President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order putting a sweeping new sanctions package targeting the Russian economy on hold, notifying Congress that the pause was in the national interest.

The move came just two days before a deadline set in the law itself for its implementation — barely a month after Trump personally signed the legislation. In practical terms, the order blocks the sanctions from taking effect under the timeline Congress wrote into the statute. It quickly drew sharp condemnation from congressional Democrats.

Named for the late South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, the legislation had sought to clamp down more quickly on the flow of financial resources fueling the war against Ukraine.

The decision was unexpected on a second front as well: it came just one week after Trump stunningly said the United States had agreed to purchase diesel from Russia in an effort to bring down global energy prices, even though the arrangement could hurt Ukraine in its war with Russia.

Trump's pivot lands amid mounting political pressure. An AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll published Oct. 1 found that Americans disapprove of the president's handling of the Iran war and blame him for higher prices. Trump's approval ratings have sunk to near-historic lows, and pressure is mounting as Republicans try to hold control of both chambers of Congress in midterm elections on Nov. 3.

Graham, a close ally and friend of the president, had just returned from Ukraine when he unexpectedly died in July. He had advocated for stricter U.S. sanctions against Russia as a way of pressuring it to end its war in Ukraine. His colleagues in Congress responded with bipartisan support after his death, and Trump affixed his signature to the legislation — before changing his mind on Friday.

The package had been designed to starve Russian President Vladimir Putin of the resources Moscow needs to continue the war, which began with Russia's invasion of its neighbor more than four years ago. The bill, also drafted by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., had sought to sanction Russian officials, banks, and the shadow fleet of tankers that keeps Russian energy moving.

It also directed Trump to impose tariffs of up to 100% on the top five importers of Russian oil or natural gas, with an exception for countries that import less than 15% of Russia's natural gas exports and have taken significant steps to reduce those imports.

Blumenthal said in a statement that Trump was turning his back on "the majority of Americans, their representatives in both houses of Congress, and our European allies."

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

Democratic Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia noted on social media shortly after the suspension was announced that he and others had "warned" that Trump might make such a move. The veteran congressman, who spoke out against the bill as it was debated, called on Congress to "fix this flawed law to stop Trump from capitulating to Putin and ensure that it truly supports Ukraine."

The White House did not immediately explain how pausing the sanctions served the national interest. The decision was posted on the White House website late in the evening, and the notification noted that a report explaining the decision had been submitted to Congress. What that report says — and whether Congress takes up Beyer's call to revise the statute — now stands as the nearest-term marker of where the law goes from here.

The pause nonetheless comes as Trump has increasingly lashed out at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, blaming him for failing to make a deal with Putin to end the fighting. The Trump administration, meanwhile, had remained mostly quiet since the bill passed the House and Senate with large majorities following Graham's sudden death — a push that lawmakers had been urged on toward by Zelenskyy.

Under last week's agreement, Trump said Russia would immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel, to be followed by an additional 500,000 tons in November and 1 million tons "immediately thereafter." The November tranche is the next scheduled step in that timeline.

Trump's diesel deal with Putin has been pilloried by Republicans and Democrats alike, who say it will help Russia execute its war against Ukraine without making a difference to global fuel prices, which are elevated mostly due to Trump's war on Iran.

The sanctions Trump has now suspended, meanwhile, had also become a campaign centerpiece for Sen. Darline Graham, the late senator's sister, who was appointed to serve out the remaining months of his current term. She is now running to replace him in the Senate more permanently.

Darline Graham said in a statement after Trump signed the bill, "I wish Lindsey were here to celebrate this historic day." In a debate earlier this week with Democratic nominee Annie Andrews, Graham — who has Trump's endorsement and is expected to campaign with him in South Carolina next week — said she had been "so proud" to help get the measure passed.

She acknowledged, however, that how the law is implemented is the president's purview.

"It gives the president tools that he can use if he so chooses, to end the war through economic sanctions," Graham said Sunday during a debate in Columbia. "So that's up to him as to whether or not he wants to use it, or whether he wants to use something else, but I think the purpose of it is to bring down the gas prices and ultimately end the war. And when the war ends, gas prices will fall."

Friday's pause is that choice in action — the tools Congress handed the president remain unused for now, and the Nov. 3 midterms arrive with the question of the law's fate still open.

This story was featured on Fortune.com.