As President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans seek to restrict foreign adversaries from acquiring American farmland, a company at the center of the debate has built its own influence operation in Washington. Smithfield Foods, which is majority owned by Hong Kong-based WH Group, has hired former Republican congressional aides and other government insiders to lobby on legislation addressing foreign ownership of agricultural land.

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From Natalie Winters on Substack:

Smithfield is effectively Chinese-controlled: Hong Kong-based WH Group beneficially owned roughly 87 percent of the American pork giant as of 2026, while Smithfield itself reports owning approximately 87,000 acres of U.S. land. WH Group grew out of China’s Shuanghui empire, whose longtime chairman Wan Long has been identified as a Chinese Communist Party member and served in China’s National People’s Congress.

As President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans publicly move to restrict Chinese access to American farmland, Smithfield has assembled a Washington influence operation stocked with former Republican congressional aides, agriculture policy insiders, and revolving-door lobbyists.

Among them are former aides to Republican Sens. John Warner and Susan Collins, a former House Republican Conference official, and a former U.S. Department of Agriculture official.

According to the source, Smithfield paid Holland & Knight $270,000 during the second quarter of 2025 for lobbying on a portfolio of issues that specifically included foreign ownership of agricultural land. The filing identified the PASS Act, S.903, among the legislation involved and described the issue as “foreign farmland ownership restrictions.” Christopher DeLacy, who previously worked for Republican Sen. John Warner of Virginia and the House Science Committee, was assigned to the legislation.

By the fourth quarter, former Sen. Susan Collins aide Molly Ross was also listed as lobbying on S.903 and another measure involving foreign farmland restrictions. Ross previously spent eight years on Capitol Hill, where her portfolio included agriculture, nutrition, appropriations, and energy. The disclosure also listed DeLacy, Ross, Joel Roberson, and former USDA official Peter Tabor as lobbying more broadly on issues concerning foreign ownership of agricultural land. Smithfield paid Holland & Knight another $270,000 that quarter.

The source says that revolving door continued in 2026. Roberson previously worked as a committee liaison and floor debate coordinator for the House Republican Conference and later for the House Judiciary Committee. When Greenberg Traurig registered to lobby for Smithfield in May, Roberson and DeLacy were listed as expected to work on issues concerning foreign ownership of agricultural land.

At the same time, the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers have publicly raised national-security concerns about foreign adversaries controlling U.S. agricultural land. The administration’s National Farm Security Action Plan calls for preventing foreign adversaries from gaining control over American farmland, while Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has said the administration would “never let foreign adversaries control our land.” Sen. Mike Rounds, sponsor of the PASS Act, has warned about hostile nations, including China, acquiring property near sensitive American facilities.

The debate brings together questions of food security, national security, foreign investment, and Washington’s lobbying system. As lawmakers consider restrictions on foreign ownership, the source shows that Smithfield is making its interests heard through people with extensive experience inside the institutions now considering those restrictions. Let’s pray that those entrusted with protecting America’s land and food supply would act with wisdom, transparency, and integrity, placing the security of the nation above competing interests.

Share your prayers for America’s farmland, food supply, and national security in the comments.

(Excerpt from Natalie Winters on Substack. Photo Credit: Canva)