President Donald Trump’s latest move to restrict Chinese investment in strategic areas shows the president may be even more aggressive than ever toward the U.S. rival in his second term.

‘Although it will take time for the necessary agency and regulatory actions necessary to implement the policy, Trump 2.0 is taking an even more hawkish approach to China as he did in his first term,’ Larry Ward, a national security law expert and current partner at the international law firm Dorsey & Whitney, told Fox News Digital.

The comments come after Trump signed a memorandum last week that directed the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) that aims to both promote foreign investment from some countries while restricting investment from adversaries such as China, protecting U.S. national security interests.

‘The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) will be used to restrict Chinese investments in strategic U.S. sectors like technology, critical infrastructure, healthcare, agriculture, energy, raw materials, and others,’ reads a fact sheet about the memorandum released by the White House last week. 

The memorandum, dubbed the National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM), specifically singles out China for ‘exploiting our capital and ingenuity to fund and modernize their military, intelligence, and security operations, posing direct threats to United States security with weapons of mass destruction, cyber warfare, and more,’ according to the White House release.

‘Chinese hackers have repeatedly targeted U.S. entities, including recently breaching the Treasury Department’s CFIUS office, the entity responsible for reviewing foreign investments for national security risks,’ the release adds.

While Trump has in the past imposed tariffs on China, Ward argued that the president’s new policy is a further step in aggressively responding to the threat posed by China.

‘This is very different from tariffs. It’s different from trade concerns. Foreign investment is an issue that potentially impacts national security,’ Ward said. 

Ward noted the example of the social media application TikTok, which has famously been at the center of a debate about protecting Americans from potentially being targeted by China. 

‘TikTok initially went through the CPA process and was examined on a national security basis, and then the determination was made that there were national security concerns,’ Ward said.

Ward noted that Chinese investment in certain sectors has faced restrictions for years, but Trump’s move makes clear that such restrictions are likely to expand beyond those that investors have traditionally seen.

‘So you look at sectors like semiconductors, the AI space increasingly is a tech sector that has been a general focus,’ Ward said. ‘But certainly this policy again puts out in front that, yes, certainly as to those sensitive industry sectors, we are going to be very stringent when it comes to Chinese investment, but also we’re going to expand into other industry sectors that maybe haven’t been sort of front and center over the last five, 10 years.’

Responding to Trump’s move, the Chinese commerce ministry accused the U.S. of ‘politicizing’ and ‘weaponizing’ economic issues, according to a report from Reuters, adding that it would continue to closely monitor the situation to defend its interests. 

Nevertheless, Ward believes Trump’s memorandum signals that the president is more committed than ever to combating Chinese threats to U.S. security. 

‘The biggest thing about this policy is that President Trump is not afraid to say that really the threat here is China,’ Ward said. ‘Everybody that sort of works in this space knows that, but it was the elephant in the room, right? People sort of weren’t willing to speak about it publicly. And President Trump has really come out and said through this policy, yeah, China’s the concern.’

President Donald Trump signaled Wednesday that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) might be the next agency on the chopping block as his administration continues to unveil new cuts to the federal government. 

Trump told reporters Wednesday during the first meeting with his Cabinet that EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is eyeing cutting 65% of federal employees from the agency. 

‘I spoke with Lee Zeldin, and he thinks he’s going to be cutting 65 or so percent of the people from Environmental, and we’re going to speed up the process too at the same time,’ Trump said. ‘He had a lot of people that weren’t doing their job, they were just obstructionists, and a lot of people that didn’t exist.’ 

Trump also suggested that the Department of Education could face steep cuts as he renewed calls to move education back to the states. Trump historically has signaled he is considering shuttering the agency entirely through an executive order, although Article II of the Constitution stipulates congressional approval is required to entirely eliminate a federal agency. 

‘We’re cutting down government… we’re bloated, we’re sloppy,’ Trump said Wednesday. 

The EPA and White House press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

Trump’s remarks come as his administration and the newly created Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) led by SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk are seeking to dramatically shrink the size of the federal government and workforce. 

