The Trump administration is preparing to ramp up funding by hundreds of millions of dollars for programs designed to counter China's growing influence around the world, after having put a halt to many of those initiatives last year during a flurry of budget and personnel cuts under the Department of Government Efficiency.
The administration notified Congress late last week that it intends to spend $175.8 million to replace outdated and aging undersea telecommunications cables in the Caribbean and Central America to prevent China from moving in, according to documents obtained by the Associated Press. The notification was dated Friday and a copy was provided to reporters Monday.
The undersea cable funding appears to be part of a broader push to restore support for initiatives aimed at blunting Chinese influence globally that would cost many hundreds of millions of dollars more. A State Department official said China's economic activities in the Western Hemisphere pose risks to U.S. national security and prosperity, arguing that Chinese offerings may seem cheaper but wind up being more expensive due to cost overruns, hidden maintenance fees and poor performance.
The program described to Congress is called the 'Countering CCP Control of Caribbean and Central America Undersea Cables project.' According to the notification, it will fund the installation of strategically selected undersea cable infrastructure and support foreign governments in partnering with private sector installers. The money will support replacement of outdated cables with secure, U.S. and trusted alternatives.
Under the new program, funding is anticipated for projects benefiting El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Haiti, though the U.S. would not be working directly with Nicaragua's government given tenuous bilateral ties.
What the Right Is Saying
Conservative Republicans have largely welcomed the renewed focus on countering Chinese influence in the Western Hemisphere. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who as Secretary of State met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi last week at a regional security conference in the Philippines, has been a leading voice for aggressive U.S. engagement to push back against Beijing's expanding footprint.
Representative Michael McCaul of Texas, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has praised efforts to address undersea cable vulnerabilities, calling them critical infrastructure concerns that were too long ignored under previous administrations. His office has emphasized that Chinese control over telecommunications in the region represents a strategic threat that demands immediate action.
Administration allies argue that restoring these programs after last year's cuts reflects course correction rather than inconsistency. They contend that DOGE-driven efficiency improvements will allow for more targeted spending on genuine threats while eliminating waste that previously characterized U.S. foreign aid programs worldwide.
What the Left Is Saying
Progressive Democrats have broadly supported efforts to counter Chinese influence in Latin America but have raised questions about the administration cutting foreign aid programs only to restore them months later. Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has previously argued for sustained engagement in the hemisphere rather than boom-bust funding cycles that undermine long-term relationships with regional partners.
Human rights advocates who back tough-on-China policies have also called for greater transparency about how these programs will be implemented and monitored. They note that many Latin American governments welcome Chinese investment precisely because Western institutions have been inconsistent in their commitments to the region, a dynamic they worry could be exacerbated by stop-start U.S. funding approaches.
Some Democratic lawmakers have stressed that counter-China efforts should come alongside increased humanitarian and development assistance rather than purely security-focused programs, arguing that economic alternatives are more sustainable long-term than infrastructure competition alone.
What the Numbers Show
$175.8 million: The amount the administration notified Congress it intends to spend on undersea telecommunications cables in the Caribbean and Central America under the new Countering CCP Control program.
Nearly $500 million: The total additional funding the State Department is considering for anti-China programs throughout the Western Hemisphere, Africa and Asia, according to an internal State Department document.
$340 million+: The proposed spending level for over 50 specific counter-China projects around the world detailed in the internal document, including security operations centers in Argentina and Belize to monitor threats to critical infrastructure.
The administration notified Congress in May that it had spent several hundred million dollars in counter-China funding from the 2024 budget originally approved during the previous administration. However, many other projects funded for 2024 and 2025 had been placed on hold following DOGE cuts that dismantled USAID and eliminated several hundred diplomatic posts worldwide.
China's Belt and Road initiative has invested heavily in Latin America over the past decade, with particular focus on ports, roads and telecommunications infrastructure across Central America and the Caribbean basin.
The Bottom Line
The proposed spending represents a significant reversal of last year's foreign aid retrenchment and reflects the administration's view that Chinese influence in the Americas poses an urgent national security concern. The undersea cable project alone would represent one of the largest single U.S. infrastructure investments in the region outside traditional development bank lending.
President Trump is expected to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in September around the annual U.N. General Assembly gathering in New York, a meeting that will provide insight into how this spending push factors into broader bilateral negotiations. Secretary Rubio's recent meeting with Foreign Minister Wang Yi was seen as preparation for those talks.
The ultimate impact of these proposed programs won't be known for many months or years, and administration officials acknowledge that many projects remain in discussion phases rather than finalized plans. Congressional notification requirements mean lawmakers will have opportunities to review and potentially modify the spending proposals before funds are obligated.