The Pentagon is looking to tighten controls around fundamental research to better shield that research from “malign" foreign influence and intellectual property theft, including by barring grants if the research involves companies on the agency's 1260H List.
Former Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Ben Cardin, D-Md., who was a leading voice on human-rights-related sanctions legislation before retiring from the Senate at the end of 2024 (see 2412120051), plans to become a senior fellow at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, he said Jan. 8 in a hallway interview at the Capitol. The school's Washington, D.C., campus is on Pennsylvania Avenue near Capitol Hill.
Senate Banking Committee ranking member Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., urged committee Chairman Tim Scott, R-S.C., to hold hearings on the implications of the recent U.S. military operation in Venezuela, including the impact on U.S. sanctions policy.
Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, urged the Trump administration Jan. 6 to consider sanctioning Faiq Zaidan, head of Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council, for helping Iran increase its influence over Iraq.
Turkey opened a safeguard investigation on paper and paperboard on Dec. 31, the country told the World Trade Organization's Committee on Safeguards. Turkey said interested parties are required to fill out investigation questionnaires within 30 days from the date of publication of the safeguard announcement and submit it to the Ministry of Trade's Directorate General for Imports.
Last month's U.S. air strikes on Islamic State militants in Nigeria have not eliminated the need for a bill to impose property-blocking sanctions on Nigerian officials who permit or promote the persecution of Christians and other religious minorities, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Jan. 6. “I think the legislation remains important,” he said.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., on Jan. 5 introduced a joint resolution of disapproval for proposed military sales to Taiwan, but it was not immediately clear which defense articles and services would be targeted.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., announced Jan. 5 that he has appointed Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., to replace Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., as ranking member of the House Select Committee on China.
SoftBank, a Japan-based investment management firm, and DigitalBridge, a global digital infrastructure investment firm, will need approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. and several other regulators before they can complete their merger, DigitalBridge said in its latest SEC filing. Along with CFIUS, they will also need approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority, and the EU under the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation. SoftBank plans to buy DigitalBridge for about $4 billion, according to SoftBank's Dec. 29 press release.
President Donald Trump has ordered a U.S.-based company owned by a Chinese national to unwind its April 2024 purchase of semiconductor assets from an American technology firm, saying the deal threatens U.S. national security.