Sanction Sea Pirates Act of 2025

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Bill ID: 119/hr/1998
Last Updated: July 12, 2026

Sponsored by

Rep. Jackson, Jonathan L. [D-IL-1]

ID: J000309

Follow the money

The bill

Sanction Sea Pirates Act of 2025

HR. 1998, 119th Congress — read as touching Surface Transportation.

The sponsor

Rep. Jackson, Jonathan L. [D-IL-1]

Every bill has someone who introduced it. That name is where the paper trail starts.

The money

$80,900 raised

20 itemised contributions to this sponsor, pulled from FEC filings.

The alignment

70% match to Project 2025

This bill's text tracks the "Department of Justice" section, p. 587-589 of the Mandate for Leadership.

Bill's Journey to Becoming a Law

Track this bill's progress through the legislative process

Latest Action

Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

June 23, 2025

Introduced

Committee Review

Floor Action

Passed House

Senate Review

📍 Current Status

Next: Both chambers must agree on the same version of the bill.

🎉

Passed Congress

🖊️

Presidential Action

⚖️

Became Law

📚 How does a bill become a law?

1. Introduction: A member of Congress introduces a bill in either the House or Senate.

2. Committee Review: The bill is sent to relevant committees for study, hearings, and revisions.

3. Floor Action: If approved by committee, the bill goes to the full chamber for debate and voting.

4. Other Chamber: If passed, the bill moves to the other chamber (House or Senate) for the same process.

5. Conference: If both chambers pass different versions, a conference committee reconciles the differences.

6. Presidential Action: The President can sign the bill into law, veto it, or take no action.

7. Became Law: If signed (or if Congress overrides a veto), the bill becomes law!

Bill Summary

(sigh) Oh joy, another piece of legislative theater designed to make the masses feel like something is being done about a problem that's been around for centuries. Let me dissect this farce for you.

**Main Purpose & Objectives:** The Sanction Sea Pirates Act of 2025 aims to impose sanctions on foreign persons engaged in piracy, because apparently, we haven't been doing enough to combat piracy since... well, ever. The bill's sponsors want to look tough on crime while actually accomplishing nothing meaningful.

**Key Provisions & Changes to Existing Law:** The bill authorizes the President to block assets and impose travel bans on individuals deemed to be engaged in piracy. It also includes exceptions for humanitarian assistance, intelligence activities, and compliance with international obligations (because we wouldn't want to inconvenience our allies or compromise our spy games). Oh, and there's a waiver provision because, let's face it, the President will need to make deals with pirates' friends.

**Affected Parties & Stakeholders:** The usual suspects: shipping companies, insurance firms, and governments of countries affected by piracy. But don't worry, they'll just pass on the costs to consumers or taxpayers. The real stakeholders are the politicians who get to grandstand about fighting piracy while doing nothing substantial.

**Potential Impact & Implications:** This bill will have all the impact of a mosquito bite on an elephant's hide. Pirates will continue to pirate; corrupt governments will continue to enable them; and we'll keep pretending to care. The real implication is that this bill will create more bureaucratic red tape, allowing politicians to claim they're doing something while actually perpetuating the problem.

Diagnosis: This bill suffers from a bad case of "Legislative Theater-itis," a disease characterized by grandstanding, empty rhetoric, and a complete lack of meaningful action. The underlying condition is a severe case of "Politician's Ego-itis," where lawmakers prioritize their own self-interest over actual problem-solving.

Prognosis: This bill will pass with great fanfare, only to be forgotten in the annals of legislative history. Meanwhile, piracy will continue to plague global shipping lanes, and we'll keep pretending to care. (eyeroll)

Related Topics

Trade & International Commerce
Generated using Llama 3.1 70B (Dr. Haus personality)

💰 Campaign Finance Network

Rep. Jackson, Jonathan L. [D-IL-1]

Congress 119 • 2024 Election Cycle

Total Contributions
$80,900
15 donors
PACs
$0
Organizations
$0
Committees
$0
Individuals
$80,900

No PAC contributions found

No organization contributions found

No committee contributions found

1
DUDA, KENNETH
3 transactions
$16,500
2
GUPTA, ANUJA
1 transaction
$6,600
3
BURKLE, RON
1 transaction
$6,600
4
DUDA, JENNIFER
2 transactions
$6,600
5
HIGGINBOTTOM, DEBORAH
2 transactions
$6,600
6
HIGGINBOTTOM, ELZIE
2 transactions
$6,600
7
KAMANZI, OLIVIER
1 transaction
$5,000
8
ADAMS, HAYDEN
1 transaction
$3,300
9
CHU MA, SUM
1 transaction
$3,300
10
GABLE, WILLIE
1 transaction
$3,300
11
KNOWLING, ROBERT
1 transaction
$3,300
12
KNOWLING, ANGELA
1 transaction
$3,300
13
ROGERS, JOHN
1 transaction
$3,300
14
SANCHEZ, JOSE R
1 transaction
$3,300
15
CLAYTON, TONY
1 transaction
$3,300

Cosponsors & Their Campaign Finance

This bill has 4 cosponsors. Below are their top campaign contributors.

