Witkoff Draws GOP Rebuke After Calling Putin a 'Humanitarian' Over Prisoner Release

In St. Petersburg on Wednesday, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff sat across from Vladimir Putin and thanked him for freeing an American. "You talk so much about my president, President Trump, being a humanitarian," Witkoff said. "You are a humanitarian also, sir, and I salute that, I commend you, and I thank you again." The American was Hubbard, 74, who had spent four years imprisoned in Russia and whom the U.S. government had determined to be wrongfully detained.

The visit was meant to move toward a resolution of the war in Ukraine, which Putin started four and a half years ago. Over the past month, Russia has stepped up its strikes on civilian and energy infrastructure, an effort to cripple Ukraine's power grid before the country's harsh winter sets in.

The reaction in Washington was swift, and much of it came from Witkoff's own party. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas answered a video of the remarks on X with a flat correction: "No. Putin is a stone cold killer." Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina was blunter still, writing "WTF, Steve?" and telling Witkoff to look up the definition of "humanitarian." He called the comment embarrassing and outrageous, and said Witkoff should go back to Ukraine and ask the families of children Putin has kidnapped and murdered whether they agree.

Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, a critic of the administration's handling of Russia and Ukraine, offered two words: "Another embarrassment." Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, asked about it on the campaign trail, called Putin a warmonger and a thug, and said he is the aggressor against Ukraine. Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa posted that Putin is "not our friend," pointing to his attacks on civilians, and added that appeasement won't end the war but pressure will. Several of these Republicans have openly criticized the president and his administration in recent months.

William Taylor, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine who served under the Bush and Obama administrations, told CBS News that Hubbard's return is absolutely a good thing, but that he should never have been held. Russia deserves no credit for releasing someone who should not have been in jail, Taylor said, and calling Putin a humanitarian is "cringeworthy."

President Trump was asked later in the day at a White House roundtable on cyber crime whether he would use the same word. He said that for the particular purpose of letting out a man who thought he would be in prison for life, "I guess you have to say" yes, but added that he would not say anything one way or the other.

The remark landed amid other signals about the administration's posture. Last week Mr. Trump made a surprise move on waivers, two days before they were to take effect, defying Congress and his late friend Sen. Lindsey Graham. That came a week after he announced a deal with Putin to import diesel into the U.S. market. On Tuesday, Mr. Trump said that "Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine. They haven't been doing much," and he has expressed growing frustration with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Before Russia, Witkoff stopped in Oslo, Norway, where he met and embraced Zelenskyy. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called that meeting positive. What to watch now is whether the criticism from Republican senators, who have shown they will say so publicly, shapes the administration's approach as the peace effort continues and Russian strikes press on into winter.