Report: Trump Administration Diverted $155 Million From Chinese Fishing Monitoring Fund
Key Takeaways
- •Approximately $155 million of the $170 million allocation for maritime domain awareness was redirected to counter-drone technology for events such as World Cup matches and America250 celebrations.
- •Senator Ted Cruz secured the original funding through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to monitor Chinese fishing vessels that lawmakers alleged were operating illegally in foreign waters.
- •The Department of Homeland Security carried out the funding diversion under then-Secretary Kristi Noem, while current Secretary Markwayne Mullin declined to comment.
- •Remaining funds from the allocation were used for Coast Guard communications technology and a Merchant Marine credentialing system rather than maritime monitoring.
- •Senator Cruz publicly acknowledged that the majority of the funding did not reach its intended purpose but declined to specify where it had been redirected.
Most of a $170 million allocation intended to combat alleged “illegal” Chinese fishing operations was quietly redirected to other purposes, Punchbowl News reported Thursday, citing sources.
According to the report, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — President Donald Trump’s broad tax cut and spending package — included $170 million for “maritime domain awareness” technology. The funding was meant to support systems used to monitor Chinese fishing vessels that lawmakers alleged were operating illegally in foreign waters. China operates the world's largest distant-water fishing fleet, and U.S. agencies including the Coast Guard have identified illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing as a growing maritime security concern, particularly in the Pacific and South Atlantic.
“But the Trump administration didn’t spend the money on that,” Punchbowl News reported, citing a senior congressional official and a Trump administration official.
The report said that about $155 million of the $170 million “funding pot” was used instead for counter-drone technology at events such as World Cup matches and America250 tributes. The technology included sensors designed to monitor and track drones nearby, the officials told Punchbowl News. The remaining funds were used for Coast Guard communications technology and a Merchant Marine credentialing system.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who secured the $170 million in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last year, acknowledged to Punchbowl News that “unfortunately, the bulk of the funding has not gone where it needed to go.” Cruz declined to tell the outlet where the money had been redirected.
The Department of Homeland Security diverted the $170 million under then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, according to the report. Punchbowl News said current DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin “didn’t respond” when contacted for comment.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act also included significant cuts to social safety net programs and permanently extended tax cuts enacted in 2017 during Trump’s first administration. Those 2017 tax cuts delivered most of their benefits to the top 1% of U.S. earners. After accounting for the bill’s economic effects, the Congressional Budget Office projected that it would increase the national debt by as much as $4.7 trillion through 2035.