MENU HAS CHANGED TO RICOS ELOTES FOR FREE AT TIMO'S REELECTION BASH!

Ed.'s Note: Tino Villarreal went from only the rich will attend to PLEASE ANYONE ATTEND! He had no choice. He’s he will probably give away 2 hotdogs, nachos and ricos elotes con mayonesa, chicle, sal y limon en vaso y HEB cokes.

Before the rich sponsors were going to get steak, salads, dessert, expensive wine and alcohol cocktails.

Oh, well, y'all come!

FROM THE MAN WHO SAID AFFORDABILITY WAS A DEMOCRATIC HOAX

La Cebolla

WASHINGTON—Touting the enormous impact his trade policy has had on the economy, President Donald Trump boasted in a speech Monday that the tariffs he had imposed on goods from other countries had proven highly successful at making things more expensive.

 “Thanks to my tariffs, the cost of buying virtually anything is now bigger and better than ever before,” said Trump, who added that he was happy to take “full credit” for the surging prices Americans were seeing for everything from gas to eggs to dishwasher detergent. 

“For years, things were affordable, and no other president had done anything about it. But I delivered in a huge way on my promise to make the purchase of basic household staples a complete nightmare. If voters want to see more of this, they should remember to show up at the polls in November.” 

Trump also boasted that the Iran war had finally allowed the United States to successfully close the Strait of Hormuz.

THEY WERE ROCKING' AND A ROLLING! WELCOME!. PONTE LOS CUERNOS AND BECOME AN ELK!

STING RAYS AND BREWERS SET FOR WORLD SERIES...

 IT'S TAMPA BAY STING RAYS AND AND MILWAUKEE BREWERS IN WORLD SERIES!

Rays and Brewers to clash in World Series as both teams seek first MLB title. Both clubs enter as their league’s respective No. 1 seed, buoyed by a heavy dose of youth, savvy veteran leadership and excellent pitching.

THEY TOOK BOCA CHICA, AND PUT IT IN A BEACH MUSEUM AND THEY CHARGED THE PEOPLE, A $1 AND A HALF JUST TO SEE IT...

By S. Texas Environmental Justice Network

We urge the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission (TPWD) to reject the proposed sale of Boca Chica State Park to Elon Musk and SpaceX.

Boca Chica Beach is an important coastal habitat for wildlife, including endangered migratory birds and ocelots. Texas should protect our state parks, not sell them to the highest bidder. Boca Chica is meant for the people, not for a billionaire to buy and exploit. Here's a news article with background information about the proposed sale: https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/boca-chica-spacex-elon-musk/

Selling this public parkland to SpaceX would further destroy this sensitive ecosystem and limit public access. For years, SpaceX launches have destroyed wildlife habitat, damaged homes, and polluted the beach; they must not be allowed to obtain more land to expand their unnecessary rocket launches.

Tell the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission to reject the proposed sale of Boca Chica to SpaceX and protect the habitat and public access for future generations.

To sing the petition, click on link: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-texas-parks-wildlife-dont-sell-boca-chica-beach-to-elon-musk-and-spacex?source=direct_link&

IT'S NOT A CARD GAME: WHAT'S AT STAKE IN UKRAINE

NOE URGES VOTERS TO CONSIDER QUALIFICATIONS, ASKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT TODAY

By Noe Garza

I am deeply grateful to the voters of Cameron County for the support and confidence you showed in the Democratic Party primary election earlier this year.

In a three-candidate race, I was honored to finish first. I am humbled by the trust so many of you have placed in me.

I also want to recognize Erin Hernandez Garcia. This was a clean and respectful race. I have great respect for her as a lawyer, as a professional and as a human being. It was truly an honor to share this race with her.

Today we move forward to the early-voting in the Nov. 3 general election. I humbly ask you to please come out and vote for me again.

If elected, Cameron County would make history. I would become the first district judge in our county’s history who was born in Mexico as well as bringing nearly 40 years of legal experience to the bench.

Early voting runs from October 19 through October 30 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Election Day is November 3.  
 

Please consider sharing this post so we can reach more voters across Cameron County.
Thank you again for your trust and support.

