Mitt Romney issues rare statement as Republicans challenge Trump's Russia deal

WASHINGTON — Former Utah Sen. Mitt Romney said the United States could embark on a path of abandoning liberty if the country does not stand behind Ukraine, joining a growing list of Republicans who are critical of President Donald Trump's sanctions waiver.

In a rare public statement over the weekend, Romney issued a stark warning to Trump when it comes to making deals with Russia at the expense of Ukraine, a U.S. ally. The brief post on social media coincides with some congressional Republicans threatening to stall Trump's agenda after the midterm elections if the president doesn't resume sanctions against Russia.

"'We will pay any price….to assure the success and survival of liberty.' Is this still true?" Romney wrote, loosely quoting President John F. Kennedy's 1961 inaugural address. "Do we prize liberty or do we prize power and purse? No more clear test than the choice between Ukraine and Russia. Abandon Ukraine and we abandon liberty. Eventually even our own."

Trump signed an executive order on Friday night that would exempt Russia from a sweeping sanctions package that Congress passed last month, raising concerns among Ukrainian officials the deal would financially boost Russia as it continues its invasion. The order did not explain why the sanctions were being lifted, but it comes amid record-high gas prices in the United States that Trump has sought to ease before the midterm elections.

The order was signed one week after Trump announced a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to import Russian diesel fuel, a decision that elicited backlash from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as well as congressional Republicans. Utah Sen. John Curtis was among those who urged the president to reverse course.

GOP lawmakers threaten Trump agenda

Some Republican lawmakers have even gone so far as to threaten derailing key agenda items for Trump during the lame-duck legislative period between the midterm elections and the beginning of the next Congress. Depending on the election results, Republicans could be pressured to approve certain funding items in that two-month period that would otherwise become dead on arrival if Democrats win control of either chamber next year.

"Congress has a lame-duck session. The President has an agenda: supplemental, reconciliation, Ballroom, etc.," Rep. Don Bacon, who is retiring in January, said in a post on X. "I think the agenda is dead. Many of us won't fund these things knowing he is propping up a dictator's invasion and throwing an ally under the bus."

GOP Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, who is in a tight reelection fight in Pennsylvania, told The Wall Street Journal that government funding could get withheld in the upcoming legislative session if "agencies … (are) not doing their jobs."

Trump has since doubled down on his executive order, suggesting in a lengthy post over the weekend that Zelenskyy opposes his deal with Russia because the Ukrainian leader does not want the war to end.

"I am in the process of negotiating Peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and don't want to do anything that will drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. "Russia is doing very little, if anything, to help the Islamic Republic of Iran, compared to what they could be doing, and I want to keep it that way, and will, unless stupid people get in the way. Lastly, Zelenskyy is using Diesel Refineries in Russia as a target, knowing that these attacks are seriously hurting the world diesel markets, including those in the United States."

Zelenskyy briefed a bipartisan group of lawmakers on Monday to offer updates on intelligence-sharing capabilities and defense satellite networks, both of which the Ukrainian president said were partially degraded.

Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who helped lead negotiations on the Russia sanctions bill, said Zelenskyy has signaled a willingness to pause attacks on refineries and energy infrastructure but only if Putin does the same.

"Unquestionably, we stand with Ukraine against Russia's murderous invasion," Blumenthal wrote. "Ukraine wants peace and is ready to negotiate — appeasement won't work with Putin, a thug who understands only strength and force."

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