DOJ Ends Trump’s Troubled ‘China Initiative’ After Failures, Criticism

An American flag flies outside the U.S. Department of Justice headquarters in Washington on Jan. 2. Photo: Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) — The Justice Department said Wednesday that it’s ending the “China Initiative,” a program started under the Trump administration that came under intense criticism for fanning discrimination against Asian Americans even as several of its high-profile criminal cases failed in court.

Instead, the department will pursue a broader effort to counter threats from adversarial nations including China, Russia and Iran, from hacking attacks to the theft of U.S. trade secrets, Matthew Olsen, head of DOJ’s national security division, told reporters.