WASHINGTON ¨C Several congressional Republicans are harshly criticizing President Donald Trump¡¯s White House over its handling of a proposed Ukraine peace plan they say favors Russia, a sharp departure for a party that has adhered closely to almost all of Trump¡¯s initiatives. Backers of Ukraine have worried that a U.S.-based 28-point framework for ending the war in Ukraine, first reported last week, means Trump¡¯s administration might be willing to push Kyiv to sign a peace deal heavily tilted toward Moscow.
¡°This so-called ¡¯peace plan¡¯ has real problems, and I am highly skeptical it will achieve peace,¡± Sen. Roger Wicker, the Republican chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement on Friday. Those fears escalated when Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday that Trump¡¯s envoy Steve Witkoff, in an Oct. 14 telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin¡¯s policy aide Yuri Ushakov, said they should work together on a ceasefire plan and that Putin should raise it with Trump.
¡°For those who oppose the Russian invasion and want to see Ukraine prevail as a sovereign & democratic country, it is clear that Witkoff fully favors the Russians. He cannot be trusted to lead these negotiations. Would a Russian paid agent do less than he? He should be fired,¡± Republican Rep. Don Bacon said on X. While Trump¡¯s party remains overwhelmingly behind him, the criticism from Republican lawmakers is notable, given the president¡¯s recent setbacks, including Democratic election victories this month and Congress backing the release of Justice Department files on the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, an outcome Trump fought for months.
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