Sen. Mitch McConnell warned Thursday that advisers to President Donald Trump are pursuing an “illusory peace” with Russia that “shreds America’s credibility, leaves Ukraine under threat, weakens our alliances and emboldens our enemies.”

They are among the most pointed words from any elected Republican since Trump ordered U.S. officials to begin direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government about bringing the Ukraine war to a close. And it is some of the most direct criticism McConnell has levied against the administration since giving up his top GOP leadership role and pledging to speak out against the isolationist wing of his party.

“When American officials court the favor of an adversary at the expense of allies, when they mock our friends to impress an enemy, they reveal their embarrassing naivete,” McConnell said, according to prepared remarks shared with Blue Light News ahead of a U.S.-Ukraine Foundation event Thursday where he was honored.

“Unless we change course, the outcome we’re headed for today is the one we can least afford: a headline that reads ‘Russia wins, America loses,’” he added.

Trump sent shockwaves through Washington when he and Vice President JD Vance berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office last month. That confrontation came as Trump has adopted a warmer tone toward Putin, sparking pushback from some Republicans.

While some GOP lawmakers have warned the administration not to bend to Russia as it tries to hash out a peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv, many top congressional Republicans have signaled they are willing to give Trump space.

Not McConnell, however, who vowed shortly after he announced last year that he would step down as Senate Republican leader that he would use his final years in the chamber to advocate for a muscular foreign policy. As Senate GOP leader he helped shepherd additional Ukraine aid through Congress, even as he faced fierce pushback from MAGA-oriented Republicans in the House, as well as some of his own members.

That was part of the reason McConnnell was honored Thursday with the “Star of Ukraine” award from the foundation, recognizing “individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to advancing Ukraine’s freedom and security.”

Though McConnell has supported most of Trump’s nominees, he has voted against high-profile national security picks, including Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. He also ultimately supported the seven-month funding bill Congress passed earlier this month while warning that it could hurt the Pentagon.

In his prepared remarks for Thursday’s event, McConnell did not directly criticize Trump, and he did not call out any of his advisers by name.

He also stressed the need to increase defense spending, pointing back to a “peace through strength” mantra that has been popular among Trump administration officials.

“But too many of those who use it — particularly among the president’s advisors — don’t seem ready to summon the resources and national will it requires,” he added.

A group of Senate Republicans left a meeting with top White House officials Thursday saying they are increasingly confident that President Donald Trump will send a package of spending cuts to Capitol Hill for lawmakers’ approval.

The senators, however, said they did not yet have a timeline for when the Trump administration might request what are known as rescissions — a process allowing Congress to claw back previously approved funding by a simple-majority vote in both chambers.

“Nothing happens until it’s done, but I believe we’ll have a rescissions package,” said Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), adding that he has spoken frequently about it with Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought, who was in the meeting with GOP senators on Thursday.

Vought declined to comment upon leaving the meeting.

Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso added that there was a “big appetite” among Republicans to rescind funding “abuses” identified by the White House, an apparent reference to efforts by Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency initiative to slash the size of the federal bureaucracy.

“That has to originate from the White House, and we’ve been meeting with White House officials about doing just that,” Barrasso said as he left the meeting.

The closed-door meeting comes after Senate Republicans pitched Musk personally on rescissions during a lunch earlier this month. Some senators have argued that having Congress vote on DOGE’s cuts could give them more staying power given the legal challenges the administration is facing over Musk’s work.

Still, some Republican senators believe the administration is in no hurry to send over a package of cuts, preferring to fight the DOGE battles in the courts first.

Two Republican lawmakers, including the chair of the House China committee, stepped up their attacks Thursday against a potential White House deal to sell TikTok to Oracle that preserves a role for its Beijing-based owner.

“I’m here to make one thing clear: any deal that allows ByteDance to maintain control of TikTok is a grave threat to our security and a violation of U.S. law,” House Select China Committee Chair John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) said, repeating the hard line he drew against the Oracle plan in an earlier op-ed. “ByteDance is trying to hold onto TikTok by pushing a licensing deal and maintaining control over its algorithm and staff.”

Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.) stressed “there has to be an absolute pure divestiture” and broke down what a compliant alternative would look like: “For me, it’s really important the source code, algorithm and data and servers are all completely separated from mainland China, from ByteDance.”

Moolenaar and Cammack were speaking at an event hosted by the TikTok Coalition, founded by former lobbyist and CEO of Iggy Ventures Rick Lane. About 20 people attended the event, which convened in a House meeting room.

TikTok did not respond to a request for comment.

The White House is seriously discussing the deal and has accelerated talks with Oracle ahead of President Donald Trump’s April 5 deadline for a sale, even as China hawks and legal experts say it would violate the law Congress passed last spring to force TikTok’s sale or ban in the U.S.

Lawmakers said Thursday they expect that latest tactic by TikTok to backfire, pointing to it as evidence of the app’s hold over its users — a would-be asset to a foreign rival like China.

“They’re running a massive PR campaign across the U.S. to sway public opinion and distract from the core issue: ongoing Chinese control of the app,” Moolenaar said.