The Republican Recap: Week of May 5, 2025
Keeping the CCP Out of U.S. Institutions of Higher Education ✅
For years, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has worked to spread propaganda and conduct sophisticated espionage around the world, particularly targeting the United States and seeking to infiltrate and exploit America’s classrooms and institutions of higher learning.
One way the Chinese government attempted to do this was to establish Confucius Institutes (CIs) in the U.S. under the guise of promoting Chinese language and culture and advancing cultural exchanges. In reality, these CIs were extensions of the CCP’s influence network meant to conduct espionage in the U.S., impact academic institutions’ decisions, push propaganda, and steal intellectual property and trade secrets.
Today, there are less than five active CIs left in the United States; however, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that 43 out of 74 schools surveyed maintain a relationship with an entity that previously supported their CI program. Additionally, many institutions of higher learning are far from transparent in disclosing the assistance they receive from China or other foreign engagement. Between June 22, 2020, to April 6, 2023, the Department of Education accumulated data revealing that U.S. universities collected over $3 billion from CCP and PRC linked entities.
H.R. 881, the DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act, introduced by Rep. August Pfluger, restricts funding to American institutions of higher education (IHE) that maintain a relationship with a Chinese entity of concern or Confucius Institute, making them ineligible to receive any funds from the Department of Homeland Security.
“The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has proven to be an untrustworthy, adversarial actor by continually undermining American interests at every turn – in no world should they have a front-row seat in our classrooms funded by our own taxpayer dollars,” said Rep. August Pfluger. “The passage of my legislation today sends a clear message: America’s universities and research labs will no longer be used to steal critical research, recruit talent for Military-Civil fusion enterprises, conduct espionage, commit transnational repression, and influence academic institutions to the benefit of the CCP. This is a victory for our national security and for the future generations of Americans.”
What Members Said:
“This legislation is about one thing: protecting American students, American research, and America's future from malign foreign influence, especially from the Chinese Communist Party. The CCP is engaged in a persistent strategic campaign to influence every corner of American life, and one of their most dangerous efforts is to target our education system. Often disguised as cultural exchange programs, the CCP efforts to infiltrate America's universities are intended to manipulate curriculum, suppress academic freedom and monitor Chinese students here in the United States,” said Select Committee on the CCP Chairman John Moolenaar. “The threat is real and the evidence is overwhelming. This isn't about blocking cultural exchange. It's about blocking foreign exploitation. Academic freedom is not for sale – not to Beijing, not on our watch. Let's stand together, Republicans and Democrats, to protect our students, safeguard our campuses, and push back on foreign influence.”
Codifying President Trump’s Gulf of America Executive Order ✅
On January 20, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order officially declaring the Gulf of Mexico to be renamed to the Gulf of America in recognition of this bountiful economic resource and vital American asset. The Gulf of America has always played an integral part in shaping the United States and global economies, serving as a crucial avenue for early American global trade and commerce, supporting much of our commercial fishing, and contributing millions to our economy. The area is also an essential oil and gas region.
The Gulf has always been and always will be a part of America, and its name should reflect that. America is the greatest country in the world, and only getting greater under President Trump – this name change acknowledges and celebrates that greatness, showing the world that we are proud to be America.
This week, House Republicans passed legislation to codify the President’s executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, ensuring the change is permanent so no future administration can change it back with an executive order.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s legislation, H.R. 276, the Gulf of America Act of 2025, codifies President Trump’s executive order, permanently renames the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, and instructs federal agencies to update their documents and maps to reflect the change.
“I’m proud to have passed my Gulf of America Act through the House. This bill codifies President Trump's executive order permanently renaming the rightful Gulf of America. The American people are footing the bill to protect and secure the Gulf's maritime waterways for commerce to be conducted. Our U.S. armed forces protect the area from any military threats from foreign countries and from the Mexican cartels who use the Gulf to traffic humans, drugs, and weapons into our communities. It’s our gulf. The rightful name is the Gulf of America and it’s what the entire world should refer to it as,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
What Members Said:
Distribution channels: U.S. Politics
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