Raseta: It is unlikely the congresswomen’s proposal to Trump will be a priority

The proposal from the letter sent to US President Donald Trump by Republican Congresswoman Claudia Tenney and Democrat Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan, regarding the normalization agreement between Serbia and Kosovo, could reach Trump’s team, but given the current geopolitical moment, Dragoslav Raseta from the organization New Third Way believes it is highly unlikely to become a priority for the US administration.

Raseta points out that, since Donald Trump comes from a business background rather than politics, he does not have such deep ties to Congress compared to some other American presidents, particularly Joseph Biden, whose ties were strong, having served as a senator for over three decades.

“However, his associates and team must maintain extremely strong ties with Capitol Hill in order to coordinate the Republican Party’s work. Donald Trump, to some extent unexpectedly, has been quite open to various suggestions coming from Capitol Hill—including recent ones concerning the introduction of additional sanctions and secondary tariffs on Russia, proposed by Senator Graham. So, it’s possible that this proposal will reach his office, but it’s unlikely that the proposal from Congresswoman Tenney and other members of the Serbian Caucus will become a priority for the US administration,” Raseta stated.

He added that US presidents often receive proposals from larger groups of congressmen who try to build closer ties not just within their own party, but ideally also “across the aisle,” with the opposing party, in order to achieve shared interests.

“American presidents, especially when it comes to ‘more important issues’ or somewhat more significant interests of US foreign policy, must follow what’s happening in Congress, within the legislative branch, because it somewhat dictates US foreign policy, especially through the foreign affairs committees in both the House and the Senate,” Raseta noted.

He added that the Serbian Caucus includes around ten congressmen from both parties and that in recent years, Serbia has invested significant resources and political will to deepen cooperation between Congress and the Serbian government.

Regarding the congresswomen’s suggestion that the US president visit Belgrade and Pristina, and the invitation by Serbian Ambassador to Washington Dragan Sutanovac for the US president to visit Serbia, Raseta said that, geopolitically, interests between Serbia and the US have been significantly distant since the 1990s. However, with the arrival of the 21st century, those interests have come closer, and both sides are now talking about establishing a strategic partnership.

He noted that in 2019 and 2023, US congressmen from both parties visited Serbia, and that just a few months ago, Claudia Tenney visited Belgrade and the region.

“If Trump, or someone high-ranking in his administration, such as Secretary of State Rubio or Vice President Vance, were to visit Serbia, it would likely happen in the second half of his term. Traditionally, succeeding presidents don’t perform well in the midterms, and that seems to be the case with Trump as well. Due to the potential loss of the majority in one or both houses of Congress, they are often forced to focus more on foreign policy. That is generally the case in final presidential terms, and Trump is legally no longer allowed to run for president again, so toward the very end of his term, he will likely devote more attention to foreign policy. If a potential visit to Belgrade were to happen, it would occur during that period, between 2026 and 2028,” Raseta concluded.