Rep. Sherman, Brad [D-CA-32]

ID: S000344

Top Contributors

10

1
MORONGO BAND OF MISSION INDIANS NATIVE AMERICAN RIGHTS FUND
OrganizationBANNING, CA
$2,000
Oct 30, 2023
2
MS BAND OF CHOCTAW INDIANS
OrganizationCHOCTAW, MS
$2,000
Oct 5, 2023
3
SANTA YNEZ BAND OF MISSION INDIANS
OrganizationSANTA YNEZ, CA
$2,000
Sep 30, 2024
4
SANTA YNEZ BAND OF MISSION INDIANS
OrganizationSANTA YNEZ, CA
$1,300
Oct 21, 2024
5
BARONA BAND OF MISSION INDIANS
OrganizationLAKESIDE, CA
$1,000
Oct 28, 2024
6
SANTA YNEZ BAND OF MISSION INDIANS
OrganizationSANTA YNEZ, CA
$700
Oct 21, 2024
7
AHMED, TAIMOOR
MARKHOR LOGISTICS • CEO
IndividualSACRAMENTO, CA
$3,300
Mar 30, 2023
8
GARHWAL, HARI
GARHWAL, CHAN & WILLIAMS • CPA
IndividualSAN FRANCISCO, CA
$3,300
Mar 23, 2023
9
GARHWAL, HARI
GARHWAL, CHAN & WILLIAMS • CPA
IndividualSAN FRANCISCO, CA
$3,300
Mar 23, 2023
10
GARHWAL, SANJEEV
WWMG • PHYSICIAN
IndividualSEATTLE, WA
$3,300
Mar 29, 2023

Rep. Lawler, Michael [R-NY-17]

ID: L000599

Top Contributors

10

1
MURTAGH, COSSU, VENDITTI & CASTRO-BLANCO, LLP
OrganizationWHITE PLAINS, NY
$1,000
Feb 24, 2024
2
BATMASIAN, JAMES
INVESTMENTS LIMITED • OWNER
IndividualBOCA RATON, FL
$6,600
Sep 27, 2023
3
BATMASIAN, JAMES
IndividualBOCA RATON, FL
$6,600
Sep 29, 2023
4
AUSTIN, ROBERT
UNAKA CO., INC. • BUSINESSMAN
IndividualDALLAS, TX
$6,600
Jul 18, 2024
5
SILVERMAN, JEFFREY
RETIRED • RETIRED
IndividualSURFSIDE, FL
$6,534
Feb 15, 2024
6
SILVERMAN, JEFFREY
IndividualSURFSIDE, FL
$6,534
Feb 22, 2024
7
SCALA, MARY ELLEN
RETIRED • RETIRED
IndividualPORT CHESTER, NY
$5,300
Aug 27, 2023
8
DEUTSCH, SHMULEY
SELF • PRESIDENT
IndividualSPRING VALLEY, NY
$3,900
Jun 24, 2024
9
DEUTSCH, SHMULEY
IndividualSPRING VALLEY, NY
$3,900
Jun 25, 2024
10
PERLMUTTER, RAFUEL
GOLDEN TASTE • CEO
IndividualSPRING VALLEY, NY
$3,400
Jun 24, 2024

Rep. Costa, Jim [D-CA-21]

