Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) refused a personal request from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) last month to advance a sanctions bill targeting allegedly pro-Russian officials in the nation of Georgia, according to congressional aides — the latest sign of growing tension between the two top Republicans.
Johnson had attempted to insert the Megobari Act into the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a must-pass bill Congress approves annually. The sanctions measure has broad bipartisan support in both chambers and would require the president to impose penalties on individuals undermining Georgia’s security and democratic stability.
But Thune rejected Johnson’s request outright, aides said, marking the second time in three months the Senate GOP leader blocked the bill’s inclusion in the NDAA.
“Speaker Johnson’s lobbying was welcome but seemed to come out of nowhere,” one aide said. “We thought the bill was dead after Thune shot it down in September. We tried hard to get the bill into the NDAA at the Speaker’s request but couldn’t overcome Thune’s opposition.”
Johnson triggered a scramble on Nov. 21 by pressing congressional staff to line up both Republican and Democratic support for the bill before the defense package was finalized. But Thune again refused. “He just said flat no,” an aide said.
Neither Thune nor Johnson commented publicly on the dispute.
Thune originally blocked the bill in September at the request of Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), surprising both Republicans and Democrats who support the measure and puzzling foreign-policy observers. Mullin had previously blasted Georgia’s ruling party, Georgian Dream, for aligning with America’s adversaries. But he changed his tone last year, claiming he now maintains a “good relationship” with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and prefers incentives over sanctions.
“I want to be able to work with them before we throw sanctions on them,” Mullin said. “I want to work with them to see how they can… get away from the overbearing influence of Russia.”
The Trump administration has left in place Biden-era sanctions on Georgian Dream officials over alleged ‘anti-democratic’ abuses but has not taken new action. Analysts say passing the Megobari Act would still matter. Elene Kintsurashvili of the German Marshall Fund said the bill would raise “the personal cost” for Georgian officials by freezing assets and restricting travel, while signaling that Washington views Georgia’s political evolution as a strategic, not merely internal, problem.
Georgia has long been seen as a key U.S. partner in the Caucasus region, linking Russia, the Middle East, and vital energy corridors. The country was once considered a model post-Soviet democracy and famously fought a war with Russia in 2008, which it lost badly. But Georgian Dream has since deepened ties with Moscow, China, and Iran — troubling developments for American interests and regional stability.
Thune’s refusal not only stalls a bipartisan sanctions effort but also highlights the widening fissures within the GOP over foreign policy and the direction of congressional leadership heading into the next legislative battles.
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