Democrats on the US House Foreign Affairs Committee accused the Trump administration on September 15 of using its policy towards Bosnia and Herzegovina to benefit political allies, including through a proposed $1bn gas pipeline concession and the lifting of sanctions on Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik.

The allegations were contained in a report by Democrats on the committee's Europe subcommittee, which was first shared online by Semafor and is due to be presented to the panel as lawmakers prepare to scrutinise the administration's approach to the Balkans.

The report focuses on two decisions taken last year: the removal of US sanctions on Dodik and members of his family and inner circle, and US support for AAFS Infrastructure and Energy LLC, a company established by allies of President Donald Trump that is seeking to take over a major gas pipeline concession in Bosnia.

"These two decisions have grossly undermined the Dayton Peace Accords," the report said, referring to the 1995 agreement that ended Bosnia's war and established the country's complex political system.

The Democrats said the decisions had also weakened US leverage over Dodik, the former president of Bosnia's autonomous Serb Republic, Republika Srpska, who has repeatedly challenged the authority of Bosnia's central institutions and threatened to pursue greater autonomy for the Serb entity.

The report alleges that AAFS was created on Nov. 24, 2025, by Joseph Flynn, brother of former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, and Trump-affiliated lawyer Jesse Binnall, just days after US officials met Bosnian counterparts to discuss an American company taking over the concession for the Southern Interconnection Gas Pipeline.

The pipeline is intended to connect Bosnia's Federation entity with Croatia and the Krk liquefied natural gas terminal, providing an alternative to Russian gas supplies.

"AAFS has zero regional or energy sector experience that could help it operate the concession contract for the SIC," the report said, referring to the Southern Interconnection.

It said the company was nevertheless positioned to obtain the concession through a sole-source process, raising concerns about both its suitability and the role played by US officials in advocating for it.

"While every US embassy should advocate on behalf of American companies," the report said, "the circumstances surrounding the US Embassy's support for AAFS and the decision by the Government of BiH to award the SIC concession to AAFS raise serious questions."

The report also questioned whether granting the concession outside a competitive process could complicate Bosnia's bid to join the European Union, which requires alignment with EU rules on public procurement and competition.

The Democrats cited an EU statement warning that coordination was needed to "avoid missing out on opportunities for further integration, as well as financial opportunities."

The State Department, according to the report, defended the administration's policy as necessary to prevent a wider political crisis.

Bosnia had faced "an increasingly destabilising and unsustainable constitutional and political crisis", the department said, adding that the administration had used "decisive, discreet diplomacy to de-escalate the situation".

"The outcome advanced US interests in BiH and the Western Balkans," the State Department said, using the common abbreviation for Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Democratic report disputes that assessment, arguing that Washington surrendered important leverage over Dodik without securing lasting changes in his behaviour.

It said Dodik had resumed secessionist rhetoric after sanctions were lifted, continued to challenge the authority of Bosnia's international peace overseer and made statements that the report described as Islamophobic. It also pointed to his subsequent contacts with Moscow.

The report links the change in US policy to a broader network of Trump allies and lobbyists working in and around Bosnia.

It cites payments of $100,000 to Michael Flynn for one month of lobbying on behalf of Republika Srpska and more than $700,000 in lobbying work by former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich. It also cites an investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project that identified 11 lobbying firms working for Bosnian Serb interests for at least $8.9mn.

The report said the involvement of Trump-connected figures created a potential conflict between US strategic interests and private financial interests.

Binnall's law firm, it said, received $191,075 from Trump's Save America political action committee in 2023.

The Democrats also questioned why the administration would back a company with little apparent experience in the energy sector for an infrastructure project with strategic significance for both Bosnia and the wider Balkans.

The Southern Interconnection is intended to diversify Bosnia's gas supplies and reduce its dependence on Russian gas. The project has therefore been viewed as important not only for Bosnia's energy security but also for the broader effort to strengthen European energy independence from Moscow.

The report argues that handing the concession to AAFS could undermine those objectives if the company lacked the technical and regional capacity to deliver the project.

It also says the decision could create a precedent in which US political connections become more important than transparent procurement or demonstrated expertise in determining access to major infrastructure projects.

The Democrats called for Congress to investigate the administration's actions, including by issuing subpoenas where necessary. They urged lawmakers to restore sanctions against Dodik under the Western Balkans Democracy and Prosperity Act and to suspend US support for AAFS until its qualifications and the concession process have been independently examined.

They also called for Washington to identify a qualified US company to participate in the pipeline project and to work more closely with European governments.

The report urged the administration to appoint a new international High Representative for Bosnia and called for the European Union to consider sanctions against Dodik.

At the centre of the report is the contention that the administration traded away US leverage over Dodik while creating opportunities for people close to Trump.

"The United States removed the totality of the Trump administration's leverage over him while simultaneously rewarding the President's friends," the report said.

"This creates malign incentives for all involved at the expense of the Bosnian people and long-term US interests," it added.

The report's authors acknowledged that the Democratic minority does not have the power to compel testimony or independently alter administration policy. Its recommendations would require action by the Republican-controlled House or, depending on the outcome of future elections, by a subsequent Democratic majority.

However, the report is likely to intensify scrutiny of Trump's Balkan policy, which has shifted away from the more traditional US emphasis on institutional reform and democratic governance towards what the administration describes as stability, economic interests and mutually beneficial partnerships.