washington
CNN
—
If there’s one area where Senate Republican leaders have chosen to break with former President Donald Trump, it’s their embrace of Hungary’s far-right Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
While some Republicans have followed President Trump’s lead, including those who attended the Conservative Political Action Conference’s third annual meeting in Budapest this year, several prominent Republican senators have He has been quick to condemn Hungary’s actions on the world stage.
Most recently, five of those senators, including Republican leadership candidate Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, visited Hungary last week, and Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas said he was worried about Hungary’s democratic backsliding. issued a statement expressing the delegation’s concerns about the change in policy. Close relations with Russia and China.
“Our delegation and many of our colleagues in Congress are increasingly concerned about Hungary’s deepening and expanding ties with Russia and the continued erosion of our democratic institutions,” Moran said in a statement.
He added: “Hungary also continues to ignore concerns raised by our allies and partners regarding deepening relations with China. It is in our mutual interest that our two countries cooperate closely. We urge Hungary to: We ask that we listen to the concerns of our allies and act on them.”
Mr. Moran and Mr. Cornyn were joined by the top Senate Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), John Hoeven (North Dakota) and John Boozman (Arkansas).
During his 14 years as prime minister, Mr. Orbán succeeded in centralizing power, much to the chagrin of his critics and the European Union. In 2022, the European Parliament voted that Hungary could no longer be considered a true democracy, and the chamber voted against Prime Minister Orbán’s introduction of anti-LGBTQ laws, expanded control over the judiciary, and so-called “peace envoys” to Russia and China. denounced the group. , during the Ukraine war.
Prime Minister Orban supports Mr. Trump, and Mr. Trump has touted his support for the prime minister and even mentioned it during the presidential debate in September. The former president also hosted Mr. Orban at Mar-a-Lago in March.
“There’s no better, smarter, better leader than Viktor Orban. He’s great,” Trump said at the time.
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the most powerful Republican in the Senate, has objected to the far-right’s support for Orban and has stepped up his criticism as he prepares to step down from leadership. The Kentucky Republican said he wants to focus on fighting right-wing isolationist forces after he leaves the top job.
“I spoke about how Hungary was moving into the orbit of the West’s most determined enemy. This is a worrying trend, with the United States increasingly forming a cult of personality around Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. No one, including conservatives, can turn a blind eye to that,” McConnell declared on the Senate floor in September.
“There’s nothing difficult about bowing down to a dictator, and there’s nothing America’s leaders can gain by praising a dictator,” he continued. “Submission is not an American value, but far more importantly, it is not in America’s interest.”
During his time as president, Trump criticized NATO and made isolationist statements, creating tensions with traditional US allies such as Germany and France. Its recent refusal to support Ukraine’s victory after Russia’s invasion continues to worry its European allies. Some Republican senators, like Josh Hawley of Missouri, are following his lead and calling for Europe to take control of its own backyard so the United States can focus on countering Chinese influence in the Pacific. insists on doing so.
Other Republicans have joined Trump in praising Orbán. Republican Kari Lake, who is running for a vacant Senate seat in Arizona, attended the Conservative Political Action Conference’s third annual meeting in Budapest this year and said that meeting Orbán “changed my life.” I changed it,” he said. Republican Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland and Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona, the new chairs of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus, both praised Mr. Orban’s leadership, saying the U.S. favors Hungary as a conservative. He argued that it should be seen as a “model” of governance.
McConnell said in July that “Republicans in Washington, who call themselves both ‘national conservatives’ and China hawks, are paying more attention to Orban’s actions and whether they are consistent with U.S. interests.” You should ask yourself that question.”
A Republican leadership aide told CNN that McConnell has made “a very conscious effort to reassure allies that the Republican Party is not all isolationists, but a vocal wing of the Republican Party, but still… “We have a supermajority of Reagan Republicans in the House and Senate.” ”
Other Republican senators are focused on reiterating the United States’ commitment to its NATO allies, despite rhetoric from Mr. Trump and Mr. Orban. Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina reactivated the U.S. Senate NATO Oversight Group in 2018 and co-chaired it with Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire.
When the two senators visited Hungary in February to seek approval for Sweden to join NATO, they were ignored, with government officials refusing to meet them. In response, Tillis and Shaheen introduced a Senate resolution condemning Hungary’s democratic backsliding and the delay in allowing Sweden to join the alliance. That same week, Hungary finally acquiesced and approved Sweden’s request.
“Hungary is a valued NATO ally, and it is imperative that we maintain our commitment to the democratic values shared by all NATO countries,” Tillis said at the time.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
