Just yesterday, a Chinese national was arrested for smuggling a dangerous crop fungus into a U.S. university lab — a pathogen capable of wiping out corn, wheat, and barley, and contaminating our food supply.
I called out this act of agroterrorism today on the Capitol steps as we marked 36 years since the Tiananmen Square Massacre:
We’ve seen this threat firsthand in Iowa, where CCP operatives were caught digging up seed corn to steal American agricultural innovations.
Why it matters: These aren’t isolated events. It’s the CCP’s playbook, and it hasn’t changed. Whether it’s stealing tech, smuggling pathogens, or spreading propaganda through TikTok, China is targeting our farms, our food, and our hometowns.
As a former counterintelligence officer with experience countering China and a member of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, I’m fighting back. That means demanding accountability, securing U.S. research labs, protecting our food supply, and defending Iowans from foreign threats.
Bottom Line: The CCP is always looking to exploit vulnerabilities — from infiltrating U.S. research labs to targeting our agriculture, farmland, and media. I’ll keep leading the charge to expose these threats and defend our country at every level.