Sen. Rick Scott Asks Treasury Sec. Bessent to Review China’s Land Grab in Fire-Ravaged California

October 16, 2025

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, Senator Rick Scott sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent thanking him for his work with President Trump to stand up for the American people by confronting and mitigating the threats posed by Communist China. As part of these efforts, Senator Scott asks Secretary Bessent to use the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to review reports that Communist China is taking advantage of the devastating California wildfires this past January, as Chinese-affiliated companies buy ravaged land to infiltrate our nation at the expense of wildfire victims and our national security.

 

These reports of Communist China’s land-grab scheme were discovered as part of Senator Scott and Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Chairman Ron Johnson’s ongoing congressional investigation into the deadly Palisades fire, which devastated Los Angeles communities, caused billions in property damage, and resulted in the tragic loss of life.

 

Read the letter to Secretary Scott Bessent HERE or below:

 

Dear Secretary Bessent,

 

I first wish to thank you for your steadfast and courageous leadership as you work with President Trump to build another Golden Age for the American people. I know you agree that an integral part of this objective is confronting and mitigating the threats posed by Communist China to the American Dream and the American way of life.

 

Following the horrific fires in the Pacific Palisades in January, I, along with Chairman Ron Johnson of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, have launched an investigation into the contributing causes and failures in response that led to the complete devastation and loss of life and property in the area. The victims of these fires lost nearly everything and have spent months searching for answers, filing insurance claims and building permits as they hope to rebuild their lives and homes.

 

I was alarmed by recent reports that Communist China-based investors and businesses, have taken advantage of this devastation by buying fire-ravaged land on valuable real estate in Southern California. This includes the founders of Hong Kong-based Zuru, a company previously focused on making toys, but is now planning on building their pre-fabricated homes in China and shipping them to these lots in the United States. While this is concerning on its own, they have also articulated their intent to use this to test out new “smart homes” using internet-connected smart appliances that will not only be connected to our electricity grid, but could be fully capable of sending data on American citizens back to Xi and his thugs in China.

 

The last thing our nation needs is more Communist Chinese access to our electric grid and to our lives. It’s one of many reasons why we must focus on limiting China’s influence over any land transactions in the United States.

 

Given the ongoing public debate surrounding Chinese Communist Party (CCP)- affiliated ownership of U.S. land, I encourage you to try to extend the reach of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) within the confines of existing law to review such cases.

 

U.S. law currently allows for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) review of real estate transactions if the real estate is in proximity to sensitive U.S. government sites, including specified named military sites. If at all pertinent for your consideration, there are military installations covered by the CFIUS regulations in the Southern California area, including Naval Base Ventura County facilities. Whether or not recent transactions are ultimately eligible for review, future ones may be, and the many consequences of Communist China connected affiliates, like Zuru, buying up land in America requires a whole-of-government response.

 

Communist China and Xi Jinping are enemies of the American people and have shown time and time again that they want access to American data, American markets, and American land in an effort to destroy our very way of life. President Trump and his administration have made countering Communist Chinese land grabs a priority and for good reason. These calculated land purchases are the latest examples of the CCP’s attempts to destroy us.

 

I know you, President Trump, and his whole administration is aware of this threat and share my goal of security from China. Please let me know if there is anything I can do legislatively to help promote our nation’s America First agenda.

 

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