Former Pentagon officials lobbying for China lose security clearances

What it does

This bill requires the Secretary of Defense to suspend or revoke security clearances for former military officers and DoD civilian employees who lobby on behalf of Chinese military companies identified by the U.S. government. The bill targets individuals with access to classified information who then work to advance the interests of entities the U.S. has designated as threats to national security, with a narrow national-security waiver available for up to 180 days at a time.

Why we flagged it

The bill is a straightforward security-clearance enforcement mechanism targeting a specific national-security threat: former DoD personnel lobbying for designated Chinese military entities. It is not a broad deregulation, tax measure, or commemorative act, but rather a targeted restriction on a defined conflict of interest.

What the text implies

• The bill ties clearance revocation to the Treasury Department's Non-SDN Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies List, meaning the list of covered entities can change without legislative amendment—expanding or contracting the bill's scope administratively.
• The 180-day waiver provision allows the Secretary of Defense to temporarily permit lobbying activities deemed in the national interest, creating a discretionary exception that could be used to shield politically connected former officials.
• The bill does not address lobbying for non-designated Chinese entities or other foreign military powers, potentially creating a loophole for former officials to lobby for Chinese civilian companies or military entities not yet on the Treasury list.
• Revocation of clearances may have downstream employment consequences for affected individuals beyond the lobbying restriction itself, as many private-sector roles require active clearances.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

The bill protects national security by preventing former officials with classified-information access from lobbying on behalf of designated Chinese military entities, closing a potential espionage or foreign-influence vector. Citizens benefit from reduced risk of classified information being leveraged for foreign military advantage, and the measure reinforces accountability for officials who hold security clearances.

Named in the bill

Department of Defense, Secretary of Defense, Department of the Treasury, Non-SDN Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies List, William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, Congressional defense committees

Where it stands

2 cosponsors: 1 Democrats, 1 Republicans.

• Nov 18, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Nov 18, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Armed Services · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

1 lobbying clients named this bill on 2 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $530,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 94 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.

August Pfluger, the sponsor, reported $1,070,325 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• Fdd Action — $530,000 on 2 filings

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.