DR. LAURA: IT'S NOT GOSSIP, OR MUDSLINGING, ERIN'S RECORD SPEAKS FOR ITSELF

THE RECORD SPEAKS FOR ITSELF:

Key Votes Affecting Our Children, Families, and Taxpayers 

Voters deserve to know how their elected representatives vote on issues that affect their families, their children, and their community. The following votes are part of Representative Erin Gámez’s legislative record. How Erin Gámez Voted 1. 

SB 14 (2023) — VOTED NO Ban gender-transition surgeries, medications, and other medical treatments for minors. 

2. SB 15 (2023) — VOTED NO Keep biological males out of women’s college sports. 

3. HB 900 (2023) — VOTED NO Restrict sexually explicit books in public-school libraries. 

4. SB 12 (2023) — VOTED NO Restrict sexually oriented drag queen performances in the presence of minors. 

5. SB 17 (2023) — VOTED NO Ban diversity, equity, and inclusion offices and certain DEI practices at public universities. 

6. SB 763 (2023) — VOTED NO Allow public schools to employ or accept volunteer chaplains. 

7. SB 13 (2025) — VOTED NO Restrict inappropriate books and strengthen school-library review rules. 

8. HB 1106 (2025) — VOTED NO Protect parents from being classified as abusive or neglectful solely for refusing to affirm a child’s gender identity. 

9. HB 229 (2025) — VOTED NO Define biological sex for certain government records. 

10. SB 33 (2025) — VOTED NO Restrict the use of taxpayer-funded government resources to help people obtain abortions, including certain travel and support services. 

11. HB 3104 (2023) — VOTED YES Provide qualifying data-center projects with a sales-tax exemption for up to 20 years. 

Accountability in Austin During the August 2025 quorum walkout over congressional redistricting, Representative Erin Gámez left Texas with other lawmakers. She was assessed $6,961.88 in fines and related expenses for her 10 unexcused absences. 

Voters deserve to know how their representatives vote and how those decisions affect our children, families, and taxpayers. 

VOTES HAVE CONSEQUENCES. Brownsville deserves accountability, transparency, and leadership that puts our community first. Vote for Dr. Laura!

EARLY VOTING STARTS: WILL WE ELECT A PROVEN ADMINISTRATOR WITH INTEGRITY FOR COUNTY JUDGE, OR ONE WITH A CARTEL-LINKED PEDIGREE?

Special to El Rrun-Rrun
U.S. Dept. of Justice
Reforma

Various Sources

Today – as early voting starts for the Nov. 3 election – Cameron County voters are facing a watershed moment in their selection of county judge.

Will they elect Steve Guerra, the Democratic candidate with familial links to the Gulf Cartel, or will they repeat what they have done at least four other times and elect his Republican opponent – this time Mauro Garza – instead?

The Republicans were Tony Garza Jr., who was elected two times and went on to become Texas Secretary of State and then U.S. embassador to Mexico. Cascos was elected twice and followed Garza by being appointed as Texas SOS. Could history repeat itself?

Guerra beat incumbent Eddie Treviño after a nasty internecine Democratic Party runoff where his anonymous proxies used misinformation and innuendo charging Trevino sold Boca Chica Beach to SpaceX's Elon Musk, that he received shady under-the-table construction contracts, and pictured him as a rodent, or a "rata."

He is now calling upon his opponent and those of his followers he maligned for party "unity" to face his opponent Garza in the November 3 general election. Is this a case where party loyalty demands too much?

In contrast, Garza's campaign for his party's nomination refrained from maligning his competition and urges putting "county before party and people before politics."

But it is Guerra's Gulf Cartel connection that should give county voters cause for concern. This is not hearsay. It is documented across genealogy, court cases citation, and U.S. Department of Justice cases,  evidence, and press statements.

There is no dispute or cause for defamation or libel (the truth is its own defense against libel) to say that Guerra: 

GRANDFATHER WAS FOUNDER OF GULF CARTEL

* Is the grandson of Cartel del Golfo founder Juan N. Guerra, whose criminal organization was headquartered in Matamoros and northern Tamaulipas and used violence and coercion to gain control of smuggling routes and bribed officials at every level of government. (That's Don Juan in the white hat and Juan Abrego Garcia standing with a white Styrofoam cup in his hand). Rivals were eliminated.

