Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., plans to introduce a bill Thursday to authorize the president to purchase the Panama Canal and put it under U.S. control.
"President Trump is right to consider repurchasing the Panama Canal. China's interest in and presence around the canal is a cause for concern," Johnson said in a statement.
"America must project strength abroad — owning and operating the Panama Canal might be an important step towards a stronger America and a more secure globe."
The Panama Canal Repurchase Act would give the president, working in conjunction with the secretary of state, the authority "to initiate and conduct negotiations with appropriate counterparts of the Government of the Republic of Panama to reacquire the Panama Canal," according to a draft of the bill obtained by The Hill.
Trump has said the Panama Canal is critical to American and global security yet is currently under the oversight of China, an allegation that the Panama Canal Authority denies.
"The Panama Canal is vital to our country. It's being operated by China. China! We gave the Panama Canal to Panama. We didn't give it to China. And they abused that gift," Trump said during a news conference this week.
"The accusations that China is running the Canal are unfounded," Ricaurte Vásquez Morales, CEO of the Panama Canal Authority said in a Wednesday interview. "China has no involvement whatsoever in our operations."
Trump's recent statements regarding new land acquisition for the U.S. has trigged a negative response across the globe.
Panamanian Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Acha Vásquez said during a news conference: "The sovereignty of our canal is nonnegotiable and is part of our history of struggle and an irreversible conquest. Let it be clear: The canal belongs to the Panamanians, and it will continue to be that way."
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.