Texas Republicans target former officials lobbying for foreign adversaries

First on Fox: Former national security officials could soon lose their security clearances — or even face a lifetime ban from lobbying for foreign adversaries — under a new crackdown by Texas Republicans John Cornyn and August Pfluger.

The package of three bills takes direct aim at Washington’s revolving door, closing loopholes that allowed former officials and power brokers — many with deep knowledge of U.S. defense secrets — to quietly advance the interests of China, Russia and other hostile regimes within the U.S. government.

If enacted, the legislation would require Pentagon Revoke security clearances from former defense officials who lobby for Chinese-owned companies and impose a lifetime ban on any official Senate-confirmed lobbying on behalf of designated adversaries — including China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.

The third measure — the PAYE (Preventing Discount Influence, Misinformation, and Obscure Foreign Financing Act) Act — would reform the financial system. Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) by eliminating the “commercial” and lobbying disclosure act (LDA) exemptions for entities linked to the relevant countries. The change would force anyone representing or defending companies owned or controlled by hostile governments, such as China or Russia, to publicly register as foreign agents, and would expand the Justice Department’s enforcement authority to pursue unregistered influence campaigns.

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The new bills aim to tighten restrictions on lobbying amid a growing list of former officials and politically connected figures who have leveraged their access to Washington on behalf of foreign governments and companies with minimal disclosure.

This effort marks the full launch of the two-chamber Cornyn-Pfluger package. Cornyn introduced the Payback Act and the Clear Path Act earlier this year in the Senate and is introducing the Repeal Act today, while Pfluger is introducing all three bills in the House.

The legislation has bipartisan consensus: Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., is the Senate Democratic leader on each measure, while Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., is co-sponsoring the Clear Path and Repeal Act, and Rep. Don Davis, D-Ill., is co-sponsoring the Repeal Act.

The repeal bill was included in the National Defense Authorization Act passed by the House, and the PAYE Act was included in the version passed by the Senate, giving key parts of the proposal bipartisan momentum in both chambers.

From the Pentagon’s cyber briefing room to the boardrooms on K Street, a generation of former officials has turned national security expertise into private contracts with foreign-connected companies.

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The same revolving door extended to the world of law. Loretta Lynch, President Barack Obama’s attorney general and now a partner at a major Washington firm, represented DJI Technology, the Chinese drone manufacturer that the Pentagon later described as a “Chinese military company.” In 2023, it wrote to the War Department urging it to remove DJI from that list and led a lawsuit challenging the designation before the company changed its lawyers in December.

DJI’s influence campaign in Washington has reached far beyond Lynch. Jeff Denham, a former Republican congressman and Air Force veteran, was among the lobbyists listed in K&L Gates’ 2020 filings for DJI, which focuses on defense and trade issues.

Former Attorney General Loretta Lynch, now a partner at a major Washington firm, represented DJI Technology, the Chinese drone manufacturer that the Pentagon later described as a “Chinese military company.” (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

John P. Flynn, a former Air Force officer and deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for legislative communications, also appeared in Squire Patton Boggs’ lobbying disclosures for the company in 2022 and 2023. Their paths from military service and congress to representing a Chinese defense-related company show how deep the revolving door runs — and how easily government expertise in national security can become a global commodity once officials enter the private sector.

That network extended to include Barry Rhoades, president of Cassidy & Co., one of Washington’s best-known defense lobbying firms. A former Army general and counsel to the Defense Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, Rhodes is listed among the lobbyists who represented DJI between 2018 and 2022. His decades of experience on Capitol Hill and the Pentagon have made him a sought-after consultant to defense contractors — and, under current law, even to companies linked to U.S. adversaries.

In another notable example, former Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen was once with Huawei Technologies Co., the Chinese telecommunications company that was later deemed a threat to American national security. After leaving the Pentagon, Cohen founded The Cohen Group, which advised Huawei in 2010.

A company spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the work was done “with support from the Department of Defense and the Director of National Intelligence” and was intended to limit Huawei’s business in the United States to activities acceptable to the US government. The company said it helped craft a plan that would restrict Huawei’s sales under the national security agreement, but ended the project when the company “decided to pursue a different path.”

US intelligence agencies have since warned that Huawei technology could be used by Beijing for spying, leading to restrictions on its access to US networks and suppliers.

Founded by former Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen, who oversaw the Pentagon during the Clinton administration, later founded the Cohen Group, a Washington consulting firm that advised Huawei Technologies Co., the Chinese telecommunications giant that has since been deemed a risk to American national security. (Pornchai Kityongsakul/AFP via Getty Images)

Lynch, Flynn, Denham and Rhodes did not respond to requests for comment.

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This pattern was not limited to defense insiders. Hunter Bidenwho has faced a years-long Justice Department investigation into his foreign business dealings, including work with a Romanian real estate tycoon and his position on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings, has also come under scrutiny from congressional investigators.

They examined his contacts with businessmen linked to Russian and Chinese interests during the same period. No charges have been brought under FARA, but the investigation has drawn attention to how politically connected figures can pursue lucrative offshore ventures that blur the line between private consulting and foreign influence.