Ruling party MP urges Trump to reject US MEGOBARI Act, warns of diplomatic fallout

Levan Makhashvili, the ruling Georgian Dream party MP, on Tuesday called on US President Donald Trump to veto the proposed MEGOBARI Act, warning that its enactment could “severely damage” bilateral ties. 

Makhashvili, the Chairman of the Parliament's European Integration Committee, described the bill - formally titled the Mobilizing and Enhancing Georgia's Options for Building Accountability, Resilience, and Independence Act - as a “provocative measure” that “contradicted” both the interests of the Georgian people and the foreign policy vision of the current US administration.

"The so-called Friendship Act [MEGOBARI Act] is anything but friendship," Makhashvili said. "We have repeatedly mentioned that it contradicts both the interests of the Georgian population and the vision of the new US administration over Georgia and the [South Caucasus] region,” he said. 

The MEGOBARI Act, introduced in May 2024 by US Congressman Joe Wilson, “aims to strengthen democratic practices, human rights, and the rule of law” in Georgia while countering alleged authoritarian influences, particularly from Russia.

Makhashvili expressed concern that the legislation, if signed into law, would “significantly damage” bilateral relations, a development he attributed to the influence of "informal forces and influences" that he claimed had propelled the bill through the US House of Representatives.

"Theoretically, if it enters into force, it will certainly significantly damage bilateral relations," he said. "This is precisely the calculation of those informal forces and influences that, by inertia, nevertheless made it through to the lower house."

The MP voiced hope that President Trump would ultimately refuse to sign the legislation, portraying such a move as a “step toward resisting internal political influences in Washington.”

"We hope that the president will not sign this provocative bill and will thus be able to fulfill his promise to defeat the 'deep state' in the US", Makhashvili added. "We are hopeful about this from the sentiments that the new US administration has, based on the formal or informal communication that we have had with them.”