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Joe Biden’s commerce secretary enlists former Trump officials to push for passage of China competition bill
- HR McMaster and Matthew Pottinger among officials helping Secretary Gina Raimondo promote what the White House is calling a ‘bipartisan innovation bill’
- The legislation would combine separate measures passed by the Senate and House of Representatives
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Joshua Cartwrightin Washington
US President Joe Biden’s administration has tapped former officials that served under Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump to lobby Congress to pass legislation aimed at giving the US a competitive edge against China, particularly in advanced technology.
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The bipartisan panel of former and current US government officials – including HR McMaster and Matthew Pottinger, who served in the Trump administration – laid out the economic and national security rationale for passing the legislation on Monday in an event hosted by US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.
“It is vital that Congress act now to counter Chinese economic aggression, compete and secure competitive advantages necessary to preserve peace and promote prosperity,” said McMaster.
McMaster served as Trump’s national security adviser for just over a year before resigning in April 2018.
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Pottinger, a key architect of the Trump administration’s hardline policies toward China, was the former president’s deputy national security adviser until he resigned on the day that Trump supporters violently attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2020. He was also known for his Mandarin language skills and knowledge of Chinese history.
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