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought and acting Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Charles Ezell issued a memo on Wednesday directing agencies to brace themselves for ‘large-scale reductions in force’ and establish downsizing plans by mid-March. 

Additionally, DOGE has been tasked with eliminating government spending, waste and streamlining efficiency and operations, and Trump said Saturday he wanted to see DOGE take an even more aggressive approach moving forward. 

Musk, who said Wednesday that the U.S. will ‘go bankrupt’ without DOGE cuts, has launched several initiatives to drastically cut the federal workforce. For example, Musk requested all federal workers respond to a personal productivity email – that he described Wednesday as a ‘pulse check review’ – the Office of Personnel and Management (OPM) sent out by Monday at 11:59 p.m. listing five things they accomplished the previous week. 

Musk warned that those who failed to comply would lose their jobs. While some agencies instructed their staffers to ignore the email, Musk said Wednesday another email would go out as DOGE seeks to eliminate people who are on the government payroll but don’t exist. 

Likewise, Musk said Wednesday that DOGE is seeking to preserve jobs for everyone who is an essential worker and is performing well, but warned that those who aren’t could lose employment. 

The White House said Tuesday that 1 million federal workers did comply with Musk’s productivity email request and that employees should look to their individual agency for guidance on how to proceed. 

The Senate Wednesday afternoon confirmed President Donald Trump‘s nominee for U.S. trade representative (USTR), Jamieson Greer. The vote was 56-43.

Greer, who previously served as chief of staff to former USTR Robert Lighthizer during Trump’s first term, has been credited with assisting in imposing tariffs on China and renegotiating the trade agreement with Canada and Mexico during the first administration. He is also a lawyer and Air Force judge advocate general’s corps veteran with one deployment to Iraq.

The Senate Finance Committee advanced his nomination with a 15-12 vote in early February despite some Democratic concerns about his support for President Trump’s trade agenda.

Greer’s confirmation comes on the heels of Trump’s promise to impose tariffs on Mexico, China and Canada.

Greer will be responsible for pursuing U.S.-international trade agreements that align with President Trump’s agenda to support American jobs and bolster supply chain resilience, which includes boosting domestic manufacturing and industrial jobs and diversifying sources for essential goods and reducing dependence on foreign suppliers. 

Greer also noted he would seek to balance U.S. trade with countries like Vietnam, which has a trade surplus in the country, to ‘have better reciprocity.’ 

On the campaign trail, President Donald Trump claimed he could end the Ukraine War in a week, and the pundits howled with laughter. But as Trump said at his press conference with French President Macron, he’s a deal guy.  

In mid-February, Trump floated a plan with President Volodymyr Zelensky to develop Ukraine’s rare earth minerals. After some back and forth, Zelensky is coming to Washington now to sign the deal. It is the first step in a larger agreement to end the Ukraine war.  

Trump has taken an unwinnable war, found a way to end it, and bring peace, prosperity and security to everyone. 

The deal gives the U.S. access to much-needed rare earth minerals and helps us recoup some of our investment in the Ukraine war. A win for us.  

It helps rebuild Ukraine’s economy and infrastructure. It puts thousands of American engineers, miners, builders and even bankers on the ground in eastern Ukraine, serving as a security guarantee to Ukraine. A win for Ukraine.  

It gives the U.S. an opening to a better relationship with Russia with an aim to driving a wedge in the anti-American Sino-Russian alliance. A win for the U.S. and our allies. 

It gives Russia an off-ramp to a difficult war and holds open the possibility of improved relations with the U.S., including in trade and investment. A win for Russia. 

First, Trump’s plan is based on accepting reality. Because despite its best efforts and intentions, Ukraine is losing the war – slowly, grindingly, brutally – but losing, nonetheless.  

President Joe Biden’s pledge to give Ukraine ‘as much as it takes, as long as it takes’ was unrealistic. This was never a war Ukraine could win. It is a war of attrition and those are won by the bigger, richer, more populous countries. Ukraine, the Europeans, and Biden never had a path to victory, the best they could do was deny Russian President Vladimir Putin a win. So, they kept fighting another forever war. Trump’s plan ends the war – with no clear winners or losers. 

