Republican lawmakers call on incoming administration to target ‘axis of aggressors’

As the 119th Congress prepares to begin its session on January 3, a Republican lawmaker urged the incoming Trump administration to advance American interests and target bad actors abroad.

In a letter obtained by Fox News Digital, Rep. Joe Wilson, R-South Carolina, said that his nominee for secretary of state, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and his nominee for national security adviser, Michael Walz, “We’re asking Congressman (R-Fla.) to prioritize.” Use U.S. law enforcement to uncover and dismantle Georgia’s sanctions evasion schemes, fraudulent call centers, and other illegal Georgian Dream operations. ”

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The letter was sent after the US imposed sanctions on Georgia’s former prime minister and Russia made the country’s de facto ruler Bidzina Ivanishvili a billionaire.

The lawmaker’s letter said these operations would allow Ivanishvili’s government to benefit from atrocities such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “with the accomplices of China, North Korea, and Iran.”

On December 27, Ivanishvili was sanctioned by the US Treasury for “undermining Georgia’s democracy and Euro-Atlantic future in the interests of the Russian Federation.”

Congressman Wilson, who chairs the Helsinki committee, called the sanctions against Ivanishvili “an important step forward” and called on the next administration to extend sanctions to Ivanishvili’s immediate family and associates.

“This is an important opportunity to advance our common goals of defending democracy and countering negative impacts around the world. If Georgia returns to rule by the Georgian people, the axis of aggressors will be deprived of a significant force multiplier.” “This will be the case,” the letter says.

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Mr Wilson’s letter comes amid a stir among Georgia watchers in the US and Europe following Georgian Dream’s hotly debated victory in October parliamentary elections and the government’s subsequent decision to suspend membership in the European Union. It was the continuation of a series of public protests that occurred, leading to large-scale daily demonstrations across the United States. country.

National and international election observers, including those from the International Republican Institute (IRI), concluded that the election was “fundamentally flawed.”

Bidzina Ivanishvili, founder of the Georgian Dream Party, speaks after announcing the exit poll results for the parliamentary elections at the Georgian Dream Party headquarters in Tbilisi, Georgia, on October 26, 2024. (Reuters/Irakli Gedenidze)

“Looking back at what IRI’s mission has observed and what has happened since the election, only new elections can restore Georgians’ confidence in the legitimacy of their government,” said IRI Chairman Dan Twining.

Despite calls at home and abroad for new elections, the single-party Congress announced that its only presidential candidate, a former soccer player and hard-line Western critic, will appear at the inauguration ceremony on December 29th. There were apparently no foreign dignitaries or guests in sight, announcing the anointing of one Mikheil Kavelashvili.

Georgian Dream officials have repeatedly downplayed the possibility of U.S. sanctions. Minutes after the Ministry of Finance’s announcement, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze insisted that “actually nothing has changed.”

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Kobakhidze and other party leaders also expressed optimism about “positive changes” after President Trump took office on January 20. But according to Laura Linderman, a senior fellow at the U.S. Foreign Policy Council, this scenario is unlikely.

“Given that President Trump’s national security team is likely to pursue a tougher stance against countries allied with China and Iran, George believes they will receive more preferential treatment under the Trump administration. Ann Dream’s clear calculations are wrong,” Linderman told FOX News Digital.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump looks on at Turning Point USA’s America Fest held at the Phoenix Convention Center on December 22, 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

Linderman also said that Republicans in Congress are largely unanimous in their support for Georgia’s Democratic future, and that “Trump could spend political capital challenging the bipartisan agreement on Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic alignment.” “The gender is low,” he said.

In recent years, Ivanishvilis’ Georgian Dream government has become increasingly isolated from the West and aligned with dictatorships. Georgia, until recently a strategic partner of the United States, has now formalized its alliance with China, favoring Chinese companies over U.S. investments, adopting Russian-style “foreign agent” laws, and Accession negotiations have been temporarily suspended. This year alone, Prime Minister Kobakhidze has visited Iran multiple times. In Tehran, he attended both the funeral of Iran’s late President Ebrahim Raisi and the inauguration of new President Masoud Pezeshkian, who was sworn in while chanting “Death to Israel, America.”

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James Carafano, a senior adviser at the Heritage Foundation and a leading foreign policy expert, told Fox News Digital that the administration, which relies on support from Moscow and China, will find its “time for play is over.” , added that they cannot expect a “favorable or indifferent response” from the government. Trump administration.

“When U.S. interests are at stake, and Georgia also has some interests, any government that wants to rely on Russia is likely to not only get a cold shoulder from President Trump, but also a slap on the shoulder pads.” Carafano says. .