GOP senators push Nobel Peace Prize bid for Trump over 'life-saving' Covid vaccine development

WASHINGTON, DC:  Two senior Republican senators are introducing a resolution seeking to nominate President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.

They are citing his leadership in launching Operation Warp Speed, which accelerated the development of Covid-19 vaccines during the global pandemic.

Sen Bill Cassidy, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso announced the resolution on Tuesday, October 21, describing Trump’s pandemic response as a “life-saving achievement.”

Cassidy says Trump 'saved millions of lives'

Bill Cassidy said in a press release, "President Trump’s decisive action in Operation Warp Speed not only saved millions of lives but brought the American economy back to life."

“When Americans needed a vaccine in record time to stop a once-in-a-generation pandemic, President Trump delivered. The Nobel Prize has been given for a lot less. He should receive the next one!” he added.

The senators said their push echoes the views of current Trump administration officials, including Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, and formally seeks to nominate Trump for launching Operation Warp Speed at the onset of the pandemic in 2020.

The initiative reportedly coordinated efforts across multiple federal agencies and private companies to fast-track vaccine research, testing, and distribution funded through billions from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Both Cassidy and Barrasso, who are physicians by training, credited the program for saving millions of lives and setting global benchmarks for vaccine development.

Barrasso says Trump bent a 'slow bureaucracy to his will'

Barrasso said the success of Operation Warp Speed was due to Trump’s aggressive leadership style.

“He bent an infamously slow bureaucracy to his will to bring a vaccine to market in under a year,” he said.

“Operation Warp Speed saved millions of lives in the United States and millions more around the world. President Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for his life-saving achievement," he added.

The resolution adds to a series of GOP-led efforts to seek international recognition for Trump’s policies, particularly his handling of global crises and vaccine innovation during his first term.

GOP pushes for Nobel Peace Prize for Trump

Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson announced on October 14 that he and Israeli Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana will lead an international campaign to nominate President Donald Trump for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize.

"I'm proud to tell you that together with my friend, Speaker Ohana of the Israeli Knesset... we're going to... rally speakers and presidents of parliaments around the world so that we will jointly nominate President Donald J Trump for next year's Nobel Peace Prize," Johnson said.

"No one has ever deserved that prize more, and that is an objective fact," he added.

The campaign follows the Nobel Committee’s decision this month to award the 2025 Peace Prize to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, a move that Trump supporters described as a political snub.

Within hours of the announcement, Republican lawmakers and Trump allies reignited their push for the president, citing his role in brokering the recent Gaza ceasefire and regional peace talks as further evidence of his qualification for the honor.