Some Republican senators aren’t fond of President Donald Trump inviting Russian President Vladimir Putin to the upcoming G20 summit, marking the latest instance of GOP lawmakers breaking with their party leader on a host of policy issues as the midterm elections draw near.
It’s an invitation to the annual meeting among the world’s economic powerhouses to talk trade and finances that, should Putin accept, would be the first time he attends since his invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
But that doesn’t mean senators are welcoming Putin.
“I think that’s a mistake. I think he’s a pariah,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) said of Putin, citing what he’s “done in Europe and the damage that he’s caused to Ukraine.”
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who lost his primary this summer to Trump-backed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, likewise called it a “mistake” amid concerns Putin could draw the United States into another war to defend a NATO ally.
“I don’t know why we continue to coddle stone-cold killers like Putin,” Cornyn said. “He’s a clear and present danger, not only to Ukraine, but to NATO itself, which could have disastrous consequences in terms of our responsibilities under Article 5.”
Sen. Todd Young (R-IN), a military veteran, suggested the invite to the Miami-based event at Trump’s Doral resort in December should only stand if Putin is ready to make “concessions” in the war against Ukraine.
“If it’s to announce that Putin has made some significant concessions as it relates to a war that he started and continues to sustain, then great,” Young said. “I think elevating Vladimir Putin is not where we should be focused right now. It should be trying to come up with ways to bring him to the table for a serious negotiation.”
The invite’s revelation came Wednesday — the same day Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Washington for a three-day state visit — from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who told reporters at the U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York City. But it also acted as an invite for criticism from members of the president’s own party, who are growing increasingly weary of America’s war with Iran.
“We think it’s an opportunity for him to engage, not just with the president, but with other world leaders,” Rubio said. “We hope that’s an invitation he’ll accept.”
Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this week at the U.N. event and has angled to broker peace between Ukraine and Russia since retaking the White House but has so far been unsuccessful. Zelensky said that he hopes Trump “will help us end this war” as soon as “before winter.”
Trump also received some criticism from beyond Washington. Nikki Haley, a former GOP presidential candidate, South Carolina governor, and U.N. ambassador in Trump’s first term, labeled it “irresponsible.”
“Putin attacked Ukraine,” Haley posted on X. “Putin has helped the Iranians in the war against the US. Putin continues to threaten our NATO allies. This is irresponsible.”
US INVITES PUTIN TO G20 SUMMIT IN MIAMI FOR FIRST TIME SINCE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR BEGAN
Still, Russia has among the globe’s top 10 largest economies, and Trump is reportedly weighing offering economic incentives to end the war on the heels of him signing into law a new bipartisan sanctions measure passed by Congress.
“I won’t question the president’s decision to do it,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who’s third in line to the presidency as Senate president pro tempore. “I might look at it from this standpoint, whether I agree with it or not: There might be a justification for it because [Russia] is [one of the] largest economies in the world.”