Why It Matters

A recent Congressional Research Service report on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, (CFIUS) reveals a committee under intensifying pressure as presidential administrations take sharply divergent approaches to national security screening. The CFIUS, an interagency body chaired by the Secretary of the Treasury, faces competing demands to streamline the review process to maintain the U.S. position as a premier destination for foreign direct investment while tightening scrutiny of transactions that could pose national security risks. Congress has remained engaged in oversight of how the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act, or FIRRMA, enacted in 2018, is being implemented, even as the current administration reshapes the committee's priorities in ways that differ from its predecessor.

Foreign investors need predictability, while Congress needs assurance that critical technologies, infrastructure and sensitive data remain secure. The Biden administration issued Executive Order 14083 in 2022 to expand the factors CFIUS must weigh, including supply chain resilience, cybersecurity risks and risks to U.S. sensitive personal data.The Trump administration has taken a different tack, launching a Known Investor Program pilot aimed at expediting reviews for certain vetted foreign investors while also using CFIUS to restrict investments linked to foreign adversaries.

The Big Picture

CFIUS reviews three broad categories of transactions: mergers, acquisitions and takeovers that could result in foreign control of a U.S. business; noncontrolling investments in businesses involved in critical technologies, critical infrastructure or sensitive personal data; and certain real estate transactions near military installations, ports or airports.

In 2025, the committee reviewed 347 filings consisting of 140 declarations and 207 notices. More than half of the notices proceeded to a full investigation. The committee cleared 92 declarations outright, yet requested parties submit a subsequent notice in 36 declaration cases, or about 26 percent, indicating that abbreviated filings can require follow-up scrutiny.

Presidents have issued orders prohibiting 11 transactions in CFIUS history, with several of those actions occurring in recent years. In 2025, President Donald Trump blocked Suirui International's acquisition of Jupiter Systems. He also reopened the CFIUS review and reversed a Biden-era order that had blocked Japanese firm Nippon Steel from acquiring U.S. Steel Corp., ultimately permitting the transaction subject to a national security agreement giving the U.S. government certain rights in the company.

When transactions do proceed, mitigation is one tool CFIUS can use to address national security concerns. In 2025, CFIUS adopted mitigation measures and conditions for 25 notices, or about 12 percent of total notices. As of the end of 2025, the committee was monitoring 234 mitigation agreements and conditions. Parties withdrew 61 notices during the year, including 58 after investigations had begun. In 51 of the 61 withdrawals, the parties subsequently refiled a notice.

The Bottom Line

CFIUS is entering a period in which the central challenge is not simply whether to scrutinize more foreign investment, but how to distinguish investments that pose national security risks from those that can be reviewed more efficiently without weakening safeguards. The Trump administration's Known Investor Program could reduce uncertainty and processing burdens for certain repeat foreign investors, while CFIUS continues to scrutinize transactions involving critical technologies, infrastructure, sensitive personal data and other national security concerns.

The committee's expanding mitigation and monitoring responsibilities also mean that clearing a transaction does not necessarily end federal scrutiny. CFIUS can impose conditions intended to address identified national security risks and monitor companies for compliance after transactions are completed. Congress therefore faces broader questions about whether CFIUS has sufficient authority and resources to review transactions, identify previously undisclosed investments, enforce mitigation agreements and protect national security while preserving an open investment environment.

Those questions are likely to remain central to congressional oversight of FIRRMA as the administration develops the Known Investor Program and continues reshaping how the U.S. evaluates foreign investment.

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