Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) unveiled legislation on Friday seeking to award President Donald Trump with the highest civilian honor Congress holds the authority to bestow.
Orden cited Trump’s work brokering a peace deal in Gaza and seven other international conflicts as proof the president deserves the Congressional Gold Medal.
“President Trump has demonstrated unmatched determination in bringing about historic peace agreements across the globe. From brokering ceasefires in the Middle East to resolving long-standing conflicts in Europe, Africa, and Asia, his leadership has saved countless lives and restored stability in regions torn by war,” Van Orden said in a statement.
Van Orden said this week he is introducing the bill because Trump didn’t win this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. Multiple world leaders and other figures nominated Trump in 2025, but most came after the Jan. 31 deadline.
Trump said Friday he didn’t particularly care about winning the award so much as bringing peace to war-torn countries.
“Every time I solve a war, they say, ‘If you solve the next one, you’re gonna get the Nobel!’ … I don’t care about all that stuff. I just care about saving lives,” he told reporters at the White House. “I love solving wars. You know why? I like stopping people from being killed.”
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado won the coveted prize earlier this month. Machado chose to dedicate the award to Trump because she said “he deserves it,” not only because he has been involved “in solving 8 wars, but his actions have been decisive to have Venezuela now at a threshold of freedom after 26 years of tyranny.”
Van Orden suggested the committee should have selected Trump for his role in making eight peace deals, including agreements between Israel and Hamas, Armenia and Azerbaijan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, Israel and Iran, India and Pakistan, Cambodia and Thailand, Egypt and Ethiopia, and Serbia and Kosovo.
“Despite these extraordinary accomplishments, the Nobel Peace Prize has failed to recognize him, an honor he clearly deserves. That is why I introduced this bill to award President Trump the Congressional Gold Medal, a fitting recognition of President Trump’s historic leadership and his enduring, unwavering dedication to achieving peace through strength,” Van Orden said.
Trump has long ruminated on his desire to win the prize. After Machado won it this year, the White House declined to target her, but it blasted the Nobel Committee, alleging “they place politics over peace.”
BREAKING: President Trump just showed the kind of man he is
“Every time I solve a war, they say, ‘If you solve the next one, you’re gonna get [the Nobel]!’ I don’t CARE about all that stuff. I just care about saving LIVES.”
“I love solving wars. You know why? I like stopping… pic.twitter.com/WtG5y8nnis
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 17, 2025
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) revealed this week that he and Israeli Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana will jointly nominate Trump for next year’s prize.
His pledge comes after multiple international figures and U.S. officials have pushed to nominate Trump ahead of next year, including Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe, Gabonese President Brice Oligui Nguema, and Norwegian law professor Anat Alon-Beck.
Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) announced earlier this month that he supported Trump winning the peace prize. He also introduced a resolution expressing “the sense of Congress” that Trump should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for the historic peace deals secured during his time in office, including the recent announcement of an end to hostilities and release of hostages in the Israel-Hamas conflict.”
“He’s done more for world peace than any President in history,” Carter wrote in a post to X.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently revealed he would also nominate Trump for the prize if the president could secure peace between his country and Russia.
“The plan for ending the war won’t be easy, but it is certainly the way forward. And if Trump gives the world — above all, the Ukrainian people — the chance for such a ceasefire, then yes, he should be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize,” Zelensky said in early October.