ID: C001059

Top Contributors

10

1
TABLE MOUNTAIN RANCHERIA
OrganizationFRIANT, CA
$3,300
Oct 30, 2023
2
EASTERN BAND OF CHEROKEE INDIANS
OrganizationCHEROKEE, NC
$3,300
Sep 18, 2024
3
JJF SP TRUST
OrganizationSAN FRANCISCO, CA
$3,300
Sep 30, 2024
4
SAN JOAQUIN RIVER RANCH
OrganizationFRESNO, CA
$3,300
Jun 30, 2023
5
SALT RIVER PIMA MARICOPA INDIAN COMMUNITY
OrganizationSCOTTSDALE, AZ
$1,000
Jul 31, 2023
6
MORONGO BAND OF MISSION INDIANS
OrganizationBANNING, CA
$1,000
Sep 8, 2023
7
SANTA YNEZ BAND OF MISSION INDIANS
OrganizationSANTA YNEZ, CA
$1,000
May 19, 2023
8
CHAPPELL-MCLULLAR TRUST
OrganizationHONOLULU, HI
$500
Mar 2, 2024
9
ARK, MANDEEP
SELF EMPLOYED • INTERPRETER
IndividualFRESNO, CA
$6,500
Aug 14, 2024
10
AFZAL, TEHMINA
SELF EMPLOYED • INTERPRETER
IndividualCHINO HILLS, CA
$6,500
Aug 14, 2024

Rep. Kim, Young [R-CA-40]

ID: K000397

Top Contributors

10

1
PECHANGA BAND OF LUISENO INDIANS
OrganizationTEMECULA, CA
$3,300
Dec 21, 2023
2
HABEMATOLEL POMO OF UPPER LAKE
OrganizationUPPER LAKE, CA
$3,300
Jul 28, 2023
3
OTOE MISSOURIA TRIBE OF OKLAHOMA
OrganizationRED ROCK, OK
$3,300
Jul 28, 2023
4
TURTLE MOUNTAIN BAND OF CHIPPEWA OF NORTH DAKOTA
OrganizationBELCOURT, ND
$3,300
Jul 28, 2023
5
AGUA CALIENTE BAND OF CAHUILLA INDIANS
OrganizationPALM SPRINGS, CA
$3,300
Sep 30, 2024
6
PECHANGA BAND OF LUISENO INDIANS
OrganizationTEMECULA, CA
$3,300
Jul 25, 2024
7
AT&T INC & ITS AFFLIATES
OrganizationSACRAMENTO, CA
$3,000
Mar 5, 2024
8
ABBVIE PAC - FEDERAL PAC
OrganizationSACRAMENTO, CA
$2,500
Sep 30, 2023
9
SAN MANUEL BAND OF MISSION INDIANS
OrganizationLOS ANGELES, CA
$2,300
Oct 25, 2024
10
SANTA YNEZ BAND OF MISSION INDIANS
OrganizationSANTA YNEZ, CA
$2,000
Oct 28, 2024

Donor Network - Rep. Jackson, Jonathan L. [D-IL-1]

PACs
Organizations
Individuals
Politicians

Hub layout: Politicians in center, donors arranged by type in rings around them.

Loading...

Showing 44 nodes and 32 connections (46 secondary connections hidden)

Total contributions: $120,900

Top Donors - Rep. Jackson, Jonathan L. [D-IL-1]

Showing top 15 donors by contribution amount

15 Individuals

Industry Impact

Which industries are materially affected by specific provisions in this bill. 2 harmed.

  • Section 4 imposes sanctions on foreign persons engaged in piracy, which may disrupt global shipping markets and impact the surface transportation industry, as mentioned in Section 2, finding (3).

  • Section 4 imposes sanctions on foreign persons engaged in piracy, which may affect the transportation of oil and gas, thereby impacting the energy infrastructure industry, as global shipping markets are impacted, mentioned in Section 2, finding (3).

Project 2025 Policy Matches

This bill shows semantic similarity to the following sections of the Project 2025 policy document.AI-enhanced analysis provides detailed alignment ratings.

Department of Justice

Moderate
Vector: 60%
Pages: 587-589AI Enhanced

AI Analysis:

"Both the bill and the Project 2025 DOJ section aim to counter non‑state criminal threats to U.S. national security using federal enforcement tools, but the bill focuses on piracy sanctions while the policy emphasizes drug trafficking, border security, RICO, and the China Initiative, resulting in only moderate thematic overlap."

