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Maloy joins GOP effort to honor Trump for ending '8 wars in 8 months'
Rep. Celeste Maloy has joined with two dozen of her Republican colleagues in the House in sponsoring legislation to award Congress’ highest civilian honor to President Donald Trump for brokering a ceasefire in Gaza.
Late last week, Wisconsin Rep. Derrick Van Orden introduced H.R. 5789, which would award the Congressional Gold Medal to President Trump “in recognition of his extraordinary peacemaking efforts throughout the world and in facilitating the Trump peace agreement to end the war in Gaza and bring lasting peace to the Middle East.”
The proposal to award the medal to Trump seems to be in response to his not winning the Nobel Peace Prize, an honor for which Trump lobbied to receive over the course of several months. Van Orden admitted as much in a press release announcing his proposal.
“President Trump has demonstrated unmatched determination in bringing about historic peace agreements across the globe. From brokering ceasefires in the Middle East to resolving long-standing conflicts in Europe, Africa, and Asia, his leadership has saved countless lives and restored stability in regions torn by war.
“Despite these extraordinary accomplishments, the Nobel Peace Prize has failed to recognize him, an honor he clearly deserves. That is why I introduced this bill to award President Trump the Congressional Gold Medal, a fitting recognition of President Trump’s historic leadership and his enduring unwavering dedication to achieving peace through strength.”
Van Orden will have to drum up much more support than two dozen House Republicans in order to bestow the award on Trump. Any proposal to award a Congressional Gold Medal must first be cosponsored by two-thirds of the members of the House and Senate before it can get a committee hearing in either body.
Van Orden's social media announcement mirrors Trump's fantastical claim of ending "8 wars in 8 months"—several of these "wars" involve countries that aren't actually fighting each other.
🚨 NEW: Rep. Van Orden has introduced a bill to award President Donald J. Trump the Congressional Gold Medal — recognizing his historic achievement of ending 8 wars in 8 months.
We applaud @POTUS for his unwavering commitment to peace through strength. pic.twitter.com/huvFo54l3d— Rep. Derrick Van Orden Press Office (@RepVanOrden) October 17, 2025
Even the ceasefire in Gaza has not completely held since Trump’s announcement on Oct. 10. Israel has been accused of violating the agreement as many as 80 times, killing nearly 100 Palestinians. Israel has accused Hamas of breaking the deal, which led to the Israeli military response. However, both sides have said they remain committed to maintaining the cessation of hostilities.
The Congressional Gold Medal is typically awarded to recognize distinguished achievements or contributions by individuals that have a lasting impact on American history or culture and are likely to be recognized as a major achievement. The medal was first awarded in 1776 by the Second Continental Congress to General George Washington. Other recipients have included the Wright Brothers, Charles Lindbergh, Thomas Edison, Howard Hughes, Robert Frost, Bob Hope, Winston Churchill and Walt Disney. The medal was awarded posthumously to Presidents Hubert Humphrey and Harry S. Truman.
Two former presidents were granted the award after they had left office. Gerald Ford and his wife Betty were awarded the medal in 1998 and former President Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy were named as recipients in 2000.
Rep. Maloy’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Utah Political Watch. When asked to provide specifics on the eight wars that Trump should get credit for ending, Maloy’s office remained silent.
Monday morning's headlines
Utah and the West
15,000 people estimated at Salt Lake "No Kings" protest after shooting at previous event. [KUTV]
SLC Council campaign breaks fundraising record with help from out-of-state donors. [Salt Lake Tribune]
Former Iron County GOP Chairman denies kidnapping charges from jail. [Fox 13]
Utah lawmakers give initial nod to bill defining who holds the rights to geothermal energy. [Utah News Dispatch]
Utah may be 235K homes short in 30 years. So lawmakers look to consolidate a "labyrinth" of housing efforts. [Salt Lake Tribune]
Nation
Congressional Democrats may be eyeing an off-ramp to end the government shutdown. [Punchbowl News]
This government shutdown could be the longest ever–maybe running until Thanksgiving. What might the economic damage be? [MarketWatch]
Secret Service finds "suspicious" hunting stand near Air Force One landing zone in Florida. [CNN]
World
Donald Trump urged Volodymyr Zelenskyy to accept Putin's terms or be "destroyed" by Russia. [Financial Times]
Officials, locals undercut Trump claims about Venezuela drug boats. [Washington Post]
Tech
Major web services begin to recover after major outage takes leading websites offline. [NBC News]
Economy
Trump says inflation is dead. Most data says: Not quite. [Washington Post]
Food prices could go even higher after these ICE raids. [Bloomberg]