Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has publicly opposed President Donald Trump‘s announcement to allow 600,000 Chinese students into the United States. The Georgia congresswoman raised concerns about national security and loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party. Trump made the announcement on Monday during an Oval Office event with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung. The president said the U.S. would welcome Chinese students as part of ongoing trade talks with Beijing. He told reporters, “We’re going to allow their students to come in. It’s very important, 600,000 students.” Greene quickly responded on X, writing: “We should not let in 600,000 Chinese students to attend American colleges and universities that may be loyal to the CCP.” She added that if refusing Chinese students causes 15 percent of schools to fail, “these schools should fail anyway because they are being propped up by the CCP.” Commerce secretary defends the policy decision Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick defended Trump’s decision during an appearance on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” on Monday night. When host Laura Ingraham asked how allowing 600,000 students from China was putting “America first,” Lutnick explained Trump’s economic reasoning. “The president’s point of view is that what would happen if you didn’t have those 600,000 students is that you’d empty them from the top,” Lutnick said. “All the students would go up to better schools, and the bottom 15 percent of universities and colleges would go out of business in America.” We should not let in 600,000 CHINESE students to attend American colleges and universities that may be loyal to the CCP.If refusing to allow these Chinese students to attend our schools causes 15% of them to fail then these schools should fail anyways because they are being…— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) August 26, 2025 The announcement represents a major shift from earlier Trump administration policies. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had previously stated the U.S. would “aggressively revoke” visas for Chinese students, especially those connected to the Communist Party or studying in critical fields. This latest controversy follows Trump’s troubled relationship with China throughout his second term. Greene was not alone in her criticism of the plan. Conservative commentator Laura Loomer called Chinese students “CCP spies” and questioned how the policy aligns with Trump’s “America First” agenda. She wrote on X: “I didn’t vote for more Muslims and Chinese people to be imported to my country.” The backlash highlights growing tensions within the MAGA movement over Trump’s policies. Current data shows that there were about 277,000 Chinese students in U.S. universities during the 2023-2024 academic year, as shown on opendoorsdata.org. Trump’s proposal would more than double this number, making it the highest ever recorded. The plan comes as the U.S. and China continue trade negotiations, with both countries having imposed high tariffs on each other’s goods earlier this year. Greene suggested Americans should focus on trade schools instead of allowing more foreign students. She wrote: “Trade schools are a great alternative and produce the essential education and training for the most needed jobs in America with very high starting pay.” This criticism adds to ongoing concerns about Trump’s economic policies from both conservative and liberal critics.