China
House Oversight Committee Releases DHS Communications on Gov. Tim Walz’s Alleged Ties to China
The House Oversight Committee, led by Chairman James Comer, unveiled a “small portion” of internal communications from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Tuesday, revealing concerns raised by DHS officials regarding Minnesota Governor Tim Walz’s alleged connections to China and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Just the News reports that the documents were shared by a whistleblower following DHS’s failure to comply with a committee subpoena requesting intelligence records and internal communications referencing Walz and any connections to the CCP.
Chairman Comer, a Republican from Kentucky, detailed the committee’s actions in a letter to DHS, citing the agency’s noncompliance with the legal subpoena as the reason for releasing a snippet of the communications obtained through the whistleblower. Comer’s letter emphasized that the disclosed messages serve as examples of a broader concern among DHS officials regarding the potential influence of the CCP on American political figures, including Walz.
Among the released communications is an internal DHS message posted on Microsoft Teams, dated to the day when then-presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris named Walz as her running mate. In this exchange, an unnamed official warned colleagues about Walz’s long-standing ties to China and expressed concerns over how this could open avenues for CCP influence.
“Walz got the VP. You all have no idea how this feeds into what the PRC [China] has been doing here with him and local gov,” the official wrote. The message, presented in Comer’s letter, referenced intelligence suggesting that the CCP often seeks to target individuals with potential political futures in Washington, D.C.
Walz, a Democrat and the current governor of Minnesota, has faced mounting scrutiny for his longstanding relationship with China, which dates back to his tenure as an English teacher in 1989—shortly after the Chinese government’s suppression of the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests. Walz reportedly struggled to clarify whether he was in Hong Kong during the protests, as he previously claimed.
By the early 1990s, Walz began leading regular student trips to China, even choosing the country as the honeymoon destination with his wife in 1994. The Daily Caller reported that Walz once welcomed a delegation of CCP officials to his classroom in Nebraska and has been quoted praising China’s system of collectivism, stating that “everyone is the same and everyone shares.”
The report noted that Walz’s travel history and interactions with Chinese officials align with methods often used in CCP “elite capture” strategies to build influence among rising political figures. These tactics, the committee found, have often gone unaddressed by the Biden administration, which has yet to develop a comprehensive strategy for countering CCP influence on U.S. state and local government officials.
China
Pentagon Report Reveals China’s Rapid Nuclear Expansion, Doubling Previous U.S. Estimates
China’s nuclear arsenal has surged to over 500 warheads—more than double the previous U.S. estimate—according to a newly released Pentagon intelligence report. This “rapid expansion” is raising alarm among U.S. officials as Beijing aggressively accelerates its military capabilities and steps up hostilities toward allied states in the Pacific.
The Daily Caller News Foundation reports that in 2020, the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) assessed that China had amassed roughly 200 nuclear warheads and projected that the count could reach 400 by 2030. But the latest findings show China has already far exceeded that estimate, and the Pentagon now believes China could have over 1,000 operational warheads by 2030.
According to the report, China’s current nuclear build-up represents the most rapid and ambitious modernization effort in its history, indicating the nation’s long-term strategy for sustained competition with the U.S. and signaling an operational readiness for intensified strategic concepts. China’s arsenal, composed of various nuclear warheads, can be launched from a range of platforms, including submarines, ground-mobile systems, and aircraft. The DIA report also notes that China is building additional facilities for the production of fissile materials to further scale up its nuclear arsenal.
The report suggests that China remains committed to a “no first use” nuclear policy—meaning it would only launch a nuclear strike in retaliation. However, China’s “launch-on-warning” policy enables it to strike back preemptively if it detects an incoming attack.
“China is fielding new nuclear capabilities at a faster pace than at any time in its history,” the DIA report reads, emphasizing the military’s objective to achieve parity with the U.S. nuclear arsenal. Despite Beijing’s statements about maintaining a defensive posture, the Pentagon warns that China’s rapid nuclear advancements could lead to an increased risk of miscalculation.
The Pentagon report highlights China’s growing capability and confidence, suggesting that Beijing’s bolstered nuclear deterrence over the next decade could embolden its leaders. This, in turn, increases the risk of miscalculations and escalations as the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) builds up the capability to counter the U.S. across various domains.
A spokesperson from the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. downplayed concerns, pointing to America’s extensive nuclear arsenal as a primary security risk. “China is committed to a defensive nuclear strategy and a policy of ‘no first use’ of nuclear weapons and keeps our nuclear capabilities at the minimum level required by national security,” the spokesperson told the DCNF.
The report also reflects a lack of transparency in U.S.-China relations, with military talks largely suspended since 2022 and only resuming recently. This limited communication between the nations further fuels apprehension within the international community.
China’s nuclear expansion aligns with its broader military ambitions under President Xi Jinping, who has ordered the PLA to be prepared for a possible invasion of Taiwan by 2027. Although the U.S. maintains a “strategic ambiguity” policy toward Taiwan—meaning it does not disclose how it would respond to a Chinese invasion—the potential for conflict has heightened as China’s military power grows.
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