Second, Trump’s plan addresses the increasing frustration Americans have with the hundreds of billions of military equipment and assistance we’ve given Ukraine, a good percentage of which is unaccounted for. We could recoup some of our contributions by gaining access to Ukraine rare earth minerals and other resources, which the U.S. needs but does not have domestically. 

Third, Trump’s plan pushes the Europeans into shouldering more of the burden for their own defense. In a sharp about-face, European leaders are now trekking to the White House with pledges to increase their defense budgets, to help pay for the reconstruction of Ukraine, and even to supply peacekeeping forces. 

Fourth, While Ukraine cannot win the war, Ukraine could win the peace. The U.S.-Ukraine deal to develop Ukraine’s resources will put a significant number of American engineers, miners, technicians and bankers will be on the ground in Ukraine, especially eastern Ukraine, where the bulk of the resources are located.  

An American economic presence will serve as a guarantor of Ukrainian independence and security, and a deterrent to another Russian invasion. Putin is not going to kill thousands of American civilians to get to Kyiv. 

In some ways, an American economic presence in Ukraine is even more significant than a military presence. As we saw with Biden and Afghanistan, an American president can order the sudden withdrawal of military forces. Private American companies with long-term projects and contracts would be in Ukraine for the long haul. 

Under the Trump plan, five years after the fighting stops, Ukraine could be a prosperous country, with an economy and society fully integrated with the U.S. and the West. On the other hand, Russia’s post-war prospects are bleak. No one will rush to rebuild Russia’s economy. Its energy export revenues will fall precipitously, with the lower oil and natural gas global prices brought about by Trump’s new policy of American energy dominance. 

Finally, Trump’s peace plan holds open the possibility of an improved American relationship with Russia. We have had no diplomatic contact with Russia in the three years since Putin invaded Ukraine.  

It gives the U.S. an opening to a better relationship with Russia with an aim to driving a wedge in the anti-American Sino-Russian alliance. A win for the U.S. and our allies. 

The attitude of Biden, Zelensky and the Europeans was that Putin couldn’t be trusted on to honor an agreement, so don’t bother negotiating one. According to them, anything short of a Ukrainian victory would reward Putin’s aggression. Since victory was never a possibility, we continued to aid Ukraine, and Ukraine kept fighting.   

The greatest strategic and existential threat to the United States isn’t from Ukraine, or the Middle East, or even Russia. It is from a Sino-Russian alliance aimed at the United States. Our refusal to talk to Russia for the last three years is one reason Putin has grown closer to Chinese President Xi. In the early 1970s, my boss, Henry Kissinger, drove a wedge between the anti-American Sino-Soviet alliance by opening relations with China. Potentially, Trump could do the same thing today, this time by reopening relations with Russia.   

The U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal is the first step, but there is still some way to go before a final peace agreement. The Europeans and Zelensky insist there must be a military ‘security guarantee’ with British and French troops in Ukraine.  

Trump won’t put American troops in Ukraine, preferring an economic security guarantee. The Russians balk at NATO troops stationed on their border, even if they’re wearing British and French uniforms. But these are all surmountable, with some hard-headed diplomacy and economic pressure. As President Trump says, he’s a ‘deal guy’. This is the Art of the Deal on the global stage. 

A bipartisan group of 151 lawmakers is rallying around a resolution to support the Iranian resistance movement ahead of a hearing with an opposition leader. 

The resolution, led by Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., expresses support for the Iranian people and their stated desire for a ‘democratic, secular and non-nuclear’ Iran through regime change. 

‘The developments of the past year have left no doubt that the source of terrorism and warmongering in the Middle East region is the theocratic Islamic Republic of Iran,’ the resolution reads. 

It calls out the Iranian regime’s oppressive practices, voices support for the opposition and calls on global leaders to continue imposing sanctions. 

