Political Director of the Hungarian Prime Minister Balázs Orbán, met with US Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday at the White House. The meeting was also attended by the President of the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs, Gladden Pappin. According to a post on X by Balázs Orbán, the two sides ‘reaffirmed our commitment to strengthening relations between the United States and Hungary.’ The political director concluded: ‘We look forward to continuing our cooperation in pursuit of our nations’ prosperity.’
Since taking office on 20 January, the Trump administration has held several high-level meetings with representatives of the Hungarian government. Hungarian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó was among the first European foreign ministers to hold a phone call with Secretary of State Marco Rubio. In February, Szijjártó visited Washington, where he met Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and in March, he held an in-person meeting with Rubio—while the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, reportedly waited outside Rubio’s office for a meeting that never materialized.
The talks between Hungarian and US officials have focused on reversing punitive measures introduced by the Biden administration, including the reinstatement of the double taxation treaty and the lifting of sanctions imposed on Antal Rogán. The two sides also discussed potential areas for deepening Hungarian–US cooperation. As a sign of improving relations, the US Treasury Department announced in April that Rogán had been removed from the sanctions list.
Most recently, on 3 June, Szijjártó met with Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau in Budapest. The Hungarian foreign minister described the meeting as ‘the best consultation with a Western politician in the past 10 years’, adding that a common goal had been set to further develop Hungarian–American economic and trade relations and to expand cooperation into the nuclear industry.
During former President Joe Biden’s tenure, Hungarian–US relations reached a historic low. The Democratic administration, driven primarily by ideological motives, adopted measures aimed at destabilizing Hungary and ultimately removing Viktor Orbán from power. That campaign was spearheaded by former US Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman, who repeatedly used his position to interfere in Hungary’s internal affairs. From supporting opposition figures and affiliated media outlets to launching paid social media ad campaigns attacking Hungarian government policies, Pressman’s methods were wide-ranging. During his tenure, the United States unilaterally terminated the double taxation treaty between the two countries—an agreement in force since 1979. In the final days of the administration, Biden officials imposed sanctions on Antal Rogán, barring the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff from entering the United States.
Bilateral relations under Trump are expected to improve significantly—a trend already underway. However, further progress remains necessary: Pressman’s former position is still vacant, with senior US diplomat Robert Palladino running the embassy in Budapest since March as Chargé d’Affaires ad interim. A Trump–Orbán meeting is also highly anticipated, and, according to Gergely Gulyás, Head of the Prime Minister’s Office, the US president will certainly visit Hungary during his second term.
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