The Biden administration has sanctioned a top official of the conservative Hungarian government, in what can only be seen as one of their last acts of spite against a European country that has pursued a sovereigntist path, defied U.S. pressure, and embraced Donald Trump.
Announcing the move on Tuesday, January 7th, the U.S. Treasury said it is sanctioning Antal Rogán, the head of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s cabinet, for his “involvement in corruption.”
“This systemic corruption Antal Rogán represents is affecting Hungary’s decision-making on issues that impact the security of the United States of America and our allies,” outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Budapest, David Pressman, said in a press briefing.
Joe Biden’s ambassador, Pressman has been the symbol of the U.S. liberal elites’ hostile stance towards Hungary, whose sovereignist government has pushed back against attempts by the U.S. Democrat-led administration to embrace woke ideology, give military aid to Ukraine, stop importing Russian gas, and stop doing business with China.
Viktor Orbán’s government is insistent on pursuing a sovereigntist foreign policy and has rejected EU and U.S. pressure on issues such as migration and LGBT ideology.
This has angered Washington D.C. which has taken a number of steps to spite the Hungarian government: during Biden’s tenure, it terminated the double taxation avoidance agreement with Hungary, imposed visa restrictions on Hungarian passport holders, and covertly financed Hungarian opposition parties with millions of dollars.
U.S. conservative political analyst, Bryan E. Leib, who is tipped to be President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for next U.S. Ambassador to Hungary, recently told europeanconservative.com:
Pressman’s behavior has been beyond unprofessional and as an American, he has disgraced us. He has been an activist, not a diplomat. His job is to represent American interests and strengthen ties, not to lecture Hungary on how to govern its people. Hungary has every right to protect its borders and uphold its culture, and it doesn’t need an ambassador to micromanage its decisions.
The most recent decision to put Antal Rogán on a sanctions list infuriated the Hungarian government, whose foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó, called it “a personal act of revenge by the ambassador sent to Hungary by the failed American administration.”
The sanctions against Rogán fall under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. The action freezes the assets under U.S. jurisdiction of those blacklisted and forbids Americans and U.S. companies from doing business with the targets.
The anger vented towards Hungary by Joe Biden and David Pressman also stems from the fact that Viktor Orbán had not been shy in publicly declaring his support for Donald Trump, their Republican rival.
The Hungarian prime minister and the U.S. president-elect have a strong relationship, and Orbán was the first European leader to travel to Florida to meet Trump following the latter’s victory at the U.S. elections in November.
In a recent interview, Orbán said that Trump’s return to the White House would result in the strengthening of American-Hungarian ties. He said “Hungarians will significantly benefit from a fair visa system, a double-taxation treaty, and robust American investments in Hungary.”
He added that the world will become safer as we move closer to peace—Orbán and Trump have been two of only a few Western leaders who have advocated for a ceasefire and peace talks to end the war in Ukraine.
“As of January 20, the United States will have a new president and a new government. Here’s to a much brighter four years in Hungarian-U.S. relations ahead,” the Hungarian prime minister’s political adviser, Balázs Orbán, tweeted.
