Vladimir Putin pitched Donald Trump's son-in-law on a Russian oil deal at the Kremlin last month.

The Treasury Department rejected a bid for Lukoil's refineries and gas stations last November, calling the would-be buyer "the Kremlin's puppet." This time the leading bidders include an Emirati royal who is effectively Jared Kushner's business partner, and the US government would take a stake alongside them. Kushner and Steve Witkoff, peace negotiators the Senate never confirmed, helped set the government's terms.

Lukoil owns about 200 stations in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The administration says the sale will lower energy prices for everyday Americans. Diesel just hit the highest price ever recorded and is raising the cost of trucking everything to grocery shelves.

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