Dodik says has been invited to National Breakfast Prayer in Washington

In an interview with the Belgrade newspaper Politika, Dodik confirmed he had received the invitation but said he was uncertain whether he would attend due to repeat presidential elections in Republika Srpska at that time.

The rerun of the election, is scheduled for 8 February at 136 polling stations between his party SNSD’s candidate Sinisa Karan and opposition candidate Branko Blanuša, while the Washington visit is set for 7–8 February.

"As party president, I have an obligation to be here and organise the structure that needs to vote. We’ll see if there’s a chance to go, I will," Dodik said.

He added that he had supported Donald Trump during both of his terms in office.

In 2017, the US administration imposed sanctions on Dodik, when he served as the president of the Serb entity, over actions deemed a threat to the stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina and a violation of the Dayton Peace Agreement.

However, in late October 2025, the US Treasury Department removed Dodik from the sanctions list, along with 48 other individuals and business entities linked to him.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) did not explain why it removed dozens of Dodik's closest allies, including government ministers and his son and daughter, from the sanctions programme.

OFAC administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions based on US foreign policy and national security goals against targeted foreign countries and regimes, terrorists, international narcotics traffickers, those engaged in activities related to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and other threats to the national security, foreign policy or economy of the United States.

The reasons for lifting the sanctions were not specified, and the measure followed Dodik's acceptance of his dismissal from the position of RS president and the withdrawal of laws that the RS parliament had passed in December 2024 in an attempt to obstruct the functioning of state judicial and police authorities.

The US first imposed sanctions on Dodik back in 2017 during the Barack Obama administration, and they were subsequently strengthened because, in addition to undermining the Dayton Agreement, he was identified as being involved in corruption.

Although the US has lifted the sanctions, Dodik is still barred from entering Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Poland, as well as Lithuania and Estonia.