives to Iran” and “providing intelligence to Iran on the location of U.S. forces.” She asked Tillis if he thinks Trump’s deal with Putin puts American lives at risk.

“It absolutely will,” Tillis replied, before slamming the “cozy relationship that Putin has had with Iran over the years.”

“So, look, these are bad people hanging out with bad people, putting American lives at risk, particularly our Special Operators and people forward deployed,” he continued. “People in the White House, or I should say people in the Department of Defense and our intelligence operations really need to beat a path to the president’s office and say, ‘Look, this guy has a murderous rap sheet. He cannot be trusted.’”

Tillis added, “And I will guarantee you at the first opportunity Putin has to embarrass or undermine President Trump, he will.”

HuffPost has reached out to the White House for comment.

Tillis told Welker he isn’t the only Republican lawmaker concerned about Trump’s deal, which critics worry contradicts recent U.S. efforts to cut Russian oil sales.

“There are a number of Republicans. In fact, take a look at the vote for the Lindsey Graham sanctions bill,” Tillis said, referencing the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 that Trump signed into law three weeks ago, which permitted Trump to impose tariffs up to 100% on the top purchasers of Russian crude oil or gas, among other ramifications.

“That was 86 votes, if I remember. That’s a universal position of the U.S. Senate. And the president’s actions and his comments over the last 24 hours are the exact opposite of the intent of that bill,” Tillis added.

On Saturday, Trump urged Ukraine to replace its President Volodymyr Zelensky, which Tillis also warned against. Trump also blamed Zelensky for diesel prices.

“The president needs to realize that tens of thousands of people have died over this illegal invasion, and I get it that he may be frustrated,” he said. “But he needs to understand who the good guys are in this disagreement and who the bad guys are, and it’s not even close.”

Trump claimed Sunday in a Truth Social post that Ukraine and Russia have agreed to an “energy ceasefire” amid the ongoing conflict.

Zelensky told Axios Sunday that the announcement “was news for me. But if Russians agree to an energy ceasefire, Ukraine will agree.”

Trump announced a similar ceasefire last month, however, neither Ukraine nor Russia confirmed that a deal had been agreed upon, as the two countries continued attacking each other.

Watch Tillis’ interview below.

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