House Republicans are entering legislation to purchase the Panama Canal amid Trump’s concerns about China
House Republicans on Thursday he introduced a bill for the United States to buy back the Panama Canal after President-elect Trump expressed concern that the critical waterway was under Chinese control.
The bill, called the Panama Canal Purchase Act, was introduced by Rep. Dusty Johnson, RS.D., a member of the Select Committee on China and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
“President Trump is right to consider repurchasing the Panama Canal,” Johnson said in a statement. “China’s interest in and presence around the canal is a cause for concern. America needs to project power abroad – owning and operating the Panama Canal could be an important step toward a stronger America and a more secure world.”
The bill has 15 other Republican co-sponsors: Reps. Dan Crenshaw, Randy Weber, Troy Nehls and Brian Babin of Texas; Georgia’s Mike Collins, Barry Loudermilk and Andrew Clyde; Barry Moore of Alabama; Jack Bergman of Michigan; Mike Rulli of Ohio; Neal Dunn and Aaron Bean from Florida; Erin Houchin of Indiana; Abraham Hamadeh of Arizona; and Mike Lawler from New York.
The Marshall Islands cargo ship Cape Hellas and the Portuguese cargo ship MSC Elma sail through Lake Gatun near the Agua Clara Locks of the Panama Canal in Colon City, Panama, on December 28, 2024. (Arnulfo Franco/AFP via Getty Images)
If it becomes law, the bill would give the president the authority to act in coordination with the secretary of state to “initiate and conduct negotiations with the appropriate counterparts of the Government of the Republic of Panama in order to recapture the Panama Canal.”
From the date of the measure, the president has 180 days to submit a report to Congress detailing the progress of the negotiations, potential challenges and expected outcomes.
The US State Department estimates that about 72% of all ships passing through the Panama Canal come from or go to US ports.
Noting the canal’s strategic importance to the United States, Johnson’s office also noted that the waterway is a key transit point for US Coast Guard and Defense Department ships.
Without access to the canal, ships would be forced to travel an additional 8,000 miles around South America.
“More than 10,000 ships use the Panama Canal each year, generating billions of dollars in tolls that would benefit America economically,” Johnson’s office said.
On a press conference from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday, Trump was asked if he would reassure the world that he would not use “military or economic coercion” to take control of the Panama Canal, as well as Greenland.
Representative Dusty Johnson introduced the Panama Canal Purchase Act. (Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“No, I can’t convince you of either of those two. But, I can say this. We need them for economic security. The Panama Canal was built for our military,” Trump said. “Look, the Panama Canal is vital to our country. It’s run by China. China. And we gave the Panama Canal to Panama. We didn’t give it to China. And they abused it. They abused it as a gift. It should never have been made.”
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The Panamanian government denied this China controls The Panama Canal, which the United States gave up on the last day of 1999 under an agreement negotiated decades earlier by the late former President Jimmy Carter.
President-elect Trump speaks during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Palm Beach, Florida. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Johnson’s office addressed China’s growing influence in the Panama Canal region.
“In 2018, Panama was the first country in Latin America to join the Belt and Road Initiative of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and investment by Chinese companies in canal infrastructure has only increased since then. Furthermore, Chinese companies have management rights to two ports on both sides of the canal,” the congressman’s office wrote.
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The two ports on either side of the Panama Canal have been operated by Hong Kong-based Hutchison Ports PPC for decades, the New York Times reported.
The newspaper pointed out that the Chinese government is implementing more and more its national security laws on Hong Kong Island that can compel companies to comply with intelligence gathering and military operations.
