The beginning of President Donald Trump‘s second term dismayed the Republican Party’s hawkish wing. In their view, Trump’s conciliatory stance on Russia undermined key allies, weakened deterrence, and rewarded a ruthless dictator for waging an illegal and immoral war. This diminished the United States’s global leadership, the maintenance of which is among its central priorities.

The culmination of their early-term dismay came when Trump and Vice President JD Vance dressed down Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a February 28 Oval Office meeting. Meant to end with the signing of the Ukraine–U.S. Mineral Resources Agreement, the meeting instead ended suddenly following a fiery exchange between Zelensky and Vance over Ukraine’s perceived lack of gratitude.