Chairman Cotton to Hegseth: Current DoD Agreements and Practices Fail to Account for Threat of China

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact:Caroline TablerorPatrick McCann(202) 224-2353July 24, 2025
Chairman Cotton to Hegseth: Current DoD Agreements and Practices Fail to Account for Threat of China
Washington, D.C.— Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, today sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth requesting additional information about agreements and practices that currently fail to account for the growing threat of Communist China. This letter follows one sent by Senator Cotton last week about reports of China-based contractors for Microsoft potentially having access to sensitive military data.
In part, Senator Cotton wrote:

“While I applaud your actions, I am concerned that the Department is hampered by agreements and practices unwisely adopted by your predecessors, including contracts and oversight processes that fail to account for the growing Chinese threat.”
Full text of the letter may be foundhereand below.
The Honorable Pete HegsethSecretary of DefenseU.S. Department of Defense1000 Defense PentagonWashington, DC 20301
Dear Secretary Hegseth:
I write to commend the Department’s prompt response to last week’s inquiry about Microsoft’s use of Chinese engineers to provide services for Department of Defense (DoD) systems. Your vow that “China will no longer have any involvement in our cloud services, effective immediately” and plans for a two-week review of current cloud contracts underscore the urgency required to address this security risk.

While I applaud your actions, I am concerned that the Department is hampered by agreements and practices unwisely adopted by your predecessors, including contracts and oversight processes that fail to account for the growing Chinese threat. As we learn more about these “digital escorts” and other unwise—and outrageous—practices used by some DoD partners, it is clear the Department and Congress will need to take further action. We must put in place the protocols and processes to adopt innovative technology quickly, effectively, and safely.

To inform Congress as we work with you to close the vulnerabilities in the DoD supply chain, I respectfully request the following information by August 15, 2025.

I look forward to working with you on this important matter.
Sincerely,

Tom Cotton
United States Senator

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