Congressman Don Bacon urges Trump to have 'moral clarity' on Russia-Ukraine negotiations

President Donald Trump’s recent meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have the attention of Nebraska Congressman Don Bacon.

On Friday, Trump met with Putin for nearly three hours in Anchorage, Alaska. Monday afternoon, Zelensky and several European Union leaders visited the White House.

Bacon said Monday the difference between the conversations has been troubling.

“The velvet glove, red carpet treatment for Putin and then the condescending, boorish behavior that the president and the vice president has done towards Zelensky – it’s a contrast,” he said.

Bacon said he is disappointed in what he calls a lack of moral clarity from Trump in his handling of the Russia-Ukraine war and urged a peace deal that would allow Ukraine to join NATO and not place any limit on the size of Ukraine’s military.

“We can't be a neutral bystander between two countries,” he said. “In my view, there's a right and wrong, and we are the leader of the free world, and we should stand by the nation that wants freedom, wants free markets, wants rule of law. And clearly, Russia does not.”

Bacon is one of nearly 90 representatives in the U.S. House to cosponsor the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025. The legislation would include a 500% tariff on imports from Russia and nations that purchase Russian oil, petroleum and uranium.

Republican majority leaders in the House and Senate have said they want to wait for Trump’s approval before moving forward, but Bacon said he would consider using a discharge petition to bring it to the floor for a vote if a peace deal appears unjust.

A discharge petition is a parliamentary procedure that allows a bill to be brought out of committee and onto the floor if a majority of the 218 Republicans in the House sign a petition to do so.

Typically, members of the minority party use the tool to get around oppositional party leadership, but Bacon, a Republican, said he wants to put pressure on the White House to “do the right thing.”

“I feel like it's time to play more hardball with the White House on this because they're so inconsistent on this particular matter,” Bacon said. “I mean, [President Trump’s] been great on Iran, I think he's been pretty good on China but just hasn't been good on this one with Russia and Ukraine, and so I feel like Congress has to pressure here to get this right.”

As for what an unjust peace deal would entail, according to Bacon, “If Ukraine is being pushed to give territory away that they think is wrong, that would be unjust.”