Although the Trump administration has temporarily delayed enforcing a law that calls for China’s ByteDance to divest TikTok or face a ban of the popular social media application in the U.S., ByteDance shouldn't expect the reprieve to become permanent, the leaders of the House Select Committee on China said at a Brookings Institution event Feb. 25.
Citing civilian casualties in the Gaza war, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., introduced four joint resolutions of disapproval Feb. 20 to block the sale of more than $8 billion in U.S. military equipment to Israel, including bombs, missiles and artillery shells. The Trump administration notified Congress about the transactions earlier this month. The resolutions were referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Three other Sanders resolutions aimed at blocking arms sales to Israel failed in the Senate by wide margins in November (see 2411210022).
Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., reintroduced a bill Feb. 24 that would impose sanctions on foreign persons who engage in or facilitate forced organ harvesting in China. The Falun Gong Protection Act, named for Falun Gong spiritual movement followers who are among the main victims of involuntary organ harvesting, was referred to the House Foreign Affairs and Judiciary committees. The House passed the bill by voice vote in June 2024 in the previous Congress (see 2406260044).
Senate Banking Committee ranking member Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., urged her fellow lawmakers Feb. 24 to oppose attempts to unwind measures that are designed to pressure Russia to seek peace with Ukraine. Following Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. imposed sanctions and export controls on Russia and provided arms to Ukraine, noted Warren, who said in a statement that she’s concerned President Donald Trump will make unwarranted concessions to Russian President Vladimir Putin in a bid to end the war. Instead of easing up on Moscow, the Trump administration should be heading off Russia’s attempts to evade U.S. sanctions with the help of China, Iran and North Korea, she said.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas, reintroduced a bill last week that aims to counter China’s attempts to steal U.S. trade secrets and intellectual property. The legislation also seeks to protect U.S. critical infrastructure and supply chains from foreign investment.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch, R-Idaho, welcomed the Trump administration’s designation of eight Latin America-based criminal groups as foreign terrorists. “I support the Trump Administration's efforts to use every tool at its disposal to combat the scourge of illicit narcotics & the cartels profiting from the damage they’re doing to Idaho communities,” Risch tweeted Feb. 20, the same day the State Department announced the designations (see 2502190011).
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., plans to reintroduce a bill that would require the administration to develop a strategy to use sanctions and other tools to protect civilians from Sudan’s civil war, a spokesperson said Feb. 21.
Sens. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and Jim Banks, R-Ind., and Rep. Dale Strong, R-Ala., reintroduced legislation Feb. 18 that would prohibit the sale of U.S. agricultural land to “foreign adversaries,” namely China, Iran, North Korea and Russia.
The Senate voted 51-45 along party lines late Feb. 18 to confirm investment firm leader Howard Lutnick as the next commerce secretary. Lutnick has pledged to make strong enforcement of export controls a “hallmark” of his tenure (see 2502050048). President Donald Trump formally nominated Lutnick for the position last month. Commerce official Jeremy Pelter had been serving as acting secretary for several weeks (see 2501210030).
The U.S. and other Group of 7 nations should make greater use of the roughly $300 billion in Russian assets frozen in the West, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and three other senators said in a Feb. 18 statement. While the G7 agreed last year to use interest from those Russian assets to finance a $50 billion loan to Ukraine (see 2406140056), the senators said the allies should provide more much-needed support to Ukraine by confiscating the frozen assets or using them as collateral for another, larger loan. The Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity for Ukrainians Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law in April 2024 (see 2404240043), authorizes the U.S. to repurpose its share of the frozen assets.