Key House lawmakers are pressing the Trump administration to accelerate a congressionally mandated review of
Chinese-made drones ahead of a potential US ban of the technologies later this year.
Three House Republicans influential on national security matters requested Director of National Intelligence Tul
si Gabbard complet
e the review within 30 days. Her office is charged with assessing security risks posed by communications and
video surveillance equipment produced by DJI Technologies and Autel Robotics and other companies.
The faster review, the lawmakers said in a Thursday letter, is in
line with President Donald Trump’s June executive order accelerating the safe commercialization of drone technologies.
The recent order “stresses the need for secure domestic production
and supply chains, and recognizes the importance of minimizing undue foreign influence,” the lawmakers said in the letter.
The expedited review is “critical,” particularly “given the substan
tial market presence and existing use of equipment” made by DJI and Autel, they added.
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Representatives John Moolenaar, chair of the select House comm
ittee on China; Rick Crawford, chair of the House Intelligence committee; and Elise Stefanik, a member of the House
Republican leadership team who Trump initially picked as his ambassa
dor to the United Nations before giving the post to another candidate, joined in signing the letter.
The 2025 National Defense Authorization Act specifically mandates a national security review of Chinese-mad
e drones, including those from DJI, which is also known as Shenzhen Da-Jiang Innovations Sciences and Technologies Company Limited.
The two companies could be automatically added to the Federal Communications Commission’s Covered List, which effe
ctively would ban any new drones made by the firms from being imported or sold in the US.