House Republicans are threatening to force a vote on a Russia sanctions bill tied to the war in Ukraine, with Rep. Don Bacon saying President Donald Trump is “failing” on the issue. The story was reported by Fox News, which said Bacon and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick are preparing to bypass leadership after months of stalled talks.
The lawmakers plan to use a discharge petition to bring the bill directly to the House floor, a rarely used tactic that requires 218 signatures. Bacon said he will sign Fitzpatrick’s bill when it becomes eligible early next week, while the measure continues to draw bipartisan interest.
Their push follows what Fox News described as a loop between the House, the Senate, and the White House over which chamber should act first. Bacon and Fitzpatrick are giving House GOP leaders one last chance to schedule a vote before moving forward with the petition.
A discharge petition is being readied as leadership delays a sanctions vote
Fitzpatrick’s bill, introduced in December, would sanction the Russian Federation if it fails to negotiate a peace agreement with Ukraine or violates an existing accord. A source close to the lawmakers’ plans told Fox News they want leaders to move the bill voluntarily before the petition process begins.
Bacon said he views the decision as historically significant and compared it to the choices leaders made during World War II. He said Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to reclaim the territory of the former Soviet Union, not just Ukraine, and argued lawmakers should be on the right side of history.
The effort comes amid a legislative stalemate on where sanctions legislation should originate. House Speaker Mike Johnson has said he supports sanctioning Russia but wants a bill to start in the Senate, while Senate Majority Leader John Thune has previously indicated the process needs to begin in the House. Leadership tensions have also surfaced in other fights, including the military tuition cuts memo.
Bacon criticized Trump’s approach, saying he believes the current administration has done less than the previous one. He said aid to Ukraine is now “like 1% of what we were doing” before, while noting that Trump is selling weapons to NATO countries that then provide them to Ukraine.
The Trump administration has imposed sanctions targeting Russia’s oil and gas sectors, but Bacon and others argue more is needed. Bacon acknowledged the political difficulty of pushing a discharge petition in a closely divided House, especially with Trump’s influence over the party. The pressure campaign is playing out alongside Valve Steam Deck demand shift headlines that have similarly drawn attention to how quickly major decisions can change.
Bacon and Fitzpatrick have also joined Democrats on another discharge petition related to additional aid for Ukraine. That separate effort, led by Rep. Gregory Meeks, was described as one Republican signature away from forcing a vote, and Bacon said the urgency is clear because Ukrainians are dying every day.
Published: Feb 19, 2026 05:15 am