Key themes:combating non‑state criminal actorsnational security focususe of federal enforcement authoritiesinternational cooperationtargeting illicit networks that threaten U.S. inte

— 555 — Department of Justice 1. Rigorously prosecute as much interstate drug activity as possible, including simple possession of distributable quantities.46 Recent efforts to create the impression that drug possession crimes are not serious offenses has contributed to the explosion of criminal organization activities in the United States. 2. Aggressively deploy the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO),47 which Congress expressly created to empower the Department of Justice to treat patterns of intrastate- level crimes, such as robbery, extortion, and murder, as federal criminal conduct for criminal organizations and networks. The next Administration can use existing tools while it works with Congress to develop new tools. l Secure the border,48 which is the key entry point for many criminal organizations and their supplies, products, and employees. Mexico— which is arguably functioning as a failed state run by drug cartels—is the main point of transit for illegal drugs produced in Central and South America, fentanyl precursors from the Chinese Communist Party–led People’s Republic of China,49 weapons, human smuggling and trafficking, and other contraband. Mexican drug cartels, including the dominant Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), are the main drivers of fentanyl production and distribution in the United States. The southwestern land border is sufficiently porous that Mexican drug cartels have operational control of large sections of the border, which facilitates easy movement of product and personnel. These cartels are also violent and not afraid to demonstrate force on both sides of the border. Their conduct represents a clear and present danger to the United States and its citizens. In addition to finalizing the southwestern land border wall, the next Administration should take a creative and aggressive approach to tackling these dangerous criminal organizations at the border. This could include use of active-duty military personnel and National Guardsmen to assist in arrest operations along the border—something that has not yet been done. A new and forceful approach to interdiction will have a ripple effect on the operations of these criminal organizations, which currently operate freely without concern for criminal prosecution, and will lay the necessary groundwork for initial prosecutions of these organizations and their leaders. It is critical that the federal government staunch the flow of drugs by preventing the far-too-easy access to the United States that now exists. — 556 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise There can be no serious dispute that the Biden Administration has opened the southwest border to whomever wants to enter and that some of those entrants are smuggling fentanyl into the country. More than 100,000 Americans died in a one-year period from opioid overdoses, and many of them died specifically from having used fentanyl.50 The federal government should treat this problem as aggressively as necessary. Enforcing the customs and immigration laws is a matter of life and death. PURSUING A NATIONAL SECURITY AGENDA AIMED AT EXTERNAL STATE AND NON-STATE ACTORS, NOT U.S. CITIZENS EXERCISING THEIR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS The Department of Justice plays a vital role in protecting our national security, and it must not refrain from engaging in public initiatives that identify our adver- saries and educate the American people about their activities. The DOJ’s China Initiative under President Trump reflected the department’s priority of combating Chinese threats to our national security.51 Because China was accountable for approximately 80 percent of all prosecutions for economic espionage and approximately 60 percent of all thefts of trade secrets, then-At- torney General Jeff Sessions set key goals for the China Initiative that included development of an enforcement strategy concerning researchers in labs and universities who were being coopted into stealing critical U.S. technologies, iden- tification of opportunities to address supply-chain threats more effectively, and education of colleges and universities about potential threats from Chinese influ- ence efforts on campus. In February 2022, the Biden Administration terminated the department’s China Initiative largely out of a concern for poor “optics.”52 While the Biden Administra- tion correctly identified China as America’s “only competitor with both the intent to reshape the international order and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to do it,”53 it folded in the face of political cor- rectness and sent the message that liberal sensitivities outweighed bringing justice to threats from China. The next conservative Administration should therefore: l Restart the China Initiative. l Pursue other programs to educate the American people about the real and dangerous threats to our national security and economic security that are posed by actors across the globe, most notably China and Iran. l Ensure that it is agile enough to devote sufficient resources and attention to other emerging threats that involve federal interests

Trade

Weak
Vector: 61%
Pages: 825-827AI Enhanced

AI Analysis:

"The bill focuses on imposing sanctions to combat piracy, a maritime security issue, while the Project 2025 Trade section addresses trade deficits, offshoring, and protecting domestic industry through balanced trade policies. Both share a national‑security rationale for using economic tools, but their substantive objectives and mechanisms are largely unrelated."

