China gave Trump $500 million to get rid of the ZTE sanctions, but the Senate voted to reimpose the sanctions 85-10 as part of the must-pass NDAA legislation.
Politico reported, “The provision targeting ZTE was part of the National Defense Authorization Act, a must-pass defense spending bill that cleared the Senate by a vote of 85-10. It must now be reconciled with the House version of the measure, which takes a narrower approach to ZTE. The vote raises the stakes in Congress’ brewing confrontation with Trump over the Chinese company, which lawmakers of both parties consider a national security threat to U.S. networks. In a sign of the broad backing for the effort, Republican Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Marco Rubio of Florida as well as Democrats like Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts pushed for the ZTE ban to be included in the defense bill.”
China isn’t getting their money’s worth for their $500 million bribe
The Chinese government gave Trump $500 million for a new project in Indonesia. At around the time that the cash was changing hands, Trump warmed to China suddenly telling French president Macron that the EU was worse than China on the issue of trade. ZTE is a national security threat to the United States, but after getting a cash infusion of a half of a billion dollars, Trump decided that he had to help save jobs in China and rescue ZTE.
Unlike the president, the US Senate isn’t for sale to the highest bidder. The level of bipartisan agreement on this amendment suggests that the White House is heading for a showdown with Congress that they do not want to have. Congress is correct. There is no way that the sanctions should be lifted. Only a corrupt fool could support such a reckless and dangerous move.
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The Chinese bribe failed, as Senate Republicans showed a rare bit of spine and that they are capable of doing something else besides rolling over and playing dead for Trump.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
