{"id":16047,"date":"2025-11-26T15:46:38","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T15:46:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/republicans-clash-over-drone-crackdown\/"},"modified":"2025-11-26T15:46:38","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T15:46:38","slug":"republicans-clash-over-drone-crackdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/republicans-clash-over-drone-crackdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Republicans clash over drone crackdown"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

A Capitol Hill push by GOP China hawks to impose new restrictions on Shenzhen-based aerial drone maker DJI is facing resistance from Republicans who warn the company\u2019s products have become critical tools for U.S. farming and energy firms.<\/p>\n

The fight is playing out after Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, a close ally of President Donald Trump, secured the crackdown in the House version of a must-pass defense policy bill. At stake for DJI are new restrictions on its ability to offer products in the U.S.<\/p>\n

Stefanik is making the case that the company\u2019s products expose Americans\u2019 data to the Chinese government \u2014 an allegation that the company denies as it lobbies hard to make the case that it operates independently of Chinese officials.<\/p>\n

But Stefanik and her allies are facing pushback in the Senate, which opted against including the provision in its version of the bill and where Republicans are raising concerns about potential negative impacts on U.S. businesses and law enforcement. The two chambers are working to resolve their differences in the sprawling defense bill so they can enact it by year\u2019s end.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are the primary drone maker in the United States at a reasonable price,\u201d Senate Agriculture Chair John Boozman, an Arkansas Republican, said of DJI in an interview. \u201cThis technology is being used more and more. … That\u2019s the crux of the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

The battle over DJI marks the latest flash point among Republicans over how to counter China without sacrificing U.S. business interests. Trump, whose election in 2016 was a boon to the party\u2019s China hawk wing, has himself sought to ease tensions with Beijing in recent months after initiating a trade war. It\u2019s unclear that Stefanik and her allies will prevail with their campaign against DJI.<\/p>\n

DJI is the dominant global producer of commercial drones, which it markets to enterprise customers for uses in inspecting infrastructure, surveying land and public safety.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are real cost ramifications for commercial enterprises, not just farming,\u201d Sen. John Hoeven, a North Dakota Republican, said in an interview. \u201cYou\u2019ve got the energy industry, where they\u2019re tracking transmission lines, rescue and recovery, all these different other uses. It\u2019s something we\u2019ve got to figure out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boozman and Hoeven say they also have national security concerns about DJI, but Stefanik has been pushing provisions that would take an all-or-nothing approach, rejecting the notion that economic impacts should hold lawmakers back from immediately barring the sale of new DJI products in the U.S.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is very important for us to have U.S. drones and not have that data be turned over to the CCP,\u201d she said in an interview. \u201cIt has been an issue we\u2019ve worked on for a number of years with traditional bipartisan support to protect our information, whether it\u2019s the topography of their regions or on the installations \u2026 or potential troop movements.\u201d<\/p>\n

The legislative language Stefanik and other China hawks are pursuing comes as DJI already faces potential restrictions on its ability to sell products in the U.S. after Dec. 23, thanks to an amendment Stefanik secured in last year\u2019s defense authorization bill.<\/p>\n

That earlier provision requires federal agencies to audit DJI and another Chinese drone manufacturer, Autel, for national security risks. If no such audit is performed, a ban on domestic imports will go into effect. No national security agency has indicated it plans to conduct the audit in time to meet the deadline.<\/p>\n

The new proposal Republicans are now debating would require another federal audit of drone equipment, including software and spectrum band products, developed in countries that are \u201cforeign adversaries.\u201d The language once again targets DJI and Autel.<\/p>\n

DJI has spent nearly $3 million on federal lobbying this year, according to disclosures filed with Congress, in appeals to lawmakers from states and districts that rely on its drones to support critical sectors of their local economies \u2013 particularly agricultural and law enforcement activities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fundamental point is, this isn\u2019t really about data security,\u201d DJI global head of policy Adam Welsh said in an interview. \u201cThis is, frankly, about protectionism and trying to protect a U.S. industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Representatives of DJI\u2019s enterprise customer base acknowledge national security concerns associated with the drones. But they are also warning against the repercussions of a full-out ban.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would have a very significant level of repercussions, full stop,\u201d National Sheriffs\u2019 Association CEO Jonathan Thompson said in an interview. \u201cIt\u2019s a little like taking cars out of a sheriff\u2019s office and saying you can\u2019t use any cars. These are ubiquitous.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even the federal government has had trouble weaning itself off the Chinese-made drones.<\/p>\n

After the Interior Department prohibited the purchase of new DJI drones in 2020, the Government Accountability Office found in a follow-up review that the removal of foreign-made drone fleets had significantly impaired the operations of the Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service.<\/p>\n

\u201cBLM and NPS do not have enough drones for their operations to manage or prevent wildland fires and have shifted some operations to riskier, more costly methods, such as helicopters,\u201d the GAO said in the report.<\/p>\n

Sen. Rick Scott, a Florida Republican who is championing a proposal in his chamber that mirrors Stefanik\u2019s language, said in an interview that he has run into resistance at the Senate Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over aviation and technology issues and is chaired by Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.<\/p>\n

\u201cCommerce did not oppose the inclusion of a DJI audit in the [defense bill],\u201d said Phoebe Keller, a committee spokesperson for Cruz. \u201cStaff provided edits to the text and engaged in good faith to clear the language. The sponsors ultimately chose not to engage further but we remain happy to work with the sponsors if and when they decide to reengage.\u201d<\/p>\n

A person granted anonymity to share details of the negotiations said committee staff conveyed concerns to Scott\u2019s team about the ramifications of banning drones relied upon by first responders<\/p>\n

Scott rejects concerns that there aren\u2019t yet viable alternative drones being produced in the U.S.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s American companies, and there will be,\u201d said Scott, a former Florida governor and health care CEO. \u201cI\u2019m a business guy. If you told me there was an opportunity, I could figure it out pretty fast.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Capitol Hill push by GOP China hawks to impose new restrictions on Shenzhen-based aerial drone maker DJI is facing resistance from Republicans who warn the company\u2019s products have become critical tools for U.S. farming and energy firms. The fight is playing out after Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, a close ally of President […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-congress"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16047"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16047\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}