The U.S. Department of Agriculture, under Secretary Brooke Rollins, is considering federal action to prevent Chinese entities from purchasing American farmland after the Texas House failed to pass a state-level ban last session.
In an exclusive interview with Breitbart News, Rollins confirmed that the Trump administration is actively looking at ways to address the issue at the federal level.
“One of the very, very top of the list perhaps is the Chinese purchase of our farmland. A lot of that land is around some of our military outposts,” Rollins told Breitbart News. “So we’re in a really, really important conversation right now on how to push that back. With my experience in the states, I am a huge, huge believer in the laboratories of democracy—the 10th Amendment says our states are the guardians at the gate—and for the last several years my organization America First Policy Institute, we actually worked among multiple states to get states to act on this to pass state legislation but we also are looking at a federal solution too.”
The issue of Chinese ownership of U.S. farmland has sparked growing concerns over national security, particularly in states like Texas, where large swaths of agricultural and rural land have been bought by Chinese companies and individuals. Senators in Texas passed a ban on such purchases in 2023, but the effort ultimately failed in the Texas House amid opposition from Democrat lawmakers and some Republicans.
A ban on hostile foreign land ownership has been named a priority by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick for this session.
With Texas failing to act, federal intervention could reshape the debate entirely. Republican lawmakers, including U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and U.S. Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, have been pushing for national legislation to address what they call a “serious national security risk.”
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller wrote on X, “I strongly encourage President Trump to pick up the ball that Texas has repeatedly and inexplicably dropped. Ban ALL hostile foreign powers from owning America’s farmland!”
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