GOP Senators Change Tack, Start Advocating Peace Agreement in Ukraine

A growing number of Republican Senators are moving toward the position of supporting a peace agreement in the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Politico reported on Wednesday that "many Republican senators are openly saying a negotiated settlement will be necessary to end Ukraine's ongoing war with Russia," including some who have a reputation as being hawkish on Russia. Among them is Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who also serves as the vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

"The reality at this point that we have to confront is that that war ends with a negotiated settlement," said Rubio. "And the question is — when they finally figured that out — when we finally get to that point, who has more leverage — [Russian President Vladimir] Putin or Ukraine?”

Other Senators, including JD Vance of Ohio and Mike Braun of Indiana, have also expressed a view that there is no obvious path to victory for Ukrainian forces and that a negotiated settlement may be in the best interest of both sides.

"Washington always seems to be a few months behind the reality on the ground," Vance told Politico. "[I think there's a] stalemate probably indefinitely and hopefully that leads to some sort of settlement where Ukraine gets to keep its country and the killing stops."

"It looks like it could go on for a long, long time," added Braun. "That looks like a line that would take an immense amount of money and time to move off of where it is.”

Even South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, who is widely considered the most hawkish member of the Senate, recently pulled back from the idea of unconditional aid to Ukraine, instead siding with Donald Trump's idea to provide it as a loan.

"A loan on friendly terms allows America, who is deeply in debt, a chance to get our money back and changes the paradigm of how we help others," Graham said in the statement. "President Trump is right to insist we think outside the box."

There are, of course, still many Senate Republicans who remain strongly in favor of providing Ukraine with additional military support. The most prominent of them is Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who this week urged House Speaker Mike Johnson to allow a vote on the Senate’s proposed $95 billion foreign aid bill.

“What I hope is that the House will take up the Senate bill and let the House work its way. If they change it and send it back here, we have further delays,” McConnell said on Tuesday afternoon. “We don’t want the Russians to win in Ukraine. So, we have a time problem here. And I think the best way to move quickly and get the bill to the president would be for the House to take up the Senate bill and pass it.”

Also weighing in has been Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, who has called on Johnson to act swiftly rather than delaying the process. "If the House is going to come up with their own compromise, then do it," she remarked. "But don't just stall this whole thing out. Do something."