{"id":472463,"date":"2026-03-31T11:09:34","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T16:09:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=472463"},"modified":"2026-04-01T14:05:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T19:05:00","slug":"cronkite-news-native-candidate-criticizes-republican-lawmaker-for-hosting-russians-at-u-s-capitol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2026\/03\/31\/cronkite-news-native-candidate-criticizes-republican-lawmaker-for-hosting-russians-at-u-s-capitol\/","title":{"rendered":"Cronkite News: Native candidate criticizes Republican lawmaker for hosting Russians at U.S. Capitol"},"content":{"rendered":"<a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2025\/08\/04\/cronkite-news-democrats-look-to-take-house-from-republicans\/justinahasteenelicrane-2\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-184329\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1536\" data-attachment-id=\"184329\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2025\/08\/04\/cronkite-news-democrats-look-to-take-house-from-republicans\/justinahasteenelicrane-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/04\/justinahasteenelicrane.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2048,1536\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Justin Ahasteen and Eli Crane\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Justin Ahasteen and Eli Crane&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Rep. Eli Crane (R-Arizona), right, speaks at a reception hosted by the Navajo Nation in Washington, D.C., on January 19, 2025. Photo by Indianz.Com &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/4.0\/&quot;&gt;(CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/04\/justinahasteenelicrane.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/04\/justinahasteenelicrane.jpg\" alt=\"Justin Ahasteen and Eli Crane\"   class=\"size-full wp-image-184329\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"figure-caption\"> Rep. Eli Crane (R-Arizona), right, speaks at a reception hosted by the Navajo Nation in Washington, D.C., on January 19, 2025. Photo by Indianz.Com <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/4.0\/\">(CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n<div class=\"h3-responsive font-weight-bold\">Warm welcome for Russian lawmakers draws bipartisan backlash for Arizona Rep. Eli Crane<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"date\">Tuesday, March 31, 2026<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"byline\">By Zach Bradshaw<\/div>\r\n<DIV class=source>Cronkite News<\/DIV>\r\n<DIV class=source-website><A \r\nhref=\"https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/\">cronkitenews.azpbs.org<\/A><\/DIV>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<p>WASHINGTON &#8212; Congressman Eli Crane, R-Oro Valley, is facing bipartisan criticism after co-hosting a delegation of Russian lawmakers.<\/p>\r\n<p>The visit Friday brought together five members of the Russian Duma and five members of the U.S. House \u2013 four Republicans and one Democrat. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Florida, who organized the meeting, called it a \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RepLuna\/status\/2037230857556287594\">push for peace<\/a>\u201d between the two nations.<\/p>\r\n<p>Colleagues in both parties took a much dimmer view.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>\u201cI compare this meeting on Capitol Hill as having a visit by the Third Reich,\u201d Rep. Joe Wilson, R-South Carolina, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement. \u201cMembers of the war criminal Putin regime must not be welcomed in any way.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p>At the Capitol, the Russians toured Statutory Hall and Speaker Mike Johnson\u2019s office. They also visited the U.S. Institute of Peace building and the Kennedy Center, both of which Trump renamed after himself.<\/p>\r\n<p>The Russian delegation included Vyacheslav Nikonov, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Duma, and Russia\u2019s ambassador in Washington, Alexander Darchiev.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed alignright is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\r\n<div class=\"embed-twitter\"><blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Today, for the first time in close to a 1\/4 century, 5 members of Congress (bipartisan) met with 5 members of the Russian Duma to discuss peace and bilateral relations. As representatives of the world\u2019s two greatest nuclear super powers, we owe our citizens open dialogue, ideas,\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Dv9eMP9e3C\">pic.twitter.com\/Dv9eMP9e3C<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RepLuna\/status\/2037230857556287594?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 26, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<p>Crane, a former Navy SEAL who won his House seat in 2022, has on many occasions expressed anti-war sentiments. He recently called the U.S. operations in Iran &#8220;dicey.&#8221;<\/p>\r\n<p>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=qu9uQLXTUVM\">Toppling a regime isn&#8217;t the hard part. It&#8217;s what comes next<\/a>,&#8221; Crane told the conservative news channel Real America&#8217;s Voice on March 2, three days after the U.S. struck Iran.<\/p>\r\n<p>Crane is unopposed in the July 21 primary. He has not issued a public statement about the Russian delegation and his office did not respond to multiple messages.<\/p>\r\n<p>\u201cWhile Arizona families struggle with rising costs at home, Eli Crane is busy giving private tours to Russian officials \u2013 one day after a report that Russia is helping Iran kill Americans in the Middle East,\u201d said Crane\u2019s likely opponent in November, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jonathannezforaz.com\">Democrat Jonathan Nez<\/a>. \u201cCrane continues to fail Arizonans and prioritize foreign interests.