Several members of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe used Tuesday’s hearing to press witnesses about the decision to remove U.S. sanctions on Milorad Dodik and his affiliates and about the implications for U.S. leverage in the Western Balkans.

Ranking Member Keating and multiple members said the administration’s removal of sanctions on Dodik undermined U.S. leverage to check destabilizing behavior in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Keating told witnesses that by removing sanctions "the Trump administration has lost their leverage." Witnesses from the panel agreed that premature sanctions relief can reduce U.S. leverage and make it harder to press for reforms.

Representative McBride referenced media reporting that Dodik retained Washington‑connected lobbyists, and said the sequence — press coverage followed by a sudden sanctions removal — looked "suspicious." McBride cited reporting that named figures such as Rudy Giuliani; he characterized the pattern as raising questions about whether well‑connected individuals obtained influence. Witnesses said they were not privy to all lobbying details but confirmed that actors in Belgrade have undertaken lobbying efforts in Washington.

Witness testimony linked the sanctions question to broader U.S. options: Joseph and Coffey said lifting sanctions reduces leverage over Republika Srpska’s leadership, complicates cooperation with international partners and can hinder progress on energy and interconnector projects intended to wean the region off Russian gas. Members pressed support for an unclassified U.S. government report on the 2023 Banjska (Banjska/Banjska operation) militant attack in northern Kosovo; witnesses agreed such a report was ‘‘long overdue.’’

No formal conclusions were reached at the hearing. Members called for continued congressional oversight, written follow‑up from witnesses and for the administration to clarify the rationale for sanction decisions.