HIS FATHER UNCLE OF JUAN GARCIA ABREGO, RUTHLESS GULF CARTEL BOSS 

* That Steve Guerra's father is the uncle of  Juan Abrego Garcia, who took over the Gulf Cartel after Juan N. Guerra retired and passed away.
García Abrego was convicted on 22 counts including money laundering, drug trafficking, intent to distribute and running an ongoing criminal enterprise. After a four-week trial, a jury needed only 12 hours to convict García Abrego on all charges. He was sentenced by the presiding judge to 11 consecutive life terms, and is currently incarcerated at the United States Penitentiary, Florence, ADMAX, (commonly known as ADX Florence) in Florence, Colorado. His rivals were often eliminated.

HIS AUNT SANDRA MEDINA GUERRA: PRICE FIXING, CONSPIRACY TO MONOPOLIZE

* That Steve is the nephew of Sandra Guerra Medina, who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to fix prices and allocate the market for transmigrante forwarding agency services and one count of conspiracy to monopolize the same market. Guerra also agreed to pay fines as part of their plea agreements. According to the DOJ of the Southern District of Texas, Guerra was involved in a long-running and violent conspiracy which involved price fixing, extortion and money laundering. She joined seven others who also entered guilty pleas for their various roles in a scheme to monopolize the transmigrante forwarding agency industry in the Los Indios border region near Harlingen and Brownsville.

Some of their rivals and transmigrantes who did not comply with their enforced monopoly disappeared and were eliminated.

STEVE'S OWN LINKS TO CARTEL HUACHICOL

Yes, you may say, Steve Guerra's kin is involved in cartel-linked enterprises, but you should not visit the sins of the father upon the son. That is, until, you see that Steve himself did business with his Warrior's Fuel Traders LLC that purchased $100,000s, more likely millions, of fuel in the United States and shipped them to Mexico to corporations that have been identified as engaging in fiscal huachicol through criminal cartels. A full search for the record of those transactions is currently underway.

After months of denying any link between him and the importation of petroleum products into Mexico, documentation from the Mexican government, the Texas secretary of State, state district court records, and federal sources have  linked Brownsville Navigation District chairman Steve Guerra directly to shipments between his Warrior Fuel Traders Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) and Pyrodiesel Del Cento SA de CV, named by the Federal Criminal Intelligence Center of Mexico as a principal in the smuggling of fuel by the Mexican cartels.

Guerra was first elected to the BND board in 2018 and appointed chair in 2022. He was reappointed to the position in May 2024. He beat Trevino in the Democratic Party runoff and is running against Mauro Garza in the general election this November 3.

A lawsuit in state court outlined a debt of Guerra's LLC of non-payment to Key Performance Petroleum Company of Navasota, Texas in just a month.

7

In that lawsuit, Key Performance president Mark Jackson filed an affidavit October 26, 2022 in support of his company's lawsuit demanding payment of an outstanding balance of $333,484.47 and attached copies of 24 invoices totaling shipments of diesel and other petroleum products they had shipped at Warrior Fuel Traders' request over a a month's period in 2020 that had not been paid. Guerra was served the next day, October 27.

Before that, Warrior Fuels had been doing business for close to two years. Key Performance local agent Lindsay Clark, of Brownsville, was named as the local seller.

In Cause No: 2022-DCL-05154-I plaintiff Key Performance lists a systematic record of transactions that made up the outstanding balance of Warrior Fuel Traders, LLC.

Government investigations revealed that Warrior Fuel Traders/Steve Guerra was in direct business with Pyrodiesel Del Cento SA de CV. Pyrodiesel has been named as a principal in fuel smuggling activities (huachicol) of petroleum by the Federal Criminal Intelligence Center of Mexico. https://es-us.noticias.yahoo.com/huachicoleros-controlaban-puertos-pa%C3%ADs-060000638.html

Invoices to Warrior Fuel Traders from Key Performance indicate the diesel and petroleum products were shipped through Eagle Pass, Texas and delivered to Pyrodiesel. The Warrior Fuel Traders LLC was registered with the Texas Secretary Of State April 13, 2020 and its certification was forfeited June 24, 2022.

"The identification of the modus operandi: First modus operandi, the fuel is purchased in the United States and then imported into Mexico, where it is sold to various companies. These companies are responsible for distributing it through marketing and transportation companies, selling the fuel at a lower price than the one established in the national market.