‘The efforts of Western countries over the past 45 years to change the behavior of this regime have failed, and the ultimate solution to ending the Iranian regime’s threats is the establishment of a secular, democratic, and pluralistic republic by the Iranian people and resistance.’

President Donald Trump has been hesitant to throw U.S. efforts into regime change in Iran. ‘We can’t get totally involved in all that. We can’t run ourselves, let’s face it,’ he told Iranian-American producer Patrick Bet-David in October. 

The resolution also claimed that in the first four months of Masoud Pezeshkian’s presidency, beginning July 28, 2024, some 500 prisoners, including political prisoners and at least 17 women, were executed, and hand amputations increased. 

The resolution also expressed support for Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), a leading resistance group known as MEK to Iranians, and her 10-point plan to bring democracy, secular government and human rights to Iran. The plan, which has the support of 4,000 parliamentarians across the globe, calls for installing NCRI as a provisional government for six months to set up elections and a constituent assembly. 

It was introduced Wednesday ahead of a 2 p.m. hearing entitled ‘The Future of Iran’ with the Congressional Iran Human Rights and Democracy Caucus, where Rajavi – a top target of Iran’s terror plots and demonization – will give testimony. 

The first Trump administration imposed harsh sanctions to bankrupt Iran but stayed away from messaging campaigns aimed at encouraging Iranian resistance. This time around, opposition supporters say the situation on the ground has changed – the regime is far weaker after Bashar al-Assad was forced out of power in Syria and Israel has decimated its proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah. Protests have again kicked up across the nation and threaten to spread if the financial crisis does not improve. 

Rajavi, in her opening remarks, will say that the Iranian regime is at its weakest point in decades. 

‘​​The situation of the Iranian society is explosive. During its 46-year rule, the religious fascism has never been so weak and fragile,’ Rajavi is expected to say, according to remarks obtained by Fox News Digital. 

‘The mullahs are surrounded from all sides: by a society that is filled with anger and rebellion, by Resistance Units, and by selfless and rebellious youth, because of its bankrupt economy and corruption in the government, particularly after the overthrow of the brutal dictatorship of Assad and the collapse of the regime’s ‘strategic depth’ in the region.’

The resolution is sure to rankle Ayatollah Ali Khameni, leader of the current Iranian regime, and supporters of Reza Pahlavi II, whose father ruled Iran in the 1970s, who want to see the younger Pahlavi cede power in Iran and deeply oppose the NCRI. 

Rajavi will call for the implementation of United Nations snapback sanctions that were eased under the 2015 nuclear deal, putting the regime under the Chapter VII charter of the U.N. as a threat to peace and formally recognizing the resistance’s movement for regime change.

She will also pay tribute to two resistance leaders, Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani, who have been sentenced to death on charges of ‘rebellion’ and for being members of the MEK. The U.N. has called on Iran to halt their executions. The regime has executed 120,000 on political grounds over the past four decades, according to Rajavi.

READ THE RESOLUTION BELOW. APP USERS: CLICK HERE

The hearings come after the Trump administration pushed forward with its promise to return the U.S. to ‘maximum pressure’ sanctions with new crackdowns on Iranian oil tankers. 

Trump has said he would ‘love to make a deal’ with the nation’s clerical leaders, but Iran has insisted it will not engage in nuclear negotiations while the U.S. is imposing maximum pressure. 

‘Iran’s position regarding nuclear talks is clear, and we will not negotiate under pressure and sanctions,’ Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said during a televised joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

‘There is no possibility of direct negotiations with the U.S. as long as maximum pressure is being applied in this way.’

Rapper Fat Joe, who backed then-Vice President Kamala Harris for president last year, hailed President Donald Trump’s move to sign an executive order on healthcare price transparency.  

But in his statement about the order, the entertainer did not specifically mention Trump by name.

‘Today marks a brighter future in America now that an executive order on healthcare price transparency has been signed,’ Fat Joe declared in Tuesday posts on social media.

