(José Niño, Headline USA) National security experts are questioning why Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., drove through hostile Middle Eastern territory without security and had a one-on-one meeting with a former terror-linked Syrian leader.
Blaze News recently revealed further details about Mills’ joint trip with Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., where he traveled by private car from Damascus, Syria to Beirut, Lebanon. This is a journey that “could take anywhere from 2.5 to four hours through territory that is dangerous and hostile to Americans,” depending on checkpoints and travel conditions.
An intelligence source from the region stated that Hezbollah controls “much of the borderlands in both Syria and Lebanon,” and that for Mills to cross that territory, he would have needed a “pass” from the militant group. Despite the risks, Mills, as a sitting U.S. congressman, made the drive without any security detail beside him.
Roger Sollenberger, an independent journalist, reported that Mills sought a private meeting with Syrian President Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa, spending 90 minutes alone with al-Sharaa and Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani. A travel filing screenshot notes their discussion covered several “sensitive” topics, including “U.S.-Syria relations, humanitarian concerns, and regional stability,” according to The Blaze report.
In light of Israel bombing Syria’s ministry of defense, revisiting Cory Mills’ trip to Syria in April where he met alone with the new president, the terrorist founder of Al-Nusra. According to Mills’ travel filing, he took a private car solo across Syria & Lebanon for some reason pic.twitter.com/dBCsikuMQE
— Roger Sollenberger (@SollenbergerRC) July 16, 2025
In 2013, al-Sharaa was labeled a global terrorist by the U.S. government for his ties to the rebel group al-Nusra, although the State Department lifted the terrorist designation for al-Nusra earlier this month.
Kyle Shideler, director and senior analyst for homeland security and counterterrorism at the Center for Security Policy, called Mills’ solo meeting with al-Sharaa “worrisome,” emphasizing the risk that the “appearance of impropriety … could be exploited by foreign adversaries.”
He told Blaze News, “Generally speaking, U.S. officials should just not be meeting alone with foreign dignitaries or leaders. Even phone calls with foreign leaders include staffers and translators to help brief and keep the meeting on topic and in line with official U.S. policy. Even professional U.S. diplomats who actually have the responsibility to have such meetings don’t hold them alone but bring witnesses.”
Although Stutzman and Mills followed a joint itinerary to Damascus, Stutzman did not join Mills’ private meeting with al-Sharaa and al-Shaibani. Stutzman also opted out of the dangerous drive, with travel filings showing that he flew from Damascus to Istanbul, Turkey a day prior to Mills’ journey.
The Blaze reported that neither Mills nor Stutzman received “dignitary protection details from the State Department or Capitol Police” for their official trip. In this case, any security provided came from Syria.
Nonetheless, Mills still elected to travel through an area and crossed a border largely held by Hezbollah, without any security. presence. The reason behind Mills’ additional trip to Lebanon remains unclear.
Mill’s private life has faced increased scrutiny, with Headline USA reporting allegations of a covert conversion to Islam and missed payments on his luxury apartment lease.