"To this end, they use cloned gasoline and diesel import declarations to simulate the legal origin of the hydrocarbons, allowing them to legitimize the multiple sales they make," the Federal Center for Criminal Intelligence (FGR) analysis details.

As you step in line to vote, you, the voter, will decide who to entrust with the future of their families and the welfare of Cameron County.

EARLY VOTING DECISION: CHENTE, WHO SUPPORTS VETERANS; OR RUBBER-STAMP FLORES, WHO ABANDONED THEM, AND WANTS TWO MORE YEARS OF TRUMP'S CONTROL OF THE HOUSE?

 

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

A good commander stands with his troops through thick and thin.
He doesn't just stand there with his mouth shut when their service is attacked and disparaged.

And yet, Eric Flores, the Trump-endorsed candidate in the Nov. 3 election for U.S. House D-34 who touts his military service in the Texas National Guard – albeit with no documentation of it produced so far – has done just that.

After a ceremony in 2018 where Captain Luis Avila — a severely wounded Army officer originally from neighboring Louisiana — sang “God Bless America," Trump took the perfunctory photo-op with the wheelchair-bound veteran, and then privately told then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, “Why do you bring people like that here? No one wants to see that, the wounded.”

Flores remained silent and said nothing.

In September 2020 the Atlantic journalist Jeffrey Goldberg published an article citing sources who claimed that Trump referred to the American war dead at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris as "losers" and "suckers." And Flores – who claims he was a military leader in his campaign literature – said nothing.

On July 17, an air base in Jordan came under attack by an Iranian missile and killed four soldiers at the base. One soldier, Isabella Gonzales, was killed as were Staff Sgt. Angel Rampersad, 28, of Queens, Tyler Feehan, and Michael Swinton.

Chavelita Gonzales grew up in Carrollton, Texas, near Ft. Worth. She graduated from Hebron High School in the spring of 2025 and enlisted in the Army soon after. She finished basic training in December, joined an air defense unit in Germany, and shipped out to an air base in Jordan.

After the strike, Trump posted in his Truth Social: "Every time Iran kills an American Soldier they will pay for that killing many times over!"

Within a week, Peter Hegseth's Pentagon pulled all four of them off the Iran war's official list of the dead and filed them under a separate heading, "Overseas Operations." A spokesman blamed a "temporary data disruption." Then the story changed. The government now says they died during a ceasefire. 

In other words, according to Trump and Hegseth, the soldiers' death – including our own Chavelita – didn't count, effectively denying the soldiers' families military death benefits.

And Flores? Again, he said nothing.

And when the Trump Administration continues to deny and cut veterans' health benefits for those who served from South Texas, who will stand up to him and say "No!" Not Flores, you can rest assured.

The same happened when Trump kicked 600,000 South Texans of their health insurance in Budget FY 2020. 

And he says nothing of the MAGA republicans plans to gut Social Security and Medicaid which will hurt the low-income residents of D-34 disproportionately. If Flores is elected, we will have a congressman who will be nothing more than a  rubber stamp for Trump and the MAGA agenda.

Voting for Rubber Stamp Eric is the same thing as voting for the Trump agenda for two more years.  Hell no! Vote for Vicente Gonzalez. 

GINA, ABBOTT IN VIRTUAL DEAD HEAT; SOME POLLS FAVOR HER AS EARLY VOTING STARTS TODAY. GO GIRL, GOT YOUR BACK!

Team Gina

Two new polls just came out showing me ahead of Greg Abbott by 1-2 points.

That’s the fifth and sixth poll in the last month to show us leading this race. Not tied. Ahead.

If you’d told me a year ago, when we launched this campaign, that we’d be here, I’m not sure I would have believed you. But here we are, and it’s because of people like you.

Here’s what the numbers tell me:

Texans know Greg Abbott, and they’re tired of him. 52% of likely voters view him unfavorably, and only 44% favorably. After more than a decade of corruption that’s left Texas families to fend for themselves, voters across the political spectrum are ready for change.

And the more Texans get to know me, the more they like what they see. My name ID has jumped to 79% in just the last few weeks, and I’m still viewed favorably by a 12-point margin (45% to 33%), even after Abbott has spent millions attacking me.

Here is a closer look at the poll and other recent October polls. Greg Abbott, Gina Hinojosa statistically tied in Texas governor's race The ReconMR Texas Poll surveyed 617 Texas likely voters and has an overall margin of error of 4.4 percentage points. 