‘This issue was never about politics for me, it was about doing the right thing for every patient, worker, employer, and union across the country. The American healthcare system had been robbing all of us by hiding their prices and charging whatever they wanted. It was un-American and unethical. Now, we can celebrate this huge victory and a big thank you to @PowertoPatnts and all that supported’

Trump’s order seeks to bolster an order he previously issued during his first term. 

‘Pursuant to Executive Order 13877 of June 24, 2019 (Improving Price and Quality Transparency in American Healthcare to Put Patients First), my Administration issued paradigm-shifting regulations to put patients first by requiring hospitals and health plans to deliver meaningful price information to the American people,’ Trump’s new order declares.

He asserted that former President Joe Biden’s ‘Administration failed to take sufficient steps to fully enforce my Administration’s requirement that would end the opaque nature of drug prices by ensuring health plans publicly post the true prices they pay for prescription drugs.’

The order calls for the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services secretaries to seek to swiftly ‘implement and enforce the healthcare price transparency regulations issued pursuant to Executive Order 13877 …’

Trump’s Labor Secretary pick, former Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, has not yet been confirmed by the Senate. 

Sens. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., and Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., introduced a bill Wednesday that would require the annual presidential budget to include data on improper payments to federal agencies, taking a page out of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) playbook. 

‘When federal agencies waste money, it means less money for essential services, national defense or deficit reduction,’ Ricketts, a member of the Senate DOGE Caucus, said. ‘Transparency brings accountability. My bipartisan bill will highlight where money is being misspent so we can combat waste and save taxpayer dollars.’

The Improper Payments Transparency Act would require the president’s annual budget request to include data on improper payments, which are defined under U.S. law as payments that should not have been made or were made in an incorrect amount. 

The act would require a description of the program on an improper payment report, including an explanation of why the improper payment occurred, data on improper payment trends and a corrective action plan agencies will take to limit improper payments.

‘We owe it to the hardworking people of Nevada to make sure that the federal government is using their tax dollars efficiently and responsibly. Our bipartisan legislation will help to increase transparency and cut down on wasteful government spending. I’ll keep working to clean up Washington and look after American taxpayers’ hard-earned money,’ Rosen added. 

About $2.8 trillion in improper payments have been made since 2003, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimates, with about $236 billion in improper payments in Fiscal Year 2023 and $161.6 billion in improper payments in Fiscal Year 2024. The GAO found in Fiscal Year 2023 that 10 of 24 executive branch agencies required to report improper payments did not fully comply, so the cost of improper payments could be much higher. 

The Improper Payments Transparency Act was named one of the top bipartisan bills for taxpayers on the National Taxpayers Union’s 2024 ‘No Brainers’ List. 

While Republicans have been following Musk’s lead on DOGE initiatives to cut wasteful government funding, Democrats have been calling for more transparency from President Donald Trump’s administration. Ricketts and Rosen’s bipartisan bill, which is independent of DOGE, could be an opportunity for senators to come together on the issue.

Another DOGE-inspired bill was introduced on the House side on Monday. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa., is sponsoring the Payment Integrity Information Reform Act (PIIA) to target overpayments by the federal government. The bill seeks to improve payment integrity laws and target overpayments for social safety net programs. 

Meanwhile, the Senate DOGE Caucus was established in November 2024 by Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa., ‘to identify and eliminate government waste.’ The Senate DOGE Caucus is working closely with Musk’s DOGE to promote fiscal responsibility and reduce wasteful federal spending. 

Congress also established the Delivering Outstanding Government Efficiency Caucus in the same month to support DOGE through legislative action. Additionally, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., leads the Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency for oversight on government efficiency efforts. 

Trump signed an executive order establishing the DOGE on Inauguration Day, directing Musk to lead the federal government’s efforts ‘to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.’ The Trump administration has since directed government agencies to comply with DOGE’s departmental investigations.

DOGE’s audits have led to mass layoffs and departures from the federal workforce and slashed federal programs to uncover billions of dollars in savings. Many Democrats have protested Trump’s executive actions as Republicans have typically embraced the federal shake-up. 

Fox News Digital’s Charlie Creitz contributed this report.