Key themes:national securityeconomic sanctionsinternational cooperation

— 793 — Trade Suppose, for example, that under the USRTA the American President persuaded India to reduce its very high protectionist tariffs and Japan to lower its formidable nontariff barriers. America would surely sell more Florida oranges, Washington apples, California wine, Wisconsin cheese, and Harley-Davidson motorcycles. The resultant fall in the trade deficit would increase America’s GDP, and the real wages of blue-collar America would rise from Seattle and Orlando to Sonoma and Mil- waukee. But that’s not all. Consider, too, the investment term in the GDP growth equation. When U.S. companies offshore their production to chase cheap labor or manufacture in a “pollution haven” country like Communist China or India with lax environmental regulations, the result is reduced nonresidential fixed investment—and a GDP growth rate that is lower than it would be otherwise. Moreover, if such offshored production results in more foreign exports to the U.S.—for example, an American consumer buys a Made in Mexico Dodge Journey or Chevrolet Trax rather than a vehicle assembled in Detroit—the trade deficit rises along with the fall in invest- ment, further reducing GDP growth. National Security. The national security argument that trade deficits matter begins with America’s national-income accounting double-entry system and this accounting identity: Any deficit in the current account caused by imbalanced trade must be offset by a surplus in the capital account, meaning foreign invest- ment in the U.S. In the short term, this balance-of-payments equilibrium may indeed “not matter” as foreigners return our trade-deficit dollars to American shores by seemingly benignly investing in U.S. government bonds and stocks. Of course, this infusion of foreign capital lowers American mortgage rates and keeps the stock market bullishly capitalized, which appears to be all to the good. Over time, however, running large and persistent trade deficits leads to a massive transfer of American wealth offshore into foreign hands. This wealth transfer happens as foreigners use their export dollars to buy American real estate, companies, and financial assets like the aforementioned stocks and government bonds. The American investor Warren Buffett has referred to such wealth transfers offshore as “conquest by purchase.” To Buffett, the big danger is that foreigners will eventually own so many U.S. government bonds that Americans will wind up working longer hours just to survive and service that foreign debt. There is an even bigger national security danger, however, that Mr. Buffett has missed: an alternative conquest-by-purchase scenario. Suppose, for example, that one of the biggest holders of U.S. dollars is a rapidly militarizing strategic rival like Communist China that is intent on world hegemony. By buying up America’s com- panies, technologies, farmland, food producers, and key elements of the domestic supply chain, Communist China can thereby gain more and more control of the U.S. manufacturing and defense-industrial base. — 794 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise In this scenario, might America thereby lose a broader war for America’s freedom and prosperity, not by shots fired but by American cash registers ringing up “Made in China” products? Might America even lose a broader hot war because it sent its defense industrial base abroad on the wings of a persistent trade deficit? It follows that for both economic and national security reasons, trade deficits do indeed matter. It is therefore of critical importance that we bring America’s global trade back into balance through free, fair, balanced, and reciprocal trade and that we do so through the kind of policy initiatives and reforms recommended in this chapter. PERSONNEL IS TRADE POLICY Having a clear set of trade and industrial policies to achieve one’s economic and national security goals, while essential, is not enough. The lessons of the Nixon, Reagan, and Trump Administrations teach us that “personnel is policy” or, in this case, that “bad personnel will mean bad trade policy.”39 That is why it will be equally critical to the next President’s trade policy agenda to have key personnel in place who not only have the skills to implement the policies, but also have the firm commitment to do so. During the Trump Administration, President Trump’s key policy advisers and Cabinet officials clashed on the issues of international trade and combating Communist China’s economic aggression. As much as President Trump did on the trade front that was bold and innovative and as much as he achieved by chal- lenging Communist China, too much of his trade policy was disrupted or derailed by key personnel who did not share the President’s vision of fair, balanced, and reciprocal trade. In thinking about the personnel positions that are most essential to effective implementation of trade policy, the most obvious position to get exactly right is that of the United States Trade Representative. The USTR is at least putatively the top official on trade policy, and it is critical that this position be filled wisely. Historically, during Republican Administrations, the USTR has been a free trader who rarely challenged the protectionist and mercantilist policies of Amer- ica’s trading partners and typically would seek to expand global trade. The Trump Administration broke this globalist Republican tradition by appointing as USTR attorney Robert E. Lighthizer, who not only had a keen understanding of the vari- ous legal levers a President can use to advance trade policy, but also was committed to the President’s fair, balanced, and reciprocal trade agenda. The next Adminis- tration should make every effort to find someone with that understanding and that commitment to fill this position. Less obvious—but almost as important—is the need to fill the position of Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade wisely. One of the most important functions of the International Trade Administration, which is an agency in the Department of Commerce, is to impose antidumping and countervailing duties

Department of State

Weak
Vector: 61%
Pages: 217-219AI Enhanced

AI Analysis:

"The bill focuses on combating piracy through sanctions, which is not directly addressed in the provided Project 2025 excerpts that emphasize Iran, Middle East alliances, African strategic competition, and counterterrorism. While both involve national security and international cooperation, the specific policy objectives do not meaningfully overlap."

