David McCormick bungles critique of Sen. Casey's China policy

David McCormick, a Republican Senate hopeful in Pennsylvania, urged Democratic Sen. Bob Casey to do more to curtail China’s influence in the private sector, but McCormick’s suggestions are things Casey has already done.

McCormick, a former hedge fund executive, announced his Senate campaign on Sept. 21. It has been endorsed by the Republican Party of Pennsylvania.

In a thread posted to the online platform X, McCormick endorsed a bill co-sponsored by Casey that will require public equity firms to disclose their investments in China to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. But McCormick said the legislation did not go far enough.

“Casey should support legislation cutting off U.S. investment in all technologies in China critical to national security & in those companies that work with the PLA — including both passive and active investment,” McCormick wrote. “Outbound investment controls should also require all publicly traded companies and investment funds to disclose their investments and exposure in China in public filings.”

McCormick concluded: “For nearly eighteen years, Casey has failed to deliver results on behalf of the people of Pennsylvania and instead has rubber stamped the disastrous agenda of Joe Biden. Now is his chance to step it up.” 

McCormick seems unaware that Casey co-sponsored a bill this year mandating that investors disclose stakes in Chinese companies in sectors related to national security, including AI and satellite-based communications.

When the bill was being worked on, Casey signaled that it was only a first step.

“Knowing what corporations are investing overseas is not good enough if we don’t have a means to stop them,” Casey said in June. “That’s why I’d ultimately like to see the United States with the authority to prohibit corporations from selling our national security secrets and manufacturing power to our adversaries when it puts our nation at risk.”

McCormick has called on the U.S. to stop investing in China. But prior to running for public office, he was the CEO of Bridgewater Associates, a Connecticut-based private equity firm with Chinese investments. According to CNN, Bridgewater’s Chinese holdings grew from $1.6 million to $1.77 billion under his leadership; a 108,000% increase.

Under Casey’s bills, Bridgewater would be required to disclose these holdings.

A spokesperson for McCormick’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request to comment for this article.