Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) on Saturday issued rare approval of President Donald Trump, commending the White House for lifting sanctions on Russia.
The White House waived the sanctions on Friday, after the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) championed the penalties as a measure designed to support Ukraine in its war against Moscow.
The sanctions relief triggered swift backlash from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, many Democrats in the U.S., and even some Republicans in Congress. But Massie praised Trump for the action over the weekend. His celebration came despite long-standing hostilities with the president over the national debt and foreign policy issues. Trump even endorsed Massie’s primary opponent earlier this year in a race the lawmaker ultimately lost, meaning he must leave Congress in January.
“I was one of only 7 republicans to vote against the short-sighted Lindsay Graham sanctions bill,” Massie said in a post to X. “Glad to see Trump has used the executive authority granted to him by Congress to waive almost all of the provisions of this stupid law that pertain to Russia.”
For the most part, Republicans avoided publicly breaking with the president over his decision, though two outgoing lawmakers, Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and John Cornyn (R-TX), rebuked Trump over the matter.
Democrats by and large have attacked Trump for waiving the sanctions.
“By giving the Russian economy life support, Trump’s deal with the devil keeps getting dirtier,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said.
Zelensky weighed in on the debate Saturday morning, saying his country’s fight against Russia has been “difficult” without Graham leading support in the U.S.
“I want to thank both Democrats and Republicans who supported his bill. That was a major victory: this truly bipartisan support. And now, the decision to undo all of this, to block all of it, seems wrong to me,” the Ukrainian president said. “And it definitely helps only the Russians. It only fuels their satisfaction and their desire to keep killing people. This certainly does not stop the war.”
Trump and Zelensky have a volatile relationship. While the U.S. has at times praised Ukraine, Trump has in recent days turned increasingly against Zelensky, due to his anger that Kyiv has not signed a peace deal to end its war against Russia.
Earlier this month, Trump called for new leadership in Ukraine due to such concerns.