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p>The Russian delegation\u2019s visit came one day after the European Union\u2019s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, asserted that Russia has been\u00a0 giving intelligence to Iran to help it \u201ckill Americans,\u201d plus drones to attack neighboring countries and U.S. bases.<\/p>\r\n<p>On Saturday, Ukraine\u2019s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.eu\/article\/russia-mapping-us-assets-to-help-iran-zelenskyy-says-ukriane-war-putin-satellite\/\">asserted that Russia is providing satellite imagery<\/a> to help Iran target U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf.<\/p>\r\n<p>Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, a former House Foreign Affairs Committee chair, also criticized the lawmakers who welcomed the Russian officials.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>Russian strongman Vladimir Putin \u201cshould be punished for his abhorrent behavior \u2014 not rewarded,\u201d he said. &#8220;At this crucial moment in history, we must prevent Putin from exploiting the conflict in the Middle East to line his coffers or legitimize his cronies.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p>Adam Kinzinger, a former Republican congressman turned CNN commentator and a prominent supporter of Ukraine in its four-year war with Russia, called Crane and the others &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/AdamKinzinger\/status\/2037295042050543806\">traitors<\/a>.&#8221;<\/p>\r\n<p>Democrats have been overwhelmingly critical.<\/p>\r\n<p>\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RepMikeQuigley\/status\/2037525318198612052\">Foreign political operatives of our adversaries should NEVER be allowed on Capitol Hill,<\/a>\u201d Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Illinois, posted on X. \u201cThis \u2018visit\u2019 opened the doors to a massive security threat to the Speaker, to our Congress, and to democracy itself.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p>Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 exposed divisions in the GOP. Trump has often spoken with admiration of Putin and at times berated Zelenskyy and pressured him to drop Ukrainian demands for territory occupied by Russia.<\/p>\r\n<p>Crane has sought to cut off U.S. aid to Ukraine.<\/p>\r\n<p>\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsnationnow.com\/world\/russia-at-war\/rep-crane-on-ukraine-aid-i-think-we-need-to-pull-back\/\">Why is the U.S. government allowed to continually spend money it doesn\u2019t have?<\/a>\u201d he said during an interview in 2023.In April 2023, Crane co-led a small group of Republican lawmakers who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lee.senate.gov\/2023\/4\/group-of-senators-and-house-members-express-concern-over-u-s-aid-to-ukraine\/c26d8bf1-927f-46fe-9221-9fbf235e4839\">penned a letter<\/a> to President Joe Biden, demanding an end to U.S. aid to Ukraine without a clear strategy for bringing the war with Russia to a \u201crapid conclusion.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<HR>\r\n<STRONG>For more stories from Cronkite News, visit <A href=\"https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/?utm_source=referral&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=client\">cronkitenews.azpbs.org<\/A>.<\/STRONG>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<p>This <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/2026\/03\/30\/crane-backlash-russia\/\">article<\/a> first appeared on <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\">Cronkite News<\/a> and is republished here under a <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nd\/4.0\/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License<\/a>.<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/favicon1.png?resize=85%2C85&amp;ssl=1\" style=\"width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;\"><\/p>\r\n<img decoding=\"async\" id=\"republication-tracker-tool-source\" src=\"https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/?republication-pixel=true&#038;post=101538\" style=\"width:1px;height:1px;\"><script> PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: \"https:\/\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/2026\/03\/30\/crane-backlash-russia\/\", urlref: window.location.href }); } } <\/script> <script id=\"parsely-cfg\" src=\"\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/cronkitenews.azpbs.org\/p.js\"><\/script>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cWhile Arizona families struggle with rising costs at home, Eli Crane is busy giving private tours to Russian officials,\u201d said Jonathan Nez, a Native candidate for Congress.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":184329,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,14,23],"tags":[5366,6667,2215,7331,42,46,94,56,4150,48,7332,28,7333,4292,7334,55,85,2569,569],"class_list":["post-472463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","category-politics","category-world","tag-119th","tag-6667","tag-adam-kinzinger","tag-anna-paulina-luna","tag-arizona","tag-cronkite-news","tag-democrats","tag-elections","tag-eli-crane","tag-house","tag-joe-wilson","tag-jonathan-nez","tag-michael-mccaul","tag-mike-johnson","tag-mike-quigley","tag-native-vote","tag-republicans","tag-russia","tag-wars","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/04\/justinahasteenelicrane.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-1YUn","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=472463"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472463\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":472688,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472463\/revisions\/472688"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/184329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=472463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=472463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=472463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}