The poll found that both candidates hold their partisan bases, with Abbott leading Republicans 92% to 5% and Hinojosa leading Democrats 94% to 2%. 

Hinojosa leads likely independents 57% to 34%.

Together, we’ve turned this race from a long shot into a dead heat. A few months ago, people said we’d never get this close to taking Texas back. Now we’re on the edge of making history.

But Abbott knows it too. He’s raised more than $141 million in this campaign and already spent over $120 million of it trying to stop us. He still has $17 million left to spend on false attack ads right as voting begins. The undecided voters who will decide this race are about to be buried in them, and we need to make sure they hear from us too.

If you’ve been meaning to give, now is the time. Can you make your first gift before early voting starts so we can stay on the air in the final weeks? 

A NOT-SO-GENTLE REMINDER: WE AIM TO PLEASE, YOU AIM, TOO, PLEASE, AT THE "TOLIET"

Ed.'s Note: We're pretty sure that few – if any – of our readers can guess where this photo was taken in Brownsville. One of our seven readers who sent the photo would only say that it is one of the few cantinillas left in the city, but said it was nowhere near the Pablo Kiel strip favored by the younger fresa crowd. In reality, we really don't want to find out. Apuntale al toliet, ese!)

MAURO GARZA: NOTHING TO HIDE, NO PROMISED JOBS OR SPECIAL FAVORS LIKE STEVE GUERRA IS DOING

TIDBITS:

*I have not accepted donations from county vendors

* It's no secret that my opponent (Steve Guerra) has promised the same position to at least five people

* It is essential for the county to maintain its employees' institutional knowledge

* My campaign report is available to anyone

YOU'LL PAY THE PIPER UNTIL AFTER THEY GET YOUR VOTE...

THE SILVER LINING: TRUMPS IS AN EQUAL OPORTUNITY OFFENDER

AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH THAT SERVES REPUBLICANS BEST UNTIL AFTER THE MIDTERMS...

Bloomberg reported that top Pentagon officials have expressed their intention to hold off on releasing an internal report into the attack on a school in southern Iran until after the U.S. midterm elections at the earliest. 

The U.S. bombing of the Shajareh Tayyebeh children's school in the city of Minab on February 28, the first day of the war on Iran, killed at least 156 people — 120 of the victims were children, 26 were teachers, and the rest were parents.

Gloria Sage

Gee, I guess we can surmise what is in the report by their actions.

Audrey Davenport

Innocent people don't hide the facts.

ANTI-VICENTE GONZALEZ ADS: "A GIRL'S LOCKER ROOM SHOULD BE A SAFE PLACE..."

 

...AND THE MAGA HYPOCRISY WHEN IT COMES TO THEIR GREAT LEADER

 

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

The Howard Stern Show (2005): Trump stated he enters backstage dressing rooms during prep because as owner he is "inspecting" the contestants.

Former Contestant Accounts: Several women who competed in Miss USA and Miss Teen USA accused Trump of walking into dressing rooms while they were undressed.

At least four women who competed in a Miss Teen USA beauty pageant told BuzzFeed News that Donald Trump walked into their dressing room while the contestants as young as 15 were undressing.

(Meanwhile, Republican PACs are flooding your televsion market with dark insinuations against incumbent Democrat Vicente "Chente" Gonzalez, right.)

Mariah Billado, the former Miss Vermont Teen USA, tells Buzzfeed that the now 70-year-old Republican presidential candidate caused a panic in the dressing room of the 1997 pageant when he barged in unannounced as the young women were changing.

However, she says Trump shrugged off the intrusion, saying something along the lines of: “Don’t worry, ladies, I’ve seen it all before.”

A MOTH TO BEHOLD: ANYBODY KNOW WHAT KIND IS IT?

(Ed.'s Note: We received a photo of a large colorful moth from one of our seven readers who said it was perched on a large plate glass window of a local laundromat on Jaime Zapata Road (Coffeeport) Saturday morning. If you will notice, the four leaf-shaped spots on tis wings are transluscent and you can see the pattern of the glass through them. They say that everything in nature exists for a reason, but we are at a loss to explain what purpose the clear spots. It was about four to five inches across its wingspan. The closest we could come is a picture of an Atlas moth that resembles it somewhat. Can anyone out there share any light on this specimen?). 

