GOP lawmaker declares Trump's agenda 'dead' after president threw key ally 'under the bus'

Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) says President Donald Trump’s plans for the post-election session of Congress are finished. He blamed the president’s latest move on Russia.

“Congress has a lame-duck session. The President has an agenda: supplemental, reconciliation, Ballroom, etc… I think the agenda is dead,” Bacon wrote on X Saturday.

“Many of us won’t fund these things knowing he is propping up a dictator’s invasion and throwing an ally under the bus,” he added.

Bacon is a retired Air Force brigadier general. He was replying to CNN anchor Kate Bolduan, who had pointed to the GOP backlash over Trump’s decision to put on hold the sweeping Russia sanctions law named for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

“Tillis. Not holding back. Also saw @JohnCornyn just tweet ‘Lindsey would be appalled,’” Bolduan wrote. “But key question…what can/is the senate going to do about it?”

Bacon’s answer was money.

Trump signed an executive order Friday pausing the package, which he had signed into law only last month. He told Congress the pause was in the national interest. The law targets Russian banks, officials and the “shadow fleet” of tankers carrying Russian energy. It also calls for tariffs on the biggest buyers of Russian oil and gas.

A week earlier, Trump had announced a deal to import Russian diesel. He has since said Ukraine needs “a new president.”

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) had already blasted the pause as “beyond irresponsible.” He accused the administration of “capitulating to a Russian dictator who illegally invaded Ukraine and butchers innocent civilians every single day.”

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said, “Lindsey would be appalled,” Bolduan noted.

Bacon isn’t running for reelection. He has been one of the few House Republicans willing to break with Trump on Ukraine.

Congress has a lame-duck session. The President has an agenda: supplemental, reconciliation, Ballroom, etc… 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.
— Rep. Don Bacon 🇺🇸✈️🏍️⭐️🎖️ (@RepDonBacon) October 17, 2026