STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
A bipartisan group of senators has objected to the president lifting sanctions on Russian energy. One of them is Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Democrat of New Hampshire, and we've reached her while she's on a congressional delegation visit to southeastern Europe. She's in Croatia. Senator, welcome.
JEANNE SHAHEEN: Thank you. Nice to be with you.
INSKEEP: Assuming this deal with Russia is authentic, what's wrong with buying Russian diesel?
SHAHEEN: Well, first of all, there's no reason to believe this deal is authentic. But in 2022, Congress passed a law that expressly prohibited Russian imports. And it said the only way the administration could do that is if they first consulted with Congress and got Congress to agree to certain - if they agreed to the conditions that Congress set forth. This administration has not done that. And I question whether Russia even has any diesel to give to the United States. The fact is, Russia, because of the strikes against their energy infrastructure, has had long lines of cars queuing up and trucks queuing up to get - fill their gas tanks and fill diesel.
And so this is an effort by the president to try and pretend that there's a reason why Americans are suffering from high gas and diesel prices that's not the war in Iran. And that's exactly why Americans are suffering. It's because this president started a war in Iran, and he has - he is being played by Vladimir Putin.
INSKEEP: Is it necessary, though, to do something - for the United States to do something - given the administration's choice to go to war with Iran?
SHAHEEN: Well, the administration should find a way to end the war in Iran. They should keep negotiating, and they're not willing to do that. They haven't been willing to stay at the table.
INSKEEP: The president here has also blamed Ukraine for striking Russian energy facilities, suggesting that that is at least one factor in the high diesel prices. Do you blame Ukraine for taking that step?
SHAHEEN: Absolutely not. The fact is Ukraine is trying to defend their country against these Russian attacks that are killing civilians by the hundreds on a weekly basis, that are undermining the country as it tries to move towards the West and democracy, and they're doing what they need to protect themselves. And the fact is, again, the president is looking for a scapegoat because he's in trouble with the American people because he's not done what he promised to do. He went to war in Iran when he said he wasn't going to engage in never-ending wars. He's done nothing about the high cost of living that people are facing.
And so now people are seeing gas prices rise, diesel prices rise, grocery prices, rents and mortgages. Across the board, Americans are feeling the cost of this war in Iran, and President Trump is trying to blame someone else.
INSKEEP: I'm curious about a detail we've heard. A Kremlin spokesman said in the last couple of days that Trump and Putin talked for an hour and that Trump would have loved to talk more. They seem to be great friends. Is there anything for the United States in that friendship?
SHAHEEN: There is not. And what the president continues to deny is that the only way to get Vladimir Putin to come to the table and seriously negotiate on Ukraine is for the United States and Europe to continue to put pressure on him. And every time President Trump lifts the sanctions on gas and oil and allows Russia to continue to fund this illegal war in Ukraine, he just extends the war. And there are thousands of people who have died because this administration is unwilling to do something to put pressure on Vladimir Putin.
INSKEEP: One other thing, Senator. Suppose you win the U.S. Senate - control of the Senate in November. Democrats are given a reasonable chance of prevailing in the Senate and a likelihood of prevailing in the House. Suppose you're in the majority in the Senate. How do you intend to approach the administration on these issues?
SHAHEEN: Well, I think there's already bipartisan opposition. As you pointed out, this was bipartisan opposition that we sent to the administration against his proposal to allow Russian diesel to come into the United States. So there's bipartisan support for Ukraine. And hopefully our Republican colleagues, if they take a shellacking in November, will be willing to stand up to the president.
INSKEEP: Do you think...
SHAHEEN: Because the Democrats certainly will do that if we're in the majority.
INSKEEP: Do you think that you'll have the numbers to make the Senate function - to be an effective check to the president? Because as you know, a narrowly divided Senate doesn't work very well.
SHAHEEN: Well, the voters will decide that in November.
INSKEEP: Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire is traveling in Croatia. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.
SHAHEEN: Thank you.
INSKEEP: We'll note that we've invited multiple Republican lawmakers to join us this morning, and those invitations remain open for a future day. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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