Foreign-backed group serves as bridge between GOP and Russia-friendly Europeans
Are they actually going to vote on something real?
EXCLUSIVE — A little-known yet well-connected group run by a Texas lawyer has spent the last four years jet-setting around the world to foster connections between the Republican Party and segments of the European Right that harbor pro-Russian sympathies.
Tax documents obtained by the Washington Examiner indicate that, for much of this time, the group, Republicans for National Renewal, reported to the IRS that it had brought in relatively little revenue, raising questions about who paid for its vast travel and event expenses. After being reached by the Washington Examiner, the organization’s executive director said that, while the group has not directly accepted foreign donations, foreign entities have paid its travel expenses.
RNR was founded in February 2020 with the stated purpose of advancing a platform of “nationalism and populism” inspired by President Donald Trump. Since then, the organization has succeeded multiple times in uniting people at the very top of the GOP, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and several other members of Congress, with European politicians belonging to parties that, to varying degrees, support Russian interests.
A Greenland-shaped cake and a series of meetings
In January, RNR held an event that, in many ways, exemplifies how it operates.
Renting the entire Roof Terrace Restaurant at the Kennedy Center, RNR brought together multiple members of Congress and European conservatives with pro-Russia bona fides. At the event, which featured a Greenland-shaped cake, Reps. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), Andy Ogles (R-TN), and Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ) rubbed shoulders with the likes of Romanian politician George Simion, who critics have accused of advancing the Kremlin’s interests; delegates from his Alliance for the Union of Romanian party; and at least one member of the Russia-friendly Serbian government.
President Donald Trump tours the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington on Monday, March 17, 2025. (Pool via AP)
This is just one instance of many wherein RNR managed to get powerful Republicans into the same room as European conservatives with affinities for Russia. Other examples include the group “facilitating” Rep. Barry Moore’s (R-AL) attendance at CPAC Hungary, an event held with the support of the nation’s ruling pro-Moscow Fidesz party, and bringing a leader of the Kremlin-friendly Freedom Party of Austria to speak on a panel with Hamadeh at a 2022 conservative conference.
RNR’s success in …
Are they actually going to vote on something real?
EXCLUSIVE — A little-known yet well-connected group run by a Texas lawyer has spent the last four years jet-setting around the world to foster connections between the Republican Party and segments of the European Right that harbor pro-Russian sympathies.
Tax documents obtained by the Washington Examiner indicate that, for much of this time, the group, Republicans for National Renewal, reported to the IRS that it had brought in relatively little revenue, raising questions about who paid for its vast travel and event expenses. After being reached by the Washington Examiner, the organization’s executive director said that, while the group has not directly accepted foreign donations, foreign entities have paid its travel expenses.
RNR was founded in February 2020 with the stated purpose of advancing a platform of “nationalism and populism” inspired by President Donald Trump. Since then, the organization has succeeded multiple times in uniting people at the very top of the GOP, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and several other members of Congress, with European politicians belonging to parties that, to varying degrees, support Russian interests.
A Greenland-shaped cake and a series of meetings
In January, RNR held an event that, in many ways, exemplifies how it operates.
Renting the entire Roof Terrace Restaurant at the Kennedy Center, RNR brought together multiple members of Congress and European conservatives with pro-Russia bona fides. At the event, which featured a Greenland-shaped cake, Reps. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), Andy Ogles (R-TN), and Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ) rubbed shoulders with the likes of Romanian politician George Simion, who critics have accused of advancing the Kremlin’s interests; delegates from his Alliance for the Union of Romanian party; and at least one member of the Russia-friendly Serbian government.
President Donald Trump tours the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington on Monday, March 17, 2025. (Pool via AP)
This is just one instance of many wherein RNR managed to get powerful Republicans into the same room as European conservatives with affinities for Russia. Other examples include the group “facilitating” Rep. Barry Moore’s (R-AL) attendance at CPAC Hungary, an event held with the support of the nation’s ruling pro-Moscow Fidesz party, and bringing a leader of the Kremlin-friendly Freedom Party of Austria to speak on a panel with Hamadeh at a 2022 conservative conference.
RNR’s success in …
Foreign-backed group serves as bridge between GOP and Russia-friendly Europeans
Are they actually going to vote on something real?
EXCLUSIVE — A little-known yet well-connected group run by a Texas lawyer has spent the last four years jet-setting around the world to foster connections between the Republican Party and segments of the European Right that harbor pro-Russian sympathies.
Tax documents obtained by the Washington Examiner indicate that, for much of this time, the group, Republicans for National Renewal, reported to the IRS that it had brought in relatively little revenue, raising questions about who paid for its vast travel and event expenses. After being reached by the Washington Examiner, the organization’s executive director said that, while the group has not directly accepted foreign donations, foreign entities have paid its travel expenses.
RNR was founded in February 2020 with the stated purpose of advancing a platform of “nationalism and populism” inspired by President Donald Trump. Since then, the organization has succeeded multiple times in uniting people at the very top of the GOP, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and several other members of Congress, with European politicians belonging to parties that, to varying degrees, support Russian interests.
A Greenland-shaped cake and a series of meetings
In January, RNR held an event that, in many ways, exemplifies how it operates.
Renting the entire Roof Terrace Restaurant at the Kennedy Center, RNR brought together multiple members of Congress and European conservatives with pro-Russia bona fides. At the event, which featured a Greenland-shaped cake, Reps. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), Andy Ogles (R-TN), and Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ) rubbed shoulders with the likes of Romanian politician George Simion, who critics have accused of advancing the Kremlin’s interests; delegates from his Alliance for the Union of Romanian party; and at least one member of the Russia-friendly Serbian government.
President Donald Trump tours the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington on Monday, March 17, 2025. (Pool via AP)
This is just one instance of many wherein RNR managed to get powerful Republicans into the same room as European conservatives with affinities for Russia. Other examples include the group “facilitating” Rep. Barry Moore’s (R-AL) attendance at CPAC Hungary, an event held with the support of the nation’s ruling pro-Moscow Fidesz party, and bringing a leader of the Kremlin-friendly Freedom Party of Austria to speak on a panel with Hamadeh at a 2022 conservative conference.
RNR’s success in …
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