Key themes:international cooperationnational securitysanctions

— 185 — Department of State l First, the U.S. must prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear technology and delivery capabilities and more broadly block Iranian ambitions. This means, inter alia, reinstituting and expanding Trump Administration sanctions; providing security assistance for regional partners; supporting, through public diplomacy and otherwise, freedom-seeking Iranian people in their revolt against the mullahs; and ensuring Israel has both the military means and the political support and flexibility to take what it deems to be appropriate measures to defend itself against the Iranian regime and its regional proxies Hamas, Hezbollah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. l Second, the next Administration should build on the Trump Administration’s diplomatic successes by encouraging other Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, to enter the Abraham Accords. Related policies should include reversing, as appropriate, the Biden Administration’s degradation of the long-standing partnership with Saudi Arabia. The Palestinian Authority should be defunded. A further key priority is keeping Türkiye in the Western fold and a NATO ally. This includes a vigorous outreach to Türkiye to dissuade it from “hedging” toward Russia or China, which is likely to require a rethinking of U.S. support for YPG/PKK [People’s Protection Units/Kurdistan Worker’s Party] Kurdish forces, which Ankara believes are an existential threat to its security. For the foreseeable future— and much longer than one new Administration—Middle Eastern oil will play a key role in the world economy. Therefore, the U.S. must continue to support its allies and compete with its economic adversaries, including China. Relations with Saudi Arabia should be strengthened in a way that seriously curtails Chinese influence in Riyadh. l Third, it is in the U.S. national interest to build a Middle East security pact that includes Israel, Egypt, the Gulf states, and potentially India, as a second “Quad” arrangement. Protecting freedom of navigation in the Gulf and in the Red Sea/Suez Canal is vital to the world economy and therefore to U.S. prosperity as well. In North Africa, security cooperation with European allies, especially France, will be vital to limit growing Islamist threats and the incursion of Russian influence through positionings of the Wagner Group. l The U.S. cannot neglect a concern for human rights and minority rights, which must be balanced with strategic and security considerations. Special attention must be paid to challenges of religious freedom, especially the status of Middle Eastern Christians and other religious minorities, as well as the human trafficking endemic to the region. — 186 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise Sub-Saharan Africa Africa’s importance to U.S. foreign policy and strategic interests is rising and will only continue to grow. Its explosive population growth, large reserves of industry-dependent minerals, proximity to key maritime shipping routes, and its collective diplomatic power ensure the continent’s global importance. Yet as Afri- ca’s strategic significance has grown, the U.S.’s relative influence there has declined. Terrorist activity on the continent has increased, while America’s competitors are making significant gains for their own national interests. The PRC’s companies dominate the African supply chain for certain minerals critical to emerging tech- nologies. African nations comprise major country-bloc elements that shield the PRC and Russia from international isolation for their human rights abuses—and African nations staunchly support PRC foreign policy goals on issues such as Hong Kong occupation, South China Seas dispute arbitration, and Taiwan. The new Administration can correct this strategic failing of existing policy by prioritizing Africa and by undertaking fundamental changes in how the United States works with African nations. At a bare minimum, the next Administration should: l Shift strategic focus from assistance to growth. Reorient the focus of U.S. overseas development assistance away from stand-alone humanitarian development aid and toward fostering free market systems in African countries by incentivizing and facilitating U.S. private sector engagement in these countries. Development aid alone does little to develop countries and can fuel corruption and violent conflict. While the United States should always be willing to offer emergency and humanitarian relief, both U.S. and African long-term interests are better served by a free market-based, private growth-focused strategy to Africa’s economic challenges. l Counter malign Chinese activity on the continent. This should include the development of powerful public diplomacy efforts to counter Chinese influence campaigns with commitments to freedom of speech and the free flow of information; the creation of a template “digital hygiene” program that African countries can access to sanitize and protect their sensitive communications networks from espionage by the PRC and other hostile actors; the recognition of Somaliland statehood as a hedge against the U.S.’s deteriorating position in Djibouti; and a focus on supporting American companies involved in industries important to U.S. national interests or that have a competitive advantage in Africa. l Counter the furtherance of terrorism. African country-based terrorist groups like Boko Haram may currently lack the capability to attack the

Showing 3 of 5 policy matches

About These Correlations

Policy matches are calculated using a hybrid approach: initial candidates are found using semantic similarity between bill summaries and Project 2025 policy text, then an AI model (Llama 3.1 70B) provides detailed alignment ratings and analysis. Ratings range from 1 (minimal alignment) to 5 (very strong alignment). This analysis does not imply direct causation or intent.

Full Policy Text