Republika Srpska, a pro-Russian entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina, has engaged several individuals with close ties to former President Donald Trump’s administration to advance its political and energy interests, according to multiple sources familiar with the arrangements.
In recent months, the Srpska government enlisted Continental Strategy, a Washington-based lobbying firm connected to former Trump campaign and administration officials, to assist with a gas pipeline project and electoral efforts. Among Continental’s partners is Katie Wiles, daughter of Trump’s former chief of staff, Susie Wiles. Katie Wiles accompanied Texas energy entrepreneur John V. Calce to Republika Srpska in August to explore a partnership to build a pipeline intended to carry natural gas from Croatia into the Western Balkans.
Calce’s companies have ties to the Trump family and administration. Donald Trump Jr. holds a minority stake in America First Refining, a company led by Calce, which operates from the same Texas address as his pipeline firm, TXC Energy. America First Refining has also previously paid Continental Strategy substantial lobbying fees aimed at supporting a refinery project in Brownsville, Texas, involving an Indian investment group with connections to the Trump Organization.
Separately, at least six current and former Trump political operatives traveled to Republika Srpska this month to assist its government with elections. These included Alex Garcia, a Continental partner and 2024 Trump campaign staffer, who recommended James Blair and Chris LaCivita—senior Trump political advisers—to advise Srpska officials. Trump lawyer Andrew H. Smith also participated in election-related work. The involvement of Blair and LaCivita in Srpska’s elections reportedly drew public rebuke from President Trump, who indicated any conflicts would prompt immediate termination of their work.
Republika Srpska is led by Milorad Dodik, a longtime U.S.-sanctioned figure for undermining the Dayton Accords, the 1995 peace agreement that ended the Bosnian War and established the current political structure of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Sanctions against Dodik were lifted in late 2023 after a concerted influence campaign involving payments to Trump allies. Since then, Srpska has marketed itself as a bastion of Christian conservatism under siege by international and U.S. Democratic interference.
The Srpska government began paying Continental Strategy $35,000 per month this year. Sources say that Garcia and Smith facilitated meetings between Srpska officials and Trump administration representatives with a focus on religious freedom issues. One such meeting at the White House last month involved Susie Wiles and a Srpska official who publicly described the event as strengthening bilateral relationships. However, a White House spokesperson and Continental Strategy stated that Katie Wiles was not involved in this meeting and denied that she lobbied the U.S. government for clients.
Continental Strategy maintains that all work conducted complies with legal and ethical requirements. Katie Wiles characterized her August trip as primarily business-related, providing “strategic communications support” to TXC Energy, though publicly posted images from the trip—including a photo of Wiles and Srpska’s interior minister at a shooting range—have drawn scrutiny.
Efforts by Srpska to build closer ties to the Trump network highlight how foreign entities can leverage U.S. political connections to influence policy and image abroad, particularly in contested regions like the Western Balkans. Requests for comment to Republika Srpska’s government, Continental Strategy, Katie Wiles, and Garcia were not returned. A spokesman for Donald Trump Jr. also did not respond.