SUDDENLY, ERIC FLORES WANTS TRUMP'S ENDORSEMENT SIGNS REMOVED

By Matthew Chapman

Raw Story

Texas Republican congressional candidate Eric Flores is demanding the removal of a Brownsville billboard that highlights his President Donald Trump endorsement and support for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, The Washington Sun reported on Friday, though his campaign says its objection is to the sign’s look rather than its message.

In an Oct. 12 cease-and-desist letter, Flores campaign lawyer Eric Wang told Lamar Advertising of the Rio Grande Valley to pull the digital sign right away. The letter says the billboard deliberately copies the style of Flores’ campaign materials “to cause voter confusion,” and that it “fraudulently purports to be on behalf of” the campaign.

The billboard’s fine print says it was paid for by the campaign of Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, Flores’ opponent in Texas’ 34th Congressional District. The letter instead identifies the Northern Cameron County Democrats as the payer. That group and Lamar didn’t respond to The Sun’s requests for comment, and Gonzalez’s campaign said the sign remained up Friday.

Nothing in the letter disputes Trump’s backing of Flores, who received the president’s “complete and total endorsement” in December, or his support for ICE. Flores spokesperson Matt Brownfield said the issue is deception.

“It is designed, on purpose, to cause people to think that it comes from the Flores Campaign. It is deceptive on its face. It is a scam.”

The Texas Observer reported this month that Flores’ signs have de-emphasized the Trump endorsement, part of a broader trend of Republicans scrubbing Trump from campaign materials. Gonzalez’s campaign said Flores is “ashamed” of the president and the ICE raids and skipped a debate. BOLD PAC, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’ campaign arm, said he’s now “paying lawyers to hide it.”

After Trump won the district in 2024, it was redrawn as part of Texas Republicans’mid-decade gerrymander to try to make it even more favorable to them. Trump would have carried it by about 10 points under the new lines, though the Cook Political Report rates the race a tossup.

TRUMP'S DIESEL TREASON BY ANY OTHER NAME IS STILL THE SAME...

By Allen Rappeport

New York Times

President Trump signed an executive order on Friday night exempting Russia from a new sanctions measure that Congress passed last month, offering another economic lifeline to Russian President Vladimir V. Putin as the United States turns to Russia for help in lowering gas prices.

The sanctions were intended to target Russian officials, oligarchs and financial institutions, and were part of a law that was named after Senator Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican who died in July after spending more than a year building support for the measure.

The law, which is intended to squeeze the financial lifelines sustaining Russia’s war against Ukraine, also provided Mr. Trump with additional tariff authority that he could use to punish countries that continue to trade with Russia.

The White House has broad authority to issue sanctions exemptions or waivers, and the new law requires Mr. Trump to notify Congress only if he opts against imposing the economic restrictions on Russia. Two days before the law is set to take effect, Mr. Trump exercised that power.

“I am hereby waiving the application of such sanctions, restrictions and duties provided for in the Graham Act,” Mr. Trump said in the order. “I have submitted to the Congress a certification that the issuance of such a waiver at this time is in the national interests of the United States.”

The order does not explain why waiving the sanctions is in the interests of the United States or what rationale Mr. Trump is providing to Congress for the waivers.

The decision comes as Mr. Trump has in recent weeks embraced Russia and expressed frustration that Ukraine’s attacks on Russian refineries were helping to push up gasoline and diesel prices around the world. The biggest factor limiting supplies, though, remains the war in Iran.

"The main issue is still the Strait of Hormuz — that there is not enough diesel coming out of the Strait of Hormuz,” said Sarah Raffou, an oil product analyst at Argus Media.

The price increases have triggered inflation weeks ahead of midterm elections that could cost Republicans control of Congress. Ukraine said it was willing to halt its refinery strikes if Russia halted its own attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Mr. Putin refused.

Mr. Trump announced last week that he had reached a deal with Mr. Putin, and that the United States would begin importing Russian diesel fuel. The Treasury Department temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian diesel exports “to allow the supply of Russian diesel to the global market,” and gave Russian energy producers a general license to sell diesel fuel until April.

That decision angered President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, and drew backlash from European officials. This week, bipartisan group of senators urged Mr. Trump to reverse the sanctions waiver on diesel fuel.