Treasury Nominee Eyes Stricter Scrutiny of Foreign Investment
Christopher Pilkerton, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be the Treasury Department's assistant secretary for investment security (see 2506040013), said Sept. 4 that he would aim to increase compliance with U.S. requirements for foreign investment.
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Pilkerton wants to make sure that when the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. approves agreements to mitigate the national security risks of transactions, the parties to those transactions adhere to the agreements. “We have to stay vigilant and ensure that folks are abiding by the agreements that they enter into,” he testified before the Senate Banking Committee.
The Government Accountability Office said last year that CFIUS has experienced "challenges" in reaching consensus on enforcing mitigation agreements (see 2404180069).
Pilkerton also would focus on identifying foreign investment transactions that should be reported to CFIUS but aren’t. “One of the things that I want to do, if confirmed, is sit down with the entire team, including the advising groups, the intelligence community, the law enforcement community that plays a role there, and find out how we can use the different tools and authorities that CFIUS has to advance that,” he said.
Pilkerton found it “incredibly concerning” that China’s MineOne bought land for a cryptocurrency mine near a Wyoming Air Force base in June 2022 but didn’t file the transaction with CFIUS until after a “public tip” prompted the committee to investigate the matter. In May 2024, President Joe Biden issued an order requiring MineOne to sell the land (see 2405130069).
“We can’t protect against what we don’t know about,” Pilkerton told Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., who raised the MineOne matter with him. “I would look forward, if confirmed, to working through all of the authorities within CFIUS as it currently stands, working with the various communities who would be able to provide intelligence information, as well as law enforcement, to work on these issues. If given the opportunity … [I] would love to work with you on this.”
Pilkerton told several senators he shares their concerns about China buying U.S. land, especially near military bases and other sensitive sites, and investing in the U.S. technology industry, including AI and quantum computing. “The Chinese penetration in agricultural land, real estate, critical technologies is something that we all should be very concerned about from a national security perspective,” he said.
He would work with the Defense Department to “ensure that those bases remain secure.” He would also work with lawmakers on legislation to restrict foreign purchases of land near sensitive sites.
Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., noted that he introduced a bill in June aimed at improving the tracking of foreign purchases of U.S. farmland (see 2507180025). Ricketts also said he wants to work with Pilkerton to streamline foreign investment screening processes. “We can talk more about that later,” the senator told Pilkerton.
Another Treasury nominee, Jonathan Burke, who would be assistant secretary for terrorist financing (see 2506030042), told the Banking Committee he would support the Trump administration's "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran by encouraging allies and the private sector to comply with U.S. sanctions. He also would continue the administration's efforts to increase sanctions on drug cartels and their financial networks.
Banking Committee members have until Sept. 5 to submit written questions to the nominees. The nominees were asked to respond by Sept. 8.