Homeland Security members vote against asking DHS about ZTE, Chinese telecom

The House Homeland Security Committee rejected a resolution of inquiry Wednesday that would have required the Trump administration to offer more information about the cybersecurity threats posed by Chinese cellphone maker ZTE.

Introduced by Rep. Bennie Thompson of Missouri, the committee’s ranking Democrat, the resolution sought further details from the Department of Homeland Security about the potential risks posed by ZTE’s products in the wake of President Trump considering lifting sanctions on the company in the face of warnings from U.S. military and intelligence officials.

“The president’s cavalier approach to cybersecurity is disturbing, and this committee must do its part to make sure that his decisions do not jeopardize national security,” Mr. Thompson said prior to Wednesday’s vote.

House Resolution 898 ultimately died after lawmakers led by committee Chairman Michael McCaul, Texas Republican, voted 16-11 along party lines to report it unfavorably out of committee.

“This is a serious matter which poses significant risk to our national security,” Mr. McCaul said before the vote. “However, a resolution of inquiry forcing DHS to provide this information in this manner is inappropriate.”

If passed, the bill would have required DHS to produce documents to committee members concerning the threat posed by ZTE products, including details about their use by U.S. government employees and contractors.

The Department of Defense banned the sale of ZTE phones at U.S. military bases in April, warning devices sold by that firm and another major Chinese tech company, Huawei, “may pose an unacceptable risk to Department’s personnel, information and mission,” and the British government subsequently issued a warning the following month cautioning that ZTE products posed potential “national security concerns.”

The Commerce Department separately banned American companies in April from doing business with ZTE after the company was caught violating U.S. sanctions, but Mr. Trump said on Twitter last month that he had talked to his Chinese counterpart about a possible resolution.

“President Xi of China, and I, are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast. Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done!” Mr. Trump tweeted May 13.

Mr. Thompson told The Washington Times Wednesday that committee members might never know why the president reversed course on ZTE unless given documents by DHS.

“I introduced this resolution to drive urgent action by the Committee on a timely nation and cybersecurity threat. There is a very real prospect that President Trump will go soft on ZTE, a habitual sanctions violator and bad actor,” Mr. Thompson told The Washington Times. “Unfortunately, the Republicans, in lock-step, refused to demand critical information that we need to understand whether there was some national security review none of us know about that the President conducted to determined that the potential risks posed by ZTE products are tolerable or could be mitigated.

“Without aggressive oversight, we may never know what actually informed the President’s May 13th Twitter directive that the Commerce Department help ZTE ’get back into business fast’ when the Defense Department, the Intelligence Community and our allies have all issued stark warnings and cautions about ZTE,” Mr. Thompson said.

Mr. McCaul said that he’s written DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen seeking answers about ZTE, and that committee members will receive a classified briefing next week on the matter led by representatives from the DHS, Defense Department and FBI.

“I plan to work really closely with you in aggressively pursuing our oversight responsibilities on this matter,” he told Mr. Thompson.