GOP rep warns that Trump’s agenda is ‘dead’ unless he reverses course on Ukraine

A prominent House Republican warned Wednesday that President Trump’s legislative wish list will be “dead” on Capitol Hill during the lame-duck session unless the administration reverses recent moves that could help Russia in its war with Ukraine.

Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), an Air Force veteran who sometimes spars with the White House on foreign policy, said the recent developments — including reports that the U.S. has stopped sharing intelligence with Kyiv — are benefiting an oligarchic adversary at the expense of a democratic ally.

If those policies don’t change, he warned, Ukraine’s defenders in the House — including some Republicans — will block the entirety of Trump’s post-midterm agenda.

“The Administration’s decision to reduce intel sharing to Ukraine & access to Starlink equates to aiding the invader & the war criminal who bombs cities,” Bacon wrote on the social platform X. “Does the Administration think it will get ANY support for the remainder of the 119th Congress? Their agenda is dead unless they change paths.”

Bacon is retiring at the end of this term. But his warning has teeth because he will still hold a seat in the lame-duck session, where Republican leaders are eyeing a number of proposals they want to push through before the year’s end. That list includes legislation to reauthorize farm and nutrition programs, extend federal surveillance powers, and fund the government to prevent a shutdown in mid-December.

It also includes a new round of Pentagon funding, which was expected before the elections but got pushed to the lame duck, at least in part to shield vulnerable Republicans from taking a tough vote related to the unpopular Iran war before voters went to the polls.

On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sounded a bullish note on that package, including funds for drones, Trump’s “Golden Dome” project and new munitions stockpiles, which have dwindled as a result of the Iran conflict.

“We’re in lockstep with the White House,” Hegseth said. “Regardless of what happens in the midterms, we’re running fast — immediately — with the committees, to ensure that that reconciliation bill, at a minimum of $350 [billion], potentially more, ultimately fills up what this department needs.”

Bacon’s warning predicts that Trump will have a tougher time pushing that package through Congress, unless the administration changes its approach to the Russia-Ukraine war.

Trump has always had a relatively cozy relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin going back to his first term, which marks a notable break from the adversarial association of past presidents in both parties.

Last year, Trump infuriated Ukraine’s allies when he and Vice President Vance confronted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House and accused him of being insufficiently grateful for U.S. support in the war.

A similar anger resurfaced last week when Trump cut a deal with Putin that relaxed U.S. sanctions on Russian diesel fuel, providing Moscow with a boost in funding to help underwrite the war. It escalated again this week after reports that Trump had stopped sharing U.S. intelligence with Ukraine and cut off Kyiv’s access to a specialized satellite system empowering battlefield communications.

That satellite system is owned by SpaceX, one of Elon Musk’s companies, but funded by the Pentagon. Zelensky wasted no time going after Trump, warning that his decisions will help Putin kill more Ukrainians.

“It’s a pity that we are losing [a] strong partner,” Zelensky told Piers Morgan, a British journalist.

“It’s not about business for us, it’s just our lives,” he continued. “That’s why it’s painful when President Trump chooses one side — not our side. … We are OK that he’s in the middle. But if you’re in the middle you have to stay in the middle, not on the wrong side. “