Trump pulls China hawk’s nomination for key post in tech war with Beijing
The dropping of Landon Heid as the pick to oversee export controls for national security could signal a more dovish US approach to China
US President Donald Trump has withdrawn the nomination of Landon Heid, a China hawk, for a key post in the countries’ ongoing tech battle, raising questions about whether the move signals a more dovish approach to Beijing.
Trump withdrew Heid’s nomination on Wednesday for assistant secretary for export administration at the US Department of Commerce, according to Congress.gov. The president had selected him in February for the post overseeing export controls for national security.
Chris McGuire, an expert on technology and national security who served at the US Department of State until this summer, called the withdrawal “very concerning” on Thursday.
“Hopefully this does not signal that the administration plans to further weaken US restrictions on sales of our most advanced technologies to China, but I fear that it does,” McGuire wrote in a social media post.
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Neither a White House spokesman nor